MC-IF VVC technical guidelines 

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