<s>
Advanced	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Coding	I-Application
(	O
AVC	O
)	O
,	O
also	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
H.264	B-Application
or	O
MPEG-4	B-Application
Part	I-Application
10	I-Application
,	O
is	O
a	O
video	B-Algorithm
compression	I-Algorithm
standard	I-Algorithm
based	O
on	O
block-oriented	O
,	O
motion-compensated	B-Algorithm
coding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
supports	O
resolutions	O
up	O
to	O
and	O
including	O
8K	B-Architecture
UHD	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
intent	O
of	O
the	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
project	O
was	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
standard	O
capable	O
of	O
providing	O
good	O
video	O
quality	O
at	O
substantially	O
lower	O
bit	O
rates	O
than	O
previous	O
standards	O
(	O
i.e.	O
,	O
half	O
or	O
less	O
the	O
bit	O
rate	O
of	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
,	O
H.263	B-Algorithm
,	O
or	O
MPEG-4	B-Application
Part	I-Application
2	I-Application
)	O
,	O
without	O
increasing	O
the	O
complexity	O
of	O
design	O
so	O
much	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
impractical	O
or	O
excessively	O
expensive	O
to	O
implement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
achieved	O
with	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
reduced-complexity	O
integer	O
discrete	B-General_Concept
cosine	I-General_Concept
transform	I-General_Concept
(	O
integer	O
DCT	B-General_Concept
)	O
,	O
variable	O
block-size	O
segmentation	O
,	O
and	O
multi-picture	O
inter-picture	B-Algorithm
prediction	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
additional	O
goal	O
was	O
to	O
provide	O
enough	O
flexibility	O
to	O
allow	O
the	O
standard	O
to	O
be	O
applied	O
to	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
applications	O
on	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
networks	O
and	O
systems	O
,	O
including	O
low	O
and	O
high	O
bit	O
rates	O
,	O
low	O
and	O
high	O
resolution	O
video	O
,	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
,	O
DVD	O
storage	O
,	O
RTP/IP	O
packet	O
networks	O
,	O
and	O
ITU-T	O
multimedia	O
telephony	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
H.264	B-Application
standard	O
can	O
be	O
viewed	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
family	O
of	O
standards	O
"	O
composed	O
of	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
profiles	O
,	O
although	O
its	O
"	O
High	O
profile	O
"	O
is	O
by	O
far	O
the	O
most	O
commonly	O
used	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
H.264	B-Application
is	O
typically	O
used	O
for	O
lossy	B-Algorithm
compression	I-Algorithm
,	O
although	O
it	O
is	O
also	O
possible	O
to	O
create	O
truly	O
lossless-coded	B-Algorithm
regions	O
within	O
lossy-coded	O
pictures	O
or	O
to	O
support	O
rare	O
use	O
cases	O
for	O
which	O
the	O
entire	O
encoding	O
is	O
lossless	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
H.264	B-Application
was	O
standardized	O
by	O
the	O
ITU-T	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Coding	I-Application
Experts	I-Application
Group	I-Application
(	O
VCEG	B-Application
)	O
of	O
Study	O
Group	O
16	O
(	O
Secretary:Simao	O
Campos	O
)	O
together	O
with	O
the	O
ISO/IEC	O
JTC	O
1	O
Moving	O
Picture	O
Experts	O
Group	O
(	O
MPEG	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
partnership	O
effort	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Joint	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Team	I-Application
(	O
JVT	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ITU-T	B-Application
H.264	I-Application
standard	O
and	O
the	O
ISO/IEC	O
MPEG-4AVC	O
standard	O
(	O
formally	O
,	O
ISO/IEC14496	O
-10	O
–	O
MPEG-4	B-Application
Part	I-Application
10	I-Application
,	O
Advanced	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Coding	I-Application
)	O
are	O
jointly	O
maintained	O
so	O
that	O
they	O
have	O
identical	O
technical	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
High	B-Algorithm
Efficiency	I-Algorithm
Video	I-Algorithm
Coding	I-Algorithm
(	O
HEVC	B-Algorithm
)	O
,	O
a.k.a.	O
</s>
<s>
H.265	B-Algorithm
and	O
MPEG-H	B-Algorithm
Part	I-Algorithm
2	I-Algorithm
is	O
a	O
successor	O
to	O
H.264/MPEG	B-Application
-4AVC	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
the	O
same	O
organizations	O
,	O
while	O
earlier	O
standards	O
are	O
still	O
in	O
common	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
H.264	B-Application
is	O
perhaps	O
best	O
known	O
as	O
being	O
the	O
most	O
commonly	O
used	O
video	O
encoding	O
format	O
on	O
Blu-ray	O
Discs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
widely	O
used	O
by	O
streaming	O
Internet	O
sources	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
videos	O
from	O
Netflix	O
,	O
Hulu	B-Application
,	O
Amazon	B-Application
Prime	I-Application
Video	I-Application
,	O
Vimeo	O
,	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
the	O
iTunes	O
Store	O
,	O
Web	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
Player	I-Operating_System
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Silverlight	I-Application
,	O
and	O
also	O
various	O
HDTV	B-Device
broadcasts	B-Operating_System
over	O
terrestrial	O
(	O
ATSC	B-Device
,	O
ISDB-T	O
,	O
DVB-T	O
or	O
DVB-T2	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
cable	O
(	O
DVB-C	B-Device
)	O
,	O
and	O
satellite	O
(	O
DVB-S	O
and	O
DVB-S2	O
)	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
H.264	B-Application
is	O
restricted	O
by	O
patents	O
owned	O
by	O
various	O
parties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
license	O
covering	O
most	O
(	O
but	O
not	O
all	O
)	O
patents	O
essential	O
to	O
H.264	B-Application
is	O
administered	O
by	O
a	O
patent	O
pool	O
administered	O
by	O
MPEG	O
LA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
commercial	O
use	O
of	O
patented	O
H.264	B-Application
technologies	O
requires	O
the	O
payment	O
of	O
royalties	O
to	O
MPEG	O
LA	O
and	O
other	O
patent	O
owners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MPEG	O
LA	O
has	O
allowed	O
the	O
free	O
use	O
of	O
H.264	B-Application
technologies	O
for	O
streaming	O
Internet	O
video	O
that	O
is	O
free	O
to	O
end	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
Cisco	O
Systems	O
pays	O
royalties	O
to	O
MPEG	O
LA	O
on	O
behalf	O
of	O
the	O
users	O
of	O
binaries	O
for	O
its	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
H.264	B-Application
encoder	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
H.264	B-Application
name	O
follows	O
the	O
ITU-T	O
naming	O
convention	O
,	O
where	O
Recommendations	O
are	O
given	O
a	O
letter	O
corresponding	O
to	O
their	O
