New H.266 codec – same quality, half the file size
Fraunhofer’s company HHI, which created the H.264 and H.265 video codecs, without which today it is difficult to imagine the production of video content, has introduced an updated video encoding algorithm: H.266. The company didn’t get smart with the names and just added one, but under the hood we’re waiting for changes that they’ve been asking for for a long time, that is, the new codec provides half the amount of data while maintaining image quality. at the level of previous codecs.
Video resolution and bitrate are growing day by day, today you will not surprise anyone, for example, with the ability to shoot 4K, rather you will surprise with the absence of such a mode, 8K is on the way, and then scary Think about it, since terabytes of data snowballs, you only have time to swap out the hard drives …
The image does not demonstrate the capabilities of the codec, just an image for a change 🙂
The industry needs a new video encoding algorithm and the H.266 codec came in handy. This algorithm is also called Versatile Video Coding (VVC), that is, a universal video codec. The new standard provides improved compression, reducing the amount of data by approximately 50% while increasing the data transfer rate by the same amount as the previous H.265 (HEVC) standard. Most importantly, without sacrificing image quality.
The H.266 / VVC codec allows you to work with video in all resolutions, from SD and HD up to 4K and 8K, it supports video with high dynamic range and omni-directional 360 ° video, which, although in small steps, continues to gain popularity among users.
Fraunhofer HHI spent more than three years working on the codec, and the description of the H.266 / VVC standard has more than 500 pages of small text, and industry monsters like Microsoft, Apple, Sony, and Intel participated in the work. Benjamin Bross, director of Video Coding Systems, called the launch of the new codec a “quantum leap in encoding efficiency.”
In its press release, Fraunhofer HHI says that while a 90-minute video encoded in H.265 / HEVC is about 10GB, the same video with the new codec will only take up 5GB, and this is the same image quality. “Since H.266 / VVC was designed with ultra-high definition video content in mind, the new standard is especially useful for 4K and 8K video transmission,” the press release says. Also, the codec will support all formats from 480p onwards.
Some experts predict the imminent decline of the era of dominance of the JPEG standard for photographs. So the HEIF image compression format, which Apple implemented on the iPhone, is based on the H.265 / HEVC codec and is used, for example, in the new Canon 1D X Mark III SLR camera. In the same way, the widespread adoption of the H.266 / VVC codec may well lead to the popularization of the “VIC” format for photographs.
The H.265 (HEVC) standard has started to gain popularity recently, and the main problem of its use was quickly clarified: the amount of data that needs to be transferred in some way, stored somewhere, and processed in some multi-core processor systems. Processor and storage manufacturers are, of course, delighted, but the introduction of the new format is quite timely, obvious, and expected by many users and developers alike.
The implementation process itself depends on the hardware manufacturers that could record data using the new codec and on the software manufacturers that could process this highly recorded data. Experts predict the emergence of a new codec by the end of 2020. This process can be greatly accelerated, as recently online streaming has gained particular popularity, and no one will refuse to stream high-quality, high-bit-rate videos, for example, 8K or 4K, and at high speed.
