Video Encoding and Codecs

A Comparison of Video Encoders across H.264, HEVC and VVC  - $15

There are a seemingly ever-increasing number of codecs available to be used, but the codec itself only sets the permitted methods that an encoder can use. Real-world encoders are specific implementations of codecs, and the way they are implemented makes a significant difference to the bitrate efficiency. So, comparing encoder implementations is more revealing than comparing theoretical encoders and this paper focuses on real-time live encoding, using encoders that are configured to evaluate this operating point. This paper examines the performance of actual implementations of codecs in real encoders, highlighting how they compare and how they may develop over future years, covering AVC (H.264), HEVC (H.265), VVC (H.266) and AV1. The specific encoders compared in this study are: x264, x265, SVT-AV1, VVenC, AVC and HEVC using SG1 and MediaKind’s current implementations of AVC, HEVC and VVC, as examples of commercial encoders with performance optimizations.

Tony Jones | MediaKind | Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Remi Houdaille | MediaKind | Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Matthieu Muller | MediaKind | Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom

MC-IF VVC technical guidelines  - $15

Versatile Video Coding (VVC or H.266), standardized by ISO/IEC MPEG and ITU-T VCEG in 2020, offers best-in-class compression performance and has been selected (or is currently being considered) for use in next-generation broadcast and streaming standards around the world. These standards typically define VVC-based profiles and corresponding receiver capabilities. How the service is realized and the impact of the codec’s operational parameters on delivered compression performance is not in scope. The Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) has developed – with input from broadcasters, encoder vendors and others in the community – technical guidelines that serve as a reference for VVC configuration choices to address operational, interoperability, and regulatory needs while achieving optimal compression performance. A community review phase concluded in late 2023, and the guidelines were made publicly and freely available at the start of 2024. This paper provides an overview of MC-IF VVC technical guidelines version 1.0. It gives an overview of the guidelines development process, scope, and contents. The paper provides a summary of VVC’s support in media transport and systems standards and follows with VVC adoption status in broadcast and streaming application specifications. A review of VVC-based profiles and receiver capabilities is presented. The paper concludes with an analysis on operational bitrates which can be expected with VVC for selected service deployment scenarios.

Lukasz Litwic | Ericsson | Gdańsk, Poland 
Justin Ridge | Nokia Technologies | Dallas, Texas, United States
Alan Stein | InterDigital Communications, Inc. | Princeton, N.J., United States

MV-HEVC: How to optimize compression of immersive 3D content - $15

Multiview High Efficiency Video Coding (MV-HEVC) is an HEVC extension focused on efficiently coding spatially related images, such as left eye and right eye views of 3D stereoscopic content. MV-HEVC was released in the second version of HEVC back in October 2014 ​[1]​. MV-HEVC was created alongside another extension named SHVC, which is already employed in ATSC 3.0 use cases since 2018 ​[2]​. The two extensions share many fundamentals, codified in an annex for common specifications for multi-layer extensions. Their base principle is scalability: A traditional HEVC decoder can rely on the base layer only, hence providing backward compatibility, but a more elaborate decoder can use the second layer as well to improve the rendition.

The MV-HEVC format gained widespread attention with Apple announcing support for 3D movies on the Apple Vision Pro at WWDC23 ​[3]​​ [4]​. Apple provided public guidelines on stereo video encoding ​[5]​, packaging ​[6]​, and streaming ​[7]​ as well as on providing parallax information to improve caption placement​ [8]​.

This presentation will describe the MV-HEVC standard and how it works in theory. An implementation of MV-HEVC [9] will also be studied to assess performance in practice in industrial settings. Deployment aspects such as packaging and captioning will be discussed. Finally, 3D-specific optimization strategies will be analyzed, including software architecture and rate control.

Thomas Guionnet| ATEME | Rennes, France
Khaled Jerbi | ATEME | Rennes, France
Thomas Burnichon| ATEME | Rennes, France
Mickaël Raulet | ATEME | Rennes, France