series	O
and	O
a	O
recommendation	O
number	O
within	O
the	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
H.264	B-Application
is	O
part	O
of	O
"	O
H-Series	O
Recommendations	O
:	O
Audiovisual	O
and	O
multimedia	O
systems	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
H.264	B-Application
is	O
further	O
categorized	O
into	O
"	O
H.200-H.499	O
:	O
Infrastructure	O
of	O
audiovisual	O
services	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
H.260-H.279	O
:	O
Coding	O
of	O
moving	O
video	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MPEG-4	B-Application
AVC	I-Application
name	O
relates	O
to	O
the	O
naming	O
convention	O
in	O
ISO/IEC	O
MPEG	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
standard	O
is	O
part	O
10	O
of	O
ISO/IEC	B-Algorithm
14496	I-Algorithm
,	O
which	O
is	O
the	O
suite	O
of	O
standards	O
known	O
as	O
MPEG-4	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
standard	O
was	O
developed	O
jointly	O
in	O
a	O
partnership	O
of	O
VCEG	B-Application
and	O
MPEG	O
,	O
after	O
earlier	O
development	O
work	O
in	O
the	O
ITU-T	O
as	O
a	O
VCEG	B-Application
project	O
called	O
H.26L	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
thus	O
common	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
with	O
names	O
such	O
as	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
,	O
AVC/H.264	B-Application
,	O
H.264/MPEG	B-Application
-4	I-Application
AVC	I-Application
,	O
or	O
MPEG-4/H.264	B-Application
AVC	O
,	O
to	O
emphasize	O
the	O
common	O
heritage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Occasionally	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
also	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
JVT	O
codec	B-General_Concept
"	O
,	O
in	O
reference	O
to	O
the	O
Joint	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Team	I-Application
(	O
JVT	O
)	O
organization	O
that	O
developed	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
video	B-Algorithm
compression	I-Algorithm
standard	I-Algorithm
known	O
as	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
also	O
arose	O
from	O
the	O
partnership	O
between	O
MPEG	O
and	O
the	O
ITU-T	O
,	O
where	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
video	I-Algorithm
is	O
known	O
to	O
the	O
ITU-T	O
community	O
as	O
H.262	B-Algorithm
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
software	O
programs	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
VLC	B-Application
media	I-Application
player	I-Application
)	O
internally	O
identify	O
this	O
standard	O
as	O
AVC1	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
1998	O
,	O
the	O
Video	B-Application
Coding	I-Application
Experts	I-Application
Group	I-Application
(	O
VCEG	B-Application
–	O
ITU-T	B-Application
SG16	I-Application
Q.6	I-Application
)	O
issued	O
a	O
call	O
for	O
proposals	O
on	O
a	O
project	O
called	O
H.26L	B-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
target	O
to	O
double	O
the	O
coding	O
efficiency	O
(	O
which	O
means	O
halving	O
the	O
bit	O
rate	O
necessary	O
for	O
a	O
given	O
level	O
of	O
fidelity	O
)	O
in	O
comparison	O
to	O
any	O
other	O
existing	O
video	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
standards	I-Algorithm
for	O
a	O
broad	O
variety	O
of	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VCEG	B-Application
was	O
chaired	O
by	O
Gary	O
Sullivan	O
(	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
formerly	O
PictureTel	B-Application
,	O
U.S.	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2000	O
,	O
Thomas	O
Wiegand	O
(	O
Heinrich	O
Hertz	O
Institute	O
,	O
Germany	O
)	O
became	O
VCEG	B-Application
co-chair	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2001	O
,	O
VCEG	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Moving	O
Picture	O
Experts	O
Group	O
(	O
MPEG	O
–	O
ISO/IEC	O
JTC	O
1/SC	O
29/WG	O
11	O
)	O
formed	O
a	O
Joint	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Team	I-Application
(	O
JVT	O
)	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
charter	O
to	O
finalize	O
the	O
video	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
standard	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
January	O
2005	O
to	O
November	O
2007	O
,	O
the	O
JVT	O
was	O
working	O
on	O
an	O
extension	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
towards	O
scalability	O
by	O
an	O
Annex	O
(	O
G	O
)	O
called	O
Scalable	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Coding	I-Application
(	O
SVC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
July	O
2006	O
to	O
November	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
JVT	O
worked	O
on	O
Multiview	B-Algorithm
Video	I-Algorithm
Coding	I-Algorithm
(	O
MVC	O
)	O
,	O
an	O
extension	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
towards	O
3D	B-Algorithm
television	I-Algorithm
and	O
limited-range	O
free-viewpoint	B-Operating_System
television	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
other	O
high-level	O
properties	O
of	O
the	O
video	O
content	O
are	O
conveyed	O
in	O
video	O
usability	O
information	O
(	O
VUI	O
)	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
indication	O
of	O
the	O
color	B-Algorithm
space	I-Algorithm
for	O
interpretation	O
of	O
the	O
video	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
new	O
color	B-Algorithm
spaces	I-Algorithm
have	O
been	O
developed	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
for	O
high	B-Application
dynamic	I-Application
range	I-Application
and	O
wide	O
color	O
gamut	O
video	O
,	O
additional	O
VUI	O
identifiers	O
have	O
been	O
added	O
to	O
indicate	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
standardization	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
was	O
completed	O
in	O
May	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
extensions	O
enabled	O
higher	O
quality	O
video	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
by	O
supporting	O
increased	O
sample	O
bit	O
depth	O
precision	O
and	O
higher-resolution	O
color	O
information	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
sampling	O
structures	O
known	O
as	O
Y′CBCR	O
4:2:2	O
(	O
a.k.a.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
other	O
features	O
were	O
also	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
FRExt	O
project	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
adding	O
an	O
8×8	O
integer	O
discrete	B-General_Concept
cosine	I-General_Concept
transform	I-General_Concept
(	O
integer	O
DCT	B-General_Concept
)	O
with	O
adaptive	O
switching	O
between	O
the	O
4×4	O
and	O
8×8	O
transforms	O
,	O
encoder-specified	O
perceptual-based	O
quantization	O
weighting	O
matrices	O
,	O
efficient	O
inter-picture	O
lossless	B-Algorithm
coding	O
,	O
and	O
support	O
