The next-gen High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard just adopted by the Motion PicturenExperts Group will cut the bit rate needed to deliver high-quality video in half compared with the H.264nstandard, the group said. The HEVC codec (H.265 or ISO/IEC 23008-2) was developed jointly with thenVideo Coding Experts Group of ITU-T Study Group 16, it said. HEVC includes three profiles. Then"main profile" relates to mass-market consumer video products that require only eight bits of precision fornprocessing, while the "main 10 profile" will support up to 10 bits of processing precision for applicationsnneeding higher quality, it said. The "main still picture profile" allows HEVC's underlying technology tonbe used for still-image applications as well, MPEG said. HEVC advances the state of the art for stillpicturencoding, because video products can use it for still-picture photography and other purposes, it said.nThe current standard (H.264) "underpinned rapid progression and expansion of the video ecosystem, with many adopting it to replace their own proprietary compression codecs," said ITU Secretary-GeneralnHamadoun Touré. The new standard will be as effective as its predecessor in enabling the next wave ofninnovation, he said. MPEG has already started work on further enhancements to HEVC, it said after itsnJan. 21-25 meeting in Geneva. Application range extensions will allow higher-resolution color for 3D andnhigher precision for video-processing applications. Extensions for 3D and multiview video coding willnenable applications such as stereoscopic 3D TV. Extensions for scalable video coding will enable flexiblenextraction of subsets of the coded video content for direct use as lower bit-rate encodings of the same content.nThe first of the range extensions planned for HEVC will support HEVC video coding using alternativencolor formats such as the 4:4:4 "full color" format needed for high quality encoding of content thatnmay include a mix of text, graphics and video, and the 4:2:2 horizontally sub-sampled color format used innmany professional studio video applications, MPEG said. The group has also completed a new addition tonthe Advanced Video Coding standard for encoding multiview with depth maps, it said. Meanwhile, thenDigital Media Project (DMP) announced the public availability of Open Connected TV software to enablenTV services with two-way interoperable and multichannel content access and delivery. The OCTV softwarenis broadly related to HEVC because TV, whether open and connected or not, still needs video,nMPEG Chairman and DMP President Leonardo Chiariglione told us. That video could be HEVC as wellnas other standards, he said.
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