As you know, we all love to watch movies, videos or programs in high quality. But in terms of storing video on a computer, there are many problems, usually associated with a banal lack of space. Relatively recently, a new standard appeared, and many users immediately had a logical question: “What is this - HEVC?”. Consider several key aspects related to the implementation and practical use of the new codec.
What is it: HEVC
If we talk about films that are recorded on removable media, usually the size of the disk itself affects the choice of video compression method . The same Blu-ray discs can store movies in high resolution with volumes of more than 25 GB. However, you must admit that keeping such a film on a hard drive, especially when its capacity is clearly limited, is practically impractical from a practical point of view.
For this, video encoding is used, which allows reducing the size of the final file due to special compression methods even without sacrificing quality. But in practice, what is it? HEVC is by far the most advanced codec, you could even say the video revolution. But what does the old H.264 codec not suit lovers of high-quality video?
High Efficiency Video Coding: The Basics of Coding
To do this, you should turn to an understanding of the basics of signal coding. The fact is that here one of the main roles is played by the use of the maximum block. For H.264, this is 16 x 16, or a total of 256 pixels.
For the new H.265 standard, such a block can be 16 times larger! And if we take into account the technology of variable blocks, when the block size is directly selected by the algorithm itself during the compression process, it is easy to figure out that the new codec is, so to speak, the most “tolerant” to high resolutions and today even supports 8k (8192 x 4320 pixels) ) You can add here also the parallel coding function. Thus, the HEVC codec with high image quality can reduce the bitrate, and, accordingly, the file size. Space savings compared to the H.264 standard can reach 25-50%!
4k and 8k support: how effective is it
As for the effectiveness of using such a codec, at the dawn of its appearance, it did not win much popularity. This was due to the fact that only the most powerful and modern graphics chips GeForce 970 or 980 could provide support for the new standard.
Actually, the encoding process on other less powerful devices took about 10-12 hours. Thus, from the practical point of view, the application of the new standard was disadvantageous.
The situation has changed over time, and now H.265-based technologies are beginning to be applied everywhere. In terms of space saving, a rather eloquent example can be given in comparison with H.264. At 720p resolution, the savings rate is about 25%, and with 4k quality, more than 50%. By the way, if you use a rip Blu-ray disc, the size of the original video can be reduced by almost 10 times (it will "weigh a little more than 3 GB)!
Key innovations
If you look at some of the innovations, among all that is presented in the requirements for the new codec, the following can be noted:
- support for Main 8 and 10 bit profiles (12 bit in the future);
- the presence of two-dimensional separable, inseparable and directional interpolation filters ASF;
- motion compensation accurate to 1/8 pixel;
- the use of adaptive error prediction and matrix selection in the coding process;
- the presence of a comparative coding scheme of the motion vector;
- mode-dependent intra-frame coding.
Of course, the list goes on. However, even these indicators can tell a lot to any professional who is faced with video coding .
What software to use to watch movies in a new format
So, we figured out the codec itself. What is it (HEVC), it seems, is already a little clear. Now let's move on to the most pressing issue, which undoubtedly interests most users. What to use to watch video encoded using new algorithms?
In principle, in the simplest version, you can use software players. One of the most interesting, according to many, is a specialized and narrowly targeted application Daum PotPlayer. If this option does not fit, you can use the popular VLC Media Player, only you need to install the latest version, since only it has built-in HEVC support.
However, despite all the advantages, a lot of problems can be noted. For the most part, this applies only to the fact that on the Internet you can now find not so many films or videos encoded using the new algorithm. What is even more upsetting is the lack of support from vendors. If the issues are still somehow solved, the manufacturers of home theater systems or Smart TV are in no hurry to master the release of products with support for H.265. Yes, and the codec itself, although it is considered revolutionary, has not yet received special distribution. But I want to hope that this is a temporary phenomenon.
Instead of a total
Here is a brief summary of everything about the new standard in video encoding. Of course, far from all the technical aspects of the new technology were affected here, but even such brief information will help any user to make a conclusion about the main innovations, the advisability of introducing and practical use of such technologies. But by and large, they can turn over all our ideas about the quality and processing of video information. And, apparently, soon the obsolete H.264 standard will go into oblivion, because technology does not stand still. If you take a long-term perspective, it could very well be that instead of the HEVC codec, something even more powerful will be developed.