of	O
additional	O
color	B-Algorithm
spaces	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Five	O
other	O
new	O
profiles	O
(	O
see	O
version	O
7	O
below	O
)	O
intended	O
primarily	O
for	O
professional	O
applications	O
were	O
then	O
developed	O
,	O
adding	O
extended-gamut	O
color	B-Algorithm
space	I-Algorithm
support	O
,	O
defining	O
additional	O
aspect	O
ratio	O
indicators	O
,	O
defining	O
two	O
additional	O
types	O
of	O
"	O
supplemental	O
enhancement	O
information	O
"	O
(	O
post-filter	O
hint	O
and	O
tone	O
mapping	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
deprecating	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
prior	O
FRExt	O
profiles	O
(	O
the	O
High	O
4:4:4	O
profile	O
)	O
that	O
industry	O
feedback	O
indicated	O
should	O
have	O
been	O
designed	O
differently	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
next	O
major	O
feature	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
was	O
Scalable	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Coding	I-Application
(	O
SVC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specified	O
in	O
Annex	O
G	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
,	O
SVC	O
allows	O
the	O
construction	O
of	O
bitstreams	O
that	O
contain	O
layers	O
of	O
sub-bitstreams	O
that	O
also	O
conform	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
,	O
including	O
one	O
such	O
bitstream	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
base	O
layer	O
"	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
decoded	O
by	O
a	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
codec	B-General_Concept
that	O
does	O
not	O
support	O
SVC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
the	O
presence	O
of	O
a	O
sub-bitstream	O
with	O
lower	O
spatial	O
resolution/quality	O
than	O
the	O
main	O
bitstream	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
NAL	O
(	O
Network	B-Algorithm
Abstraction	I-Algorithm
Layer	I-Algorithm
)	O
is	O
removed	O
from	O
the	O
bitstream	O
when	O
deriving	O
the	O
sub-bitstream	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Scalable	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Coding	I-Application
extensions	O
were	O
completed	O
in	O
November	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
next	O
major	O
feature	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
was	O
Multiview	B-Algorithm
Video	I-Algorithm
Coding	I-Algorithm
(	O
MVC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specified	O
in	O
Annex	O
H	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
,	O
MVC	O
enables	O
the	O
construction	O
of	O
bitstreams	O
that	O
represent	O
more	O
than	O
one	O
view	O
of	O
a	O
video	O
scene	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
important	O
example	O
of	O
this	O
functionality	O
is	O
stereoscopic	B-Algorithm
3D	I-Algorithm
video	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
profiles	O
were	O
developed	O
in	O
the	O
MVC	O
work	O
:	O
Multiview	O
High	O
profile	O
supports	O
an	O
arbitrary	O
number	O
of	O
views	O
,	O
and	O
Stereo	O
High	O
profile	O
is	O
designed	O
specifically	O
for	O
two-view	O
stereoscopic	B-Algorithm
video	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Multiview	B-Algorithm
Video	I-Algorithm
Coding	I-Algorithm
extensions	O
were	O
completed	O
in	O
November	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
extensions	O
were	O
later	O
developed	O
that	O
included	O
3D	O
video	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
with	O
joint	O
coding	O
of	O
depth	O
maps	O
and	O
texture	O
(	O
termed	O
3D-AVC	O
)	O
,	O
multi-resolution	O
frame-compatible	O
(	O
MFC	O
)	O
stereoscopic	B-Algorithm
and	O
3D-MFC	O
coding	O
,	O
various	O
additional	O
combinations	O
of	O
features	O
,	O
and	O
higher	O
frame	O
sizes	O
and	O
frame	O
rates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
of	O
the	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
standard	O
include	O
the	O
following	O
completed	O
revisions	O
,	O
corrigenda	O
,	O
and	O
amendments	O
(	O
dates	O
are	O
final	O
approval	O
dates	O
in	O
ITU-T	O
,	O
while	O
final	O
"	O
International	O
Standard	O
"	O
approval	O
dates	O
in	O
ISO/IEC	O
are	O
somewhat	O
different	O
and	O
slightly	O
later	O
in	O
most	O
cases	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
1	O
(	O
Edition	O
1	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
May	O
30	O
,	O
2003	O
)	O
First	O
approved	O
version	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
containing	O
Baseline	O
,	O
Main	O
,	O
and	O
Extended	O
profiles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
5	O
(	O
Edition	O
2.2	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
June	O
13	O
,	O
2006	O
)	O
Amendment	O
consisting	O
of	O
removal	O
of	O
prior	O
High	O
4:4:4	O
profile	O
(	O
processed	O
as	O
a	O
corrigendum	O
in	O
ISO/IEC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
6	O
(	O
Edition	O
2.2	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
June	O
13	O
,	O
2006	O
)	O
Amendment	O
consisting	O
of	O
minor	O
extensions	O
like	O
extended-gamut	O
color	B-Algorithm
space	I-Algorithm
support	O
(	O
bundled	O
with	O
above-mentioned	O
aspect	O
ratio	O
indicators	O
in	O
ISO/IEC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
7	O
(	O
Edition	O
2.3	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
April	O
6	O
,	O
2007	O
)	O
Amendment	O
containing	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
the	O
High	O
4:4:4	O
Predictive	O
profile	O
and	O
four	O
Intra-only	O
profiles	O
(	O
High	O
10	O
Intra	O
,	O
High	O
4:2:2	O
Intra	O
,	O
High	O
4:4:4	O
Intra	O
,	O
and	O
CAVLC	B-Algorithm
4:4:4	O
Intra	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
8	O
(	O
Edition	O
3	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
November	O
22	O
,	O
2007	O
)	O
Major	O
addition	O
to	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
containing	O
the	O
amendment	O
for	O
Scalable	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Coding	I-Application
(	O
SVC	O
)	O
containing	O
Scalable	O
Baseline	O
,	O
Scalable	O
High	O
,	O
and	O
Scalable	O
High	O
Intra	O
profiles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
11	O
(	O
Edition	O
4	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
March	O
16	O
,	O
2009	O
)	O
Major	O
addition	O
to	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
containing	O
the	O
amendment	O
for	O
Multiview	B-Algorithm
Video	I-Algorithm
Coding	I-Algorithm
(	O
MVC	O
)	O
extension	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Multiview	O
High	O
profile	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
12	O
(	O
Edition	O
5	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
March	O
9	O
,	O
2010	O
)	O
Amendment	O
containing	O
