This codec was developed by the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) with the sober name h.26L. In 2001 several consortia and companies joined forces and continued development jointly. Microsoft also participated in the development of H.264.
This video codec is now compatible with numerous companies and end devices, including Adobe and Apple. The H.264 codec is one of the video codecs that has also made the leap to the codecs compatible with Blu Ray and HD-DVD. Well, the quality of this video codec is amazing, but it comes at a price. Very few video bloggers and small businesses will invest in the staggering licensing costs.
H.264 technical characteristics
CAVLC / CABAC encoder
Multiple frames of reference
Intra frames: all types of macroblocks (16×16, 8×8 and 4×4)
Using B frames as frames of reference
adaptive temporal transformation (8 × 8 and 4 × 4)
Custom quantization matrices
Optimization for multi-core processors
Mixed frames of reference for submacroblocks
Alpha and beta unlock filters
Interlaced
Additional H.264 features
Speed control: constant quantization (CQP), constant speed factor (CRF)
Nominal distortion optimization
Customizable B frames
Various motion detection mechanisms (Diamond, Hexagon, Desigual Multi-Hexagon)
Optimized quantization of nominal distortion (trellis)
H.264 levels and profiles
In 2003, the first versions of the H.264 video codec were released with the ITU-T H.264 standard. In this standard, the first 3 profiles were defined for H.264, the baseline, the main and the high profile. Over time, the High 10, High 4: 2: 2 and High 4: 4: 4 profiles were added. These profiles define the encoding parameters to be used, as according to the standard not all features can be used arbitrarily .
Various H.264 levels have also been defined in the ITU-T H.264 standard, which define the maximum video sizes, bit rates, and other parameters such as the number of macroblocks allowed in the H.264 video codec. To create true standards-compliant H.264 videos, visit Wikipedia’s H.264 level overview and adjust its parameters according to your desired level / profile.
x264 is the most widespread derivative of the H.264 codec under the GPL and at the same time command line encoder for the H.264 MPEG-4-AVC video format. It is an open source solution that is available for all platforms such as Windows, Linux, and Unix.
This encoder was developed as part of the VideoLAN project and can be downloaded for free from the project pages at http://www.videolan.org/developers/x264.html.
Technical characteristics x264
CAVLC / CABAC encoder
Multiple frames of reference
Intra frames: all types of macroblocks (16×16, 8×8 and 4×4)
Using B frames as frames of reference
Adaptive temporal transformation (8×8 and 4×4)
Custom quantization matrices
Optimization for multi-core processors
Alpha and beta unlock filters
Interlaced
Additional Features x264
Speed control: constant quantization (CQP), constant speed factor (CRF), single-pass and multi-pass ABR
Mixed frames of reference for submacroblocks
Various motion detection mechanisms (Diamond, Hexagon, Desigual Multi-Hexagon)
Optimized quantization of nominal distortion (trellis)
The encoder supports both 32-bit and 64-bit and multi-threaded platforms, which is particularly interesting for multi-core processors like Xeon, Phenom, or dual-core processors.
The Videcodec x264 also supports the H.264 levels and profiles defined for the H.264 codec in the ITU-T H.264 standard, which define the maximum video sizes, bit rates and other parameters such as the number of macro blocks allowed in the video. To create true standards-compliant H.264 / x264 videos, visit Wikipedia’s H.264 / x264 level overview and adjust its parameters according to your desired level / profile.
