[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #319: High Efficiency Video Coding

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #319: High Efficiency Video Coding
January 30th, 2013

If you've been waiting with bated breath for the successor to the H.264 
video codec, wait no more! On the other hand, if you think you couldn't 
care less, let us phrase that a bit differently: a new video standard 
known as High Efficiency Video Coding (H.265) should provide 
high-quality streaming video, even on low-bandwidth networks. This new 
video format was approved last week by the International 
Telecommunication Union, the United Nations agency for information and 
communication technology issues. And if you're like many public 
libraries, your network is probably getting slammed right now by 
streaming video, so this actually is pertinent news after all.

  * UN Telecommunications agency backs H.265
    <http://news.techeye.net/internet/un-telecommunications-agency-backs-h-265>
    (TechEye/Nick Farrell) "Official endorsement by the International
    Telecoms Union (ITU) is seen as important to getting worldwide
    adoption for the standard. The ITU said that the codec would pave
    the way for 'the next wave of innovation,' such as faster movie
    downloads and higher-quality video streaming. 'HEVC will lead to a
    brand new era of innovation with video broadcasting, one that spans
    the entire communication technology spectrum, including Ultra HD
    (4K) TV and mobile devices,' said the ITU in a statement."
  * New H.265 video format approved: high-quality video at lower
    bitrates
    <http://www.slashgear.com/new-h-265-video-format-approved-high-quality-video-at-lower-bitrates-27266856/>
    (SlashGear/Craig Lloyd) "The hope is that H.265 will enable services
    to stream full 1080p HD video using half as many bits as required
    normally, which should make streaming HD video much easier,
    especially on data connections using smartphones and tablets. As far
    as 4K goes, it's said that 4K streaming could be easily possible
    with a 20 Mbps internet connection using H.265."
  * ITU gives first-stage approval of new MPEG successor, HEVC
    <http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/itu-gives-first-stage-approval-new-mpeg-successor-hevc/2013-01-28>
    (FierceTelecom/Dan O'Shea) "The high efficiency coding standard has
    been in the works for some time, and resulted from collaboration
    between the Motion Picture Experts Group and the ITU's Video Experts
    Group. It will succeed H.264/MPEG-4, and the ITU's progress comes at
    a key time for the market. That's because mobile video has been
    exploding in recent years, increasing bandwidth availability
    concerns even as the industry adopts 4G."
  * Paving the way for high-quality video on low-bandwidth networks
    <http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/25/h265-is-approved/>
    (TechCrunch/Ryan Lawler) "While there will likely be software-based
    encoders available by the end of the year, the codec won't see mass
    adoption until it gets embedded into chips and hardware. It could be
    12 to 18 months, maybe longer, before the first devices with H.265
    hardware acceleration make it to market. Once those initial devices
    do make it to market, however, we can probably expect a quick ramp
    up in the amount of content that begins to take advantage of H.265."

*/H.264 fact:/*

H.264/MPEG-4 was used for less than 10% of video transmissions before 
Apple chose to use it for the iPad. Now 84% of streaming video is 
published in H.264 format.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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