definition	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
MVC	O
profile	O
(	O
the	O
Stereo	O
High	O
profile	O
)	O
for	O
two-view	O
video	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
with	O
support	O
of	O
interlaced	O
coding	O
tools	O
and	O
specifying	O
an	O
additional	O
supplemental	O
enhancement	O
information	O
(	O
SEI	O
)	O
message	O
termed	O
the	O
frame	O
packing	O
arrangement	O
SEI	O
message	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
14	O
(	O
Edition	O
6	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
June	O
29	O
,	O
2011	O
)	O
Amendment	O
specifying	O
a	O
new	O
level	O
(	O
Level	O
5.2	O
)	O
supporting	O
higher	O
processing	O
rates	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
maximum	O
macroblocks	B-General_Concept
per	O
second	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
new	O
profile	O
(	O
the	O
Progressive	O
High	O
profile	O
)	O
supporting	O
only	O
the	O
frame	O
coding	O
tools	O
of	O
the	O
previously	O
specified	O
High	O
profile	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
18	O
(	O
Edition	O
8	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
April	O
13	O
,	O
2013	O
)	O
Amendment	O
to	O
specify	O
the	O
coding	O
of	O
depth	O
map	O
data	O
for	O
3D	O
stereoscopic	B-Algorithm
video	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
Multiview	O
Depth	O
High	O
profile	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
20	O
(	O
Edition	O
8	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
April	O
13	O
,	O
2013	O
)	O
Amendment	O
to	O
specify	O
additional	O
color	B-Algorithm
space	I-Algorithm
identifiers	O
(	O
including	O
support	O
of	O
ITU-R	O
Recommendation	O
BT.2020	O
for	O
UHDTV	B-Device
)	O
and	O
an	O
additional	O
model	O
type	O
in	O
the	O
tone	O
mapping	O
information	O
SEI	O
message	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
22	O
(	O
Edition	O
9	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
February	O
13	O
,	O
2014	O
)	O
Amendment	O
to	O
specify	O
the	O
multi-resolution	O
frame	O
compatible	O
(	O
MFC	O
)	O
enhancement	O
for	O
3D	O
stereoscopic	B-Algorithm
video	O
,	O
the	O
MFC	O
High	O
profile	O
,	O
and	O
minor	O
corrections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
23	O
(	O
Edition	O
10	O
)	O
:	O
(	O
February	O
13	O
,	O
2016	O
)	O
Amendment	O
to	O
specify	O
MFC	O
stereoscopic	B-Algorithm
video	O
with	O
depth	O
maps	O
,	O
the	O
MFC	O
Depth	O
High	O
profile	O
,	O
the	O
mastering	O
display	O
color	O
volume	O
SEI	O
message	O
,	O
and	O
additional	O
color-related	O
VUI	O
codepoint	O
identifiers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
H.264	B-Application
video	O
format	O
has	O
a	O
very	O
broad	O
application	O
range	O
that	O
covers	O
all	O
forms	O
of	O
digital	O
compressed	O
video	O
from	O
low	O
bit-rate	O
Internet	O
streaming	O
applications	O
to	O
HDTV	B-Device
broadcast	B-Operating_System
and	O
Digital	O
Cinema	O
applications	O
with	O
nearly	O
lossless	B-Algorithm
coding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
H.264	B-Application
,	O
bit	O
rate	O
savings	O
of	O
50%	O
or	O
more	O
compared	O
to	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
Part	I-Algorithm
2	I-Algorithm
are	O
reported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
H.264	B-Application
has	O
been	O
reported	O
to	O
give	O
the	O
same	O
Digital	O
Satellite	O
TV	O
quality	O
as	O
current	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
implementations	O
with	O
less	O
than	O
half	O
the	O
bitrate	O
,	O
with	O
current	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
implementations	O
working	O
at	O
around	O
3.5	O
Mbit/s	O
and	O
H.264	B-Application
at	O
only	O
1.5	O
Mbit/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
ensure	O
compatibility	O
and	O
problem-free	O
adoption	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
,	O
many	O
standards	O
bodies	O
have	O
amended	O
or	O
added	O
to	O
their	O
video-related	O
standards	O
so	O
that	O
users	O
of	O
these	O
standards	O
can	O
employ	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
the	O
Blu-ray	O
Disc	O
format	O
and	O
the	O
now-discontinued	O
HD	B-Operating_System
DVD	I-Operating_System
format	O
include	O
the	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
High	O
Profile	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
three	O
mandatory	O
video	B-Algorithm
compression	I-Algorithm
formats	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Digital	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Broadcast	I-Application
project	O
(	O
DVB	B-Application
)	O
approved	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
for	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
television	O
in	O
late	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Advanced	B-Device
Television	I-Device
Systems	I-Device
Committee	I-Device
(	O
ATSC	B-Device
)	O
standards	O
body	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
approved	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
for	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
television	O
in	O
July	O
2008	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
standard	O
is	O
not	O
yet	O
used	O
for	O
fixed	O
ATSC	B-Device
broadcasts	I-Device
within	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
approved	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
more	O
recent	O
ATSC-M/H	B-Device
(	O
Mobile/Handheld	O
)	O
standard	O
,	O
using	O
the	O
AVC	O
and	O
SVC	O
portions	O
of	O
H.264	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
common	O
DSLRs	B-Device
use	O
H.264	B-Application
video	O
wrapped	O
in	O
QuickTime	B-Application
MOV	O
containers	O
as	O
the	O
native	O
recording	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AVCHD	O
is	O
a	O
high-definition	O
recording	O
format	O
designed	O
by	O
Sony	O
and	O
Panasonic	O
that	O
uses	O
H.264	B-Application
(	O
conforming	O
to	O
H.264	B-Application
while	O
adding	O
additional	O
application-specific	O
features	O
and	O
constraints	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AVC-Intra	B-Application
is	O
an	O
intraframe-only	O
compression	O
format	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Panasonic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XAVC	O
is	O
a	O
recording	O
format	O
designed	O
by	O
Sony	O
that	O
uses	O
level	O
5.2	O
of	O
H.264/MPEG	B-Application
-4	I-Application
AVC	I-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
the	O
highest	O
level	O
supported	O
by	O
that	O
video	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XAVC	O
can	O
support	O
4K	B-Architecture
resolution	I-Architecture
(	O
4096	O
×	O
2160	O
and	O
3840	O
×	O
2160	O
)	O
at	O
up	O
to	O
60frames	O
per	O
second	O
(	O
fps	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sony	O
