THE 4K VIDEO CODEC WAR: PICK OF THE POPS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

摘要

We're all familiar with format wars—VHSv Beta, Blu-ray v HD-DVD, even the 19th century's AC v DC war of the currents. What you may not be familiar with is the current 4K video compression format war between HEVC (High-Efficient Video Coding, aka H.265), Google's VP9, and a new and potentially disruptive entrant, AVI from the Alliance for Open Media (AOM). The question is, is this format war too esoteric for most CE retailers and vendors to worry about? "Device makers include media processors that decode multiple compression technologies," says Myra Moore, president of Digital Tech Consulting, "and it's in their best interest to make sure the most commonly used ones are included." "[Vendors] will care because every additional codec they need to support adds to the development and [bill of materials] cost of a device," adds John Luther, senior VP of technology for JW Player, a web video platform. For more than a decade, the MPEG-based H.264 format has been pretty much the only HD video codec game in town. Nearly all devices that record or playback 1080 or 720 video include H.264. But 4K video is quickly becoming increasingly ubiquitous. 4K, however, with files four times the pixel size of standard HD, presents problems for both streaming and storage. HEVC shrinks 4K files to roughly nearly the same size as H.264 for HD files of similar length. Creating the right 4K video codec presents varying challenges based on multiple factors, including: 1 delivery platform: web browsers, streaming, broadcast; 2 device: mobile, smart TV, set-top box (i.e. Roku, Apple TV), PC; 3 technical variables: i.e. HDR, which H.264 can't handle; and 4 economics: encoding, storage and royalty costs.