What is H.265?
H.265—or High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) —is an improved version of its predecessor, H.264. It is a cutting-edge codec technology that provides higher compression rates, reduced file sizes, and greater transfer speeds while working on lesser bandwidth.
H.265 vs. H.264: Advantages of H.265
- Processing methodology: H.265 leverages the Coding Tree Units (CTUs) to process data as opposed to the macroblocks approach undertaken by H.264. CTUs can effectively scan as many as 64x64 blocks, whereas macroblocks are limited to 4x4 or 16x16 sizes. This makes H.265 more efficient as a compression technology.
- Improved and Advanced features: HEVC packs advanced features such as upgraded motion compression and more accurate spatial prediction. However, this makes H.265 consume more computational power than H.264 to compress video files.
- Compression and video quality: H.265 produces higher image quality since there is less blocking due to the reduced size of CTUs. H.265 provides 40-50% compression without significant quality deterioration. This makes it ideal for broadcasting UHD, 2K, and 4K. It also supports 8K resolutions at 300 fps.
Disadvantages of H.265
- H.265 can be relatively expensive since it requires robust motion tracking algorithms and larger prediction units for computation which tend to be expensive.
- It also requires greater computing power due to the compression process's complexity— thus, exporting an H.265 video takes longer than exporting an H.264 video.