has	O
announced	O
that	O
cameras	O
that	O
support	O
XAVC	O
include	O
two	O
CineAlta	B-Device
cameras	O
—	O
the	O
Sony	O
PMW-F55	O
and	O
Sony	O
PMW-F5	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Sony	O
PMW-F55	O
can	O
record	O
XAVC	O
with	O
4K	B-Architecture
resolution	I-Architecture
at	O
30fps	O
at	O
300	O
Mbit/s	O
and	O
2K	O
resolution	O
at	O
30fps	O
at	O
100	O
Mbit/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XAVC	O
can	O
record	O
4K	B-Architecture
resolution	I-Architecture
at	O
60fps	O
with	O
4:2:2	O
chroma	O
sampling	O
at	O
600	O
Mbit/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
H.264/AVC/MPEG	O
-4	O
Part	O
10	O
contains	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
new	O
features	O
that	O
allow	O
it	O
to	O
compress	O
video	O
much	O
more	O
efficiently	O
than	O
older	O
standards	O
and	O
to	O
provide	O
more	O
flexibility	O
for	O
application	O
to	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
network	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multi-picture	O
inter-picture	B-Algorithm
prediction	I-Algorithm
including	O
the	O
following	O
features	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Variable	O
block-size	O
motion	B-Algorithm
compensation	I-Algorithm
(	O
VBSMC	O
)	O
with	O
block	O
sizes	O
as	O
large	O
as	O
16×16	O
and	O
as	O
small	O
as	O
4×4	O
,	O
enabling	O
precise	O
segmentation	O
of	O
moving	O
regions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
supported	O
luma	O
prediction	O
block	O
sizes	O
include	O
16×16	O
,	O
16×8	O
,	O
8×16	O
,	O
8×8	O
,	O
8×4	O
,	O
4×8	O
,	O
and	O
4×4	O
,	O
many	O
of	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
together	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
use	O
multiple	O
motion	O
vectors	O
per	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
(	O
one	O
or	O
two	O
per	O
partition	O
)	O
with	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
32	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
a	O
B	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
constructed	O
of	O
16	O
4×4	O
partitions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
use	O
any	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
type	O
in	O
B-frames	O
,	O
including	O
I-macroblocks	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
much	O
more	O
efficient	O
encoding	O
when	O
using	O
B-frames	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
feature	O
was	O
notably	O
left	O
out	O
from	O
MPEG-4	B-Application
ASP	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Quarter-pixel	B-Algorithm
motion	I-Algorithm
is	O
derived	O
by	O
linear	O
interpolation	O
of	O
the	O
halfpixel	O
values	O
,	O
to	O
save	O
processing	O
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Quarter-pixel	B-Algorithm
precision	O
for	O
motion	B-Algorithm
compensation	I-Algorithm
,	O
enabling	O
precise	O
description	O
of	O
the	O
displacements	O
of	O
moving	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
chroma	O
the	O
resolution	O
is	O
typically	O
halved	O
both	O
vertically	O
and	O
horizontally	O
(	O
see	O
4:2:0	O
)	O
therefore	O
the	O
motion	B-Algorithm
compensation	I-Algorithm
of	O
chroma	O
uses	O
one-eighth	O
chroma	O
pixel	O
grid	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Weighted	O
prediction	O
,	O
allowing	O
an	O
encoder	O
to	O
specify	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
scaling	O
and	O
offset	O
when	O
performing	O
motion	B-Algorithm
compensation	I-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
providing	O
a	O
significant	O
benefit	O
in	O
performance	O
in	O
special	O
cases	O
—	O
such	O
as	O
fade-to-black	O
,	O
fade-in	O
,	O
and	O
cross-fade	O
transitions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spatial	O
prediction	O
from	O
the	O
edges	O
of	O
neighboring	O
blocks	O
for	O
"	B-General_Concept
intra	I-General_Concept
"	I-General_Concept
coding	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
the	O
"	O
DC	O
"	O
-only	O
prediction	O
found	O
in	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
Part	I-Algorithm
2	I-Algorithm
and	O
the	O
transform	O
coefficient	O
prediction	O
found	O
in	O
H.263v2	B-Algorithm
and	O
MPEG-4	B-Application
Part	I-Application
2	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
includes	O
luma	O
prediction	O
block	O
sizes	O
of	O
16×16	O
,	O
8×8	O
,	O
and	O
4×4	O
(	O
of	O
which	O
only	O
one	O
type	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
within	O
each	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Integer	O
discrete	B-General_Concept
cosine	I-General_Concept
transform	I-General_Concept
(	O
integer	O
DCT	B-General_Concept
)	O
,	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
discrete	B-General_Concept
cosine	I-General_Concept
transform	I-General_Concept
(	O
DCT	B-General_Concept
)	O
where	O
the	O
transform	O
is	O
an	O
integer	O
approximation	O
of	O
the	O
standard	O
DCT	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
exact-match	O
integer	O
4×4	O
spatial	O
block	O
transform	O
,	O
allowing	O
precise	O
placement	O
of	O
residual	B-General_Concept
signals	O
with	O
little	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
ringing	B-Algorithm
"	O
often	O
found	O
with	O
prior	O
codec	B-General_Concept
designs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
DCT	B-General_Concept
used	O
in	O
previous	O
standards	O
,	O
but	O
uses	O
a	O
smaller	O
block	O
size	O
and	O
simple	O
integer	O
processing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
cosine-based	O
formulas	O
and	O
tolerances	O
expressed	O
in	O
earlier	O
standards	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
H.261	B-Algorithm
and	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
)	O
,	O
integer	O
processing	O
provides	O
an	O
exactly	O
specified	O
decoded	O
result	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
design	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
standard	O
DCT	B-General_Concept
,	O
but	O
simplified	O
and	O
made	O
to	O
provide	O
exactly	O
specified	O
decoding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
secondary	O
Hadamard	B-Algorithm
transform	I-Algorithm
performed	O
on	O
"	O
DC	O
"	O
coefficients	O
of	O
the	O
primary	O
spatial	O
transform	O
applied	O
to	O
chroma	O
DC	O
coefficients	O
(	O
and	O
also	O
luma	O
in	O
one	O
special	O
case	O
)	O
to	O
obtain	O
even	O
more	O
compression	O
in	O
smooth	O
regions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lossless	B-Algorithm
macroblock	B-General_Concept
coding	O
features	O
including	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
lossless	B-Algorithm
"	O
PCM	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
"	O
representation	O
mode	O
in	O
