Andre Yoskowitz
26 Jan 2013 17:49
The ITU has approved the H.265 video format, meaning 4K and streaming HD video could be available to bandwidth-capped users, like those on mobile devices.
H.265, otherwise known as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), will provide the highest quality streaming with the lowest bandwidth.
The format will succeed the H.264 codec, which has become a standard adopted by most devices and device manufacturers.
If all goes to plan, HEVC will allow publishers to stream 1080p content (and eventually 4K) with just half the bits required today. For example, a 4K stream will be use just 20-30 Mbps of bandwidth. The average American has bandwidth of 10 Mbps or less, usually, and unless you have LTE, you are not getting 10 Mbps on your mobile device, either.
Devices with H.265 hardware acceleration are expected in the next 12 months.