HEVC, VP9 and Patents

Video is powered by technology. That technology is changing all the time. At uStudio, we keep abreast of those changes so our customers can focus on making and sharing great video.

Every once in while, we like to update our customers on the larger technology shifts occurring in the video space. This post focuses on two emerging video formats, and the potential impact on the video landscape over time.

High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC, also known as H.265) is a next-generation video compression standard and the successor to the widely adopted H.264. HEVC demonstrates a 2x improvement in compression efficiency when compared to its predecessor, allowing for a 50% bitrate reduction without sacrificing image quality. With trends surrounding the consumption of online video (potentially accounting for 50% of ALL internet traffic by 2014), the importance of reducing bandwidth usage while maintaining a video’s high quality becomes apparent and will help drive the next generation of video consumption.

While the adoption of HEVC sounds ideal, there are several challenges preventing adoption by platforms and browsers from companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Understanding patents (and the licensing thereof) are one such challenge. The patents concerning H.264 and related technologies are administered by the MPEG LA, a single entity representing the collective patent holders and the licensing of said technology. The MPEG LA is currently pursuing a similar arrangement for HEVC, but there is no guarantee that a straightforward licensing arrangement will be provided in the near future. It is important to note that H.264 also experienced multiple stages of licensing, and yet still became the dominant format over the course of the last decade.

In addition to patent royalties, the system cost for playback of HEVC is considerably higher. The 50% reduction in bitrate results in a hefty impact on your machine — to the tune of 2x to 10x the computation cost. This has far-reaching consequences for hardware manufacturers of televisions, laptops, phones, and other video-enabled devices. Additionally, battery usage on mobile devices will be affected: while you could theoretically stream more content due to the bandwidth efficiency, that device’s battery would be depleted in a much shorter period of time. The HEVC standard was ratified at the beginning of this year, however it will be some time before the hardware required for playback is available to the majority of consumers.

Alongside HEVC exists the open-sourced, free alternative VP9, the successor to VP8. VP8 (also open-sourced) was released by Google as a patent-free competitor to H.264. However, due to existing adoption of H.264 (as well as early patent disagreements), VP8 was unable to gain enough market traction to truly compete outside of a few browser implementations. VP9, like HEVC, aims to reduce bitrate while preserving quality, and is actually available today inside the newest versions of the Chrome browser. Since the compression format has entered the market at an earlier phase than its predecessor, it has a greater (if still small) chance of demonstrably impacting the larger video market.

Ultimately, the war for the next generation of video formats has just begin.

So why does any of this matter?

Technology always changes, and video is built on a foundation of technology. uStudio follows the constant evolution of this technology specifically so you don’t have to. The technical requirements, patent restrictions, and other roadblocks presented by an ever-moving horizon shouldn’t keep you from the unchanging purpose of video: to powerfully communicate to your audience.