which	O
video	O
data	O
samples	O
are	O
represented	O
directly	O
,	O
allowing	O
perfect	O
representation	O
of	O
specific	O
regions	O
and	O
allowing	O
a	O
strict	O
limit	O
to	O
be	O
placed	O
on	O
the	O
quantity	O
of	O
coded	O
data	O
for	O
each	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
enhanced	O
lossless	B-Algorithm
macroblock	B-General_Concept
representation	O
mode	O
allowing	O
perfect	O
representation	O
of	O
specific	O
regions	O
while	O
ordinarily	O
using	O
substantially	O
fewer	O
bits	O
than	O
the	O
PCM	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flexible	O
interlaced-scan	O
video	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
features	O
,	O
including	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Macroblock-adaptive	O
frame-field	O
(	O
MBAFF	O
)	O
coding	O
,	O
using	O
a	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
pair	O
structure	O
for	O
pictures	O
coded	O
as	O
frames	O
,	O
allowing	O
16×16	O
macroblocks	B-General_Concept
in	O
field	O
mode	O
(	O
compared	O
with	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
,	O
where	O
field	O
mode	O
processing	O
in	O
a	O
picture	O
that	O
is	O
coded	O
as	O
a	O
frame	O
results	O
in	O
the	O
processing	O
of	O
16×8	O
half-macroblocks	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
entropy	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
design	O
including	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Context-adaptive	B-Algorithm
binary	I-Algorithm
arithmetic	I-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
(	O
CABAC	B-Algorithm
)	O
,	O
an	O
algorithm	O
to	O
losslessly	B-Algorithm
compress	O
syntax	O
elements	O
in	O
the	O
video	O
stream	O
knowing	O
the	O
probabilities	O
of	O
syntax	O
elements	O
in	O
a	O
given	O
context	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CABAC	B-Algorithm
compresses	O
data	O
more	O
efficiently	O
than	O
CAVLC	B-Algorithm
but	O
requires	O
considerably	O
more	O
processing	O
to	O
decode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Context-adaptive	B-Algorithm
variable-length	I-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
(	O
CAVLC	B-Algorithm
)	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
lower-complexity	O
alternative	O
to	O
CABAC	B-Algorithm
for	O
the	O
coding	O
of	O
quantized	O
transform	O
coefficient	O
values	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
lower	O
complexity	O
than	O
CABAC	B-Algorithm
,	O
CAVLC	B-Algorithm
is	O
more	O
elaborate	O
and	O
more	O
efficient	O
than	O
the	O
methods	O
typically	O
used	O
to	O
code	O
coefficients	O
in	O
other	O
prior	O
designs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
simple	O
and	O
highly	O
structured	O
variable	B-Algorithm
length	I-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
(	O
VLC	O
)	O
technique	O
for	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
syntax	O
elements	O
not	O
coded	O
by	O
CABAC	B-Algorithm
or	O
CAVLC	B-Algorithm
,	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
Exponential-Golomb	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
(	O
or	O
Exp-Golomb	B-Algorithm
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Network	B-Algorithm
Abstraction	I-Algorithm
Layer	I-Algorithm
(	O
NAL	O
)	O
definition	O
allowing	O
the	O
same	O
video	O
syntax	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
many	O
network	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
very	O
fundamental	O
design	O
concept	O
of	O
H.264	B-Application
is	O
to	O
generate	O
self-contained	O
packets	O
,	O
to	O
remove	O
the	O
header	O
duplication	O
as	O
in	O
MPEG-4	B-Algorithm
'	O
s	O
Header	O
Extension	O
Code	O
(	O
HEC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
H.264	B-Application
specification	O
includes	O
two	O
types	O
of	O
parameter	O
sets	O
:	O
Sequence	O
Parameter	O
Set	O
(	O
SPS	O
)	O
and	O
Picture	O
Parameter	O
Set	O
(	O
PPS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
sequence	O
and	O
picture	O
parameter	O
set	O
structures	O
contain	O
information	O
such	O
as	O
picture	O
size	O
,	O
optional	O
coding	O
modes	O
employed	O
,	O
and	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
to	O
slice	O
group	O
map	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flexible	B-General_Concept
macroblock	I-General_Concept
ordering	I-General_Concept
(	O
FMO	O
)	O
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
slice	O
groups	O
,	O
and	O
arbitrary	B-General_Concept
slice	I-General_Concept
ordering	I-General_Concept
(	O
ASO	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
techniques	O
for	O
restructuring	O
the	O
ordering	O
of	O
the	O
representation	O
of	O
the	O
fundamental	O
regions	O
(	O
macroblocks	B-General_Concept
)	O
in	O
pictures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Supplemental	O
enhancement	O
information	O
(	O
SEI	O
)	O
and	O
video	O
usability	O
information	O
(	O
VUI	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
extra	O
information	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
inserted	O
into	O
the	O
bitstream	O
for	O
various	O
purposes	O
such	O
as	O
indicating	O
the	O
color	B-Algorithm
space	I-Algorithm
used	O
the	O
video	O
content	O
or	O
various	O
constraints	O
that	O
apply	O
to	O
the	O
encoding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Auxiliary	O
pictures	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
such	O
purposes	O
as	O
alpha	B-Algorithm
compositing	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
encode	O
individual	O
color	O
planes	O
as	O
distinct	O
pictures	O
with	O
their	O
own	O
slice	O
structures	O
,	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
modes	O
,	O
motion	O
vectors	O
,	O
etc.	O
,	O
allowing	O
encoders	O
to	O
be	O
designed	O
with	O
a	O
simple	O
parallelization	O
structure	O
(	O
supported	O
only	O
in	O
the	O
three	O
4:4:4-capable	O
profiles	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
techniques	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
several	O
others	O
,	O
help	O
H.264	B-Application
to	O
perform	O
significantly	O
better	O
than	O
any	O
prior	O
standard	O
under	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
circumstances	O
in	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
application	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
H.264	B-Application
can	O
often	O
perform	O
radically	O
better	O
than	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
video	I-Algorithm
—	O
typically	O
obtaining	O
the	O
same	O
quality	O
at	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
bit	O
rate	O
or	O
less	O
,	O
especially	O
on	O
high	O
bit	O
rate	O
and	O
high	O
resolution	O
video	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
other	O
ISO/IEC	O
MPEG	O
video	O
