MPEG H.265 codec halves video bandwidth

The Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) has released a new codec which is set to cause a mini revolution for MPEG based video clips. The proposed H.265 High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) boasts 50% less bandwidth than its H.264 counterpart meaning consumers will be able to watch the same quality videos as they normally would at half the bandwidth saturation levels. More important video streaming companies will be able to serve nearly twice as many requests utilising the same bandwidth levels.

A group of 450 people met in Stockholm during July in order to approve the new codec. Per Fröjdh, chairman of the Swedish MPEG delegation and manager for Visual Technology at Ericsson Research has said it will “have an enormous impact on the industry”. He also notes that it is currently predicted that video could account for “90 percent of all network traffic” by 2015.

Fröjdh also believes that the new HEVC format could see a launch in the commercial product space as soon as next year. Apple will probably be an early adopter in H.265, as they were in H.264. Nokia and Microsoft also recommend H.264 as an alternative to plugins for video in the HTML5 specification. We should hear more about H.265 over the coming months.

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