The MPEG group has announced a new H.265 video standard that promises to deliver twice the picture quality at same data rate of today’s MPEG standard – or identical video quality at half the data rate.

MPEG H.265 announced
MPEG4 H.264 is used by most TV networks and internet streaming services as a tool to compress the video signals. The MPEG group has now announced the more effective H.265 video standard.


H.265 is said to deliver equal picture quality at half the data rate as H.264 used today

H.265 is said to deliver twice the picture quality of H.264 at the same data rate or equal picture quality at half the data rate. If that is true, H.265 can vastly improve HD picture quality and adoption on TV networks and streaming services.

H.265 specifically addresses mobile devices and internet video networks, it is said. H.265 is also called HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding). H.261 was released in early 90, H.262 followed in 1994, H.263 in 1996 and H.264 in 2003. In the last few versions video performance has roughly doubled. The MPEG group also mentions a separate MPEG project that will deliver a glasses-free, compressed 3D video standard by 2014.

The first products to utilize H.265 will launch early next year and you can start cheering because it will provide everyone with better picture quality – especially on slower internet connections.