standards	O
,	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
has	O
a	O
reference	O
software	O
implementation	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
freely	O
downloaded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
main	O
purpose	O
is	O
to	O
give	O
examples	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
features	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
being	O
a	O
useful	O
application	O
per	O
se	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
above-mentioned	O
aspects	O
include	O
features	O
in	O
all	O
profiles	O
of	O
H.264	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
profile	O
for	O
a	O
codec	B-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
features	O
of	O
that	O
codec	B-General_Concept
identified	O
to	O
meet	O
a	O
certain	O
set	O
of	O
specifications	O
of	O
intended	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
profiles	O
of	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
are	O
discussed	O
in	O
next	O
section	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Main	O
Profile	O
(	O
MP	O
,	O
77	O
)	O
This	O
profile	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
standard-definition	O
digital	O
TV	O
broadcasts	B-Operating_System
that	O
use	O
the	O
MPEG-4	B-Algorithm
format	O
as	O
defined	O
in	O
the	O
DVB	B-Application
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
not	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
used	O
for	O
high-definition	B-Device
television	I-Device
broadcasts	B-Operating_System
,	O
as	O
the	O
importance	O
of	O
this	O
profile	O
faded	O
when	O
the	O
High	O
Profile	O
was	O
developed	O
in	O
2004	O
for	O
that	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
High	O
Profile	O
(	O
HiP	O
,	O
100	O
)	O
The	O
primary	O
profile	O
for	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
and	O
disc	O
storage	O
applications	O
,	O
particularly	O
for	O
high-definition	B-Device
television	I-Device
applications	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
this	O
is	O
the	O
profile	O
adopted	O
by	O
the	O
Blu-ray	O
Disc	O
storage	O
format	O
and	O
the	O
DVB	B-Application
HDTV	B-Device
broadcast	B-Operating_System
service	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
High	O
444	O
Predictive	O
Profile	O
(	O
Hi444PP	O
,	O
244	O
)	O
This	O
profile	O
builds	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
High	O
4:2:2	O
Profile	O
,	O
supporting	O
up	O
to	O
4:4:4	O
chroma	O
sampling	O
,	O
up	O
to	O
14	O
bits	O
per	O
sample	O
,	O
and	O
additionally	O
supporting	O
efficient	O
lossless	B-Algorithm
region	O
coding	O
and	O
the	O
coding	O
of	O
each	O
picture	O
as	O
three	O
separate	O
color	O
planes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
camcorders	O
,	O
editing	O
,	O
and	O
professional	O
applications	O
,	O
the	O
standard	O
contains	O
four	O
additional	O
Intra-frame-only	O
profiles	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
defined	O
as	O
simple	O
subsets	O
of	O
other	O
corresponding	O
profiles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CAVLC	B-Algorithm
444	O
Intra	O
Profile	O
(	O
44	O
)	O
The	O
High	O
4:4:4	O
Profile	O
constrained	O
to	O
all-Intra	O
use	O
and	O
to	O
CAVLC	B-Algorithm
entropy	I-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
(	O
i.e.	O
,	O
not	O
supporting	O
CABAC	B-Algorithm
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
the	O
Scalable	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Coding	I-Application
(	O
SVC	O
)	O
extension	O
,	O
the	O
standard	O
contains	O
five	O
additional	O
scalable	O
profiles	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
defined	O
as	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
a	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
profile	O
for	O
the	O
base	O
layer	O
(	O
identified	O
by	O
the	O
second	O
word	O
in	O
the	O
scalable	O
profile	O
name	O
)	O
and	O
tools	O
that	O
achieve	O
the	O
scalable	O
extension	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Scalable	O
High	O
Profile	O
(	O
86	O
)	O
Primarily	O
targeting	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
and	O
streaming	O
applications	O
,	O
this	O
profile	O
builds	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
High	O
Profile	O
to	O
which	O
the	O
base	O
layer	O
must	O
conform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
the	O
Multiview	B-Algorithm
Video	I-Algorithm
Coding	I-Algorithm
(	O
MVC	O
)	O
extension	O
,	O
the	O
standard	O
contains	O
two	O
multiview	O
profiles	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Stereo	O
High	O
Profile	O
(	O
128	O
)	O
This	O
profile	O
targets	O
two-view	O
stereoscopic	B-Algorithm
3D	I-Algorithm
video	O
and	O
combines	O
the	O
tools	O
of	O
the	O
High	O
profile	O
with	O
the	O
inter-view	O
prediction	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
MVC	O
extension	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiview	O
High	O
Profile	O
(	O
118	O
)	O
This	O
profile	O
supports	O
two	O
or	O
more	O
views	O
using	O
both	O
inter-picture	O
(	O
temporal	O
)	O
and	O
MVC	O
inter-view	O
prediction	O
,	O
but	O
does	O
not	O
support	O
field	O
pictures	O
and	O
macroblock-adaptive	O
frame-field	O
coding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MFC	O
High	O
Profile	O
(	O
134	O
)	O
A	O
profile	O
for	O
stereoscopic	B-Algorithm
coding	O
with	O
two-layer	O
resolution	O
enhancement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
number	O
of	O
luma	O
samples	O
is	O
16×16	O
=	O
256	O
times	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
macroblocks	B-General_Concept
(	O
and	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
luma	O
samples	O
per	O
second	O
is	O
256	O
times	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
macroblocks	B-General_Concept
per	O
second	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Previously	O
encoded	O
pictures	O
are	O
used	O
by	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
encoders	O
to	O
provide	O
predictions	O
of	O
the	O
values	O
of	O
samples	O
in	O
other	O
pictures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Where	O
is	O
a	O
constant	O
value	O
provided	O
in	O
the	O
table	O
below	O
as	O
a	O
function	O
of	O
level	O
number	O
,	O
and	O
and	O
are	O
the	O
picture	O
width	O
and	O
frame	O
height	O
for	O
the	O
coded	O
video	O
data	O
,	O
expressed	O
in	O
units	O
of	O
macroblocks	B-General_Concept
(	O
rounded	O
up	O
to	O
integer	O
values	O
and	O
accounting	O
for	O
cropping	O
and	O
macroblock	B-General_Concept
pairing	O
when	O
applicable	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
for	O
an	O
HDTV	B-Device
picture	O
that	O
is	O
1,920	O
samples	O
wide	O
(	O
)	O
and	O
1,080	O
samples	O
high	O
(	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
