What are H.264 and H.265?

H.264 and H.265 are two widely used coding standards for video compression and transmission.H.264, also known as Advanced Video Coding (AVC), is currently the most widely used video compression format for a wide variety of applications such as web streaming, Blu-ray discs, webcams and more.

H.265, or High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), on the other hand, is the successor to H.264, offering higher compression efficiency and better image quality, as well as support for higher resolutions, such as 4K and 8K video.

H.264: Currently the most dominant video coding.

H.264 divides each video image into small chunks. These chunks are then compared to the previous and next frames to find the best way to save them. That is, it tries to save only the information that is different for each frame. When the video is played back, it is ‘decompressed’ to play back different parts of the video on the same ‘background’ of frame information, which makes the video look smooth and clear.

Therefore, H264 has a lot of advantages:

1. Broad compatibility: H.264 is supported by almost all devices and platforms, from smartphones and tablets to HDTVs and streaming devices. This compatibility allows users to seamlessly play video on a wide range of devices.

2. Lower Hardware Requirements: Compared to H.265, H.264 has lower hardware requirements, so it can run on older or weaker devices, making it suitable for a wider range of application scenarios.

3. High compression rate: Compared to earlier video compression standards such as MPEG for VCDs, H.264 offers higher compression efficiency, which can significantly reduce file size while maintaining better picture quality.

H.265:

H.265 for the H264 problem, using a non-fixed size of the block of this mode to save the video frame information, can be compared with the upper and lower frame information, flexibility to decide the size of the block of storage and fixed ‘background information’ block size, so more intelligent and accurate, more efficient, higher compression rate is also higher.

Therefore, the advantages of H265 are:

1. Higher compression efficiency and smaller bandwidth requirements: H.265 is only about half the file size of H.264 in the same image quality.

2. Support for higher resolution: H.265 was designed with support for high bitrate videos with ultra-high definition resolution (such as 4K and 8K) in mind.