Level	O
4	O
decoder	O
has	O
a	O
maximum	O
DPB	O
storage	O
capacity	O
of	O
=	O
4	O
frames	O
(	O
or	O
8	O
fields	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
HTML5	B-Language
working	I-Language
group	I-Language
was	O
split	O
between	O
supporters	O
of	O
Ogg	B-Algorithm
Theora	I-Algorithm
,	O
a	O
free	O
video	O
format	O
which	O
is	O
thought	O
to	O
be	O
unencumbered	O
by	O
patents	O
,	O
and	O
H.264	B-Application
,	O
which	O
contains	O
patented	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
late	O
as	O
July	O
2009	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
and	O
Apple	O
were	O
said	O
to	O
support	O
H.264	B-Application
,	O
while	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
and	O
Opera	O
support	O
Ogg	B-Algorithm
Theora	I-Algorithm
(	O
now	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
and	O
Opera	O
all	O
support	O
Theora	B-Algorithm
and	O
WebM	B-Application
with	O
VP8	B-Algorithm
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
9	O
,	O
has	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
HTML	O
5	O
video	O
encoded	O
using	O
H.264	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
Gartner	O
Symposium/ITXpo	O
in	O
November	O
2010	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
CEO	O
Steve	O
Ballmer	O
answered	O
the	O
question	O
"	O
HTML	O
5	O
or	O
Silverlight	B-Application
?	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2011	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
pulling	O
support	O
for	O
H.264	B-Application
from	O
their	O
Chrome	O
browser	O
and	O
supporting	O
both	O
Theora	B-Algorithm
and	O
WebM/VP8	O
to	O
use	O
only	O
open	O
formats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
March	O
18	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
announced	O
support	O
for	O
H.264	B-Application
in	O
Firefox	O
on	O
mobile	O
devices	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
prevalence	O
of	O
H.264-encoded	O
video	O
and	O
the	O
increased	O
power-efficiency	O
of	O
using	O
dedicated	O
H.264	B-Application
decoder	O
hardware	O
common	O
on	O
such	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
February	O
20	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
implemented	O
support	O
in	O
Firefox	O
for	O
decoding	O
H.264	B-Application
on	O
Windows	O
7	O
and	O
above	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firefox	O
35.0	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
January	O
13	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
supports	O
H.264	B-Application
on	O
OS	O
X	O
10.6	O
and	O
higher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
30	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
Rowan	O
Trollope	O
from	O
Cisco	O
Systems	O
announced	O
that	O
Cisco	O
would	O
release	O
both	O
binaries	O
and	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
an	O
H.264	B-Application
video	O
codec	B-General_Concept
called	O
OpenH264	B-Language
under	O
the	O
Simplified	B-License
BSD	I-License
license	I-License
,	O
and	O
pay	O
all	O
royalties	O
for	O
its	O
use	O
to	O
MPEG	O
LA	O
for	O
any	O
software	O
projects	O
that	O
use	O
Cisco	O
's	O
precompiled	O
binaries	O
,	O
thus	O
making	O
Cisco	O
's	O
OpenH264	B-Language
binaries	O
free	O
to	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
on	O
October	O
30	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
Brendan	O
Eich	O
from	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
wrote	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
use	O
Cisco	O
's	O
binaries	O
in	O
future	O
versions	O
of	O
Firefox	O
to	O
add	O
support	O
for	O
H.264	B-Application
to	O
Firefox	O
where	O
platform	O
codecs	B-General_Concept
are	O
not	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cisco	O
published	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
to	O
OpenH264	B-Language
on	O
December	O
9	O
,	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
iOS	O
was	O
not	O
supported	O
by	O
the	O
2013	O
Cisco	O
software	O
release	O
,	O
Apple	O
updated	O
its	O
Video	O
Toolbox	O
Framework	O
with	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
8	I-Operating_System
(	O
released	O
in	O
September	O
2014	O
)	O
to	O
provide	O
direct	O
access	O
to	O
hardware-based	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
video	O
encoding	O
and	O
decoding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
H.264	B-Application
encoding	O
and	O
decoding	O
requires	O
significant	O
computing	O
power	O
in	O
specific	O
types	O
of	O
arithmetic	O
operations	O
,	O
software	O
implementations	O
that	O
run	O
on	O
general-purpose	O
CPUs	O
are	O
typically	O
less	O
power	O
efficient	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
2nd	O
generation	O
Intel	O
"	O
Sandy	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
"	O
Core	B-Device
i3/i5/i7	I-Device
processors	O
introduced	O
at	O
the	O
January	O
2011	O
CES	O
(	O
Consumer	O
Electronics	O
Show	O
)	O
offer	O
an	O
on-chip	O
hardware	O
full	O
HD	O
H.264	B-Application
encoder	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
Intel	B-Algorithm
Quick	I-Algorithm
Sync	I-Algorithm
Video	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
hardware	O
H.264	B-Application
encoder	O
can	O
be	O
an	O
ASIC	O
or	O
an	O
FPGA	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
ASIC	O
encoders	O
with	O
H.264	B-Application
encoder	O
functionality	O
are	O
available	O
from	O
many	O
different	O
semiconductor	O
companies	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
core	O
design	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
ASIC	O
is	O
typically	O
licensed	O
from	O
one	O
of	O
a	O
few	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
Chips&Media	O
,	O
Allegro	O
DVT	O
,	O
On2	B-Application
(	O
formerly	O
Hantro	O
,	O
acquired	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
)	O
,	O
Imagination	O
Technologies	O
,	O
NGCodec	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
companies	O
have	O
both	O
FPGA	B-Architecture
and	O
ASIC	O
product	O
offerings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Texas	O
Instruments	O
manufactures	O
a	O
line	O
of	O
ARM	O
+	O
DSP	O
cores	O
that	O
perform	O
DSP	O
H.264	B-Application
BP	O
encoding	O
1080p	O
at	O
30fps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
permits	O
flexibility	O
with	O
respect	O
to	O
codecs	B-General_Concept
(	O
which	O
are	O
implemented	O
as	O
highly	O
optimized	O
DSP	O
code	O
)	O
while	O
being	O
more	O
efficient	O
than	O
software	O
on	O
a	O
generic	O
CPU	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
countries	O
where	O
patents	O
on	O
software	O
algorithms	O
are	O
upheld	O
,	O
vendors	O
and	O
commercial	O
users	O
of	O
products	O
that	O
use	O
H.264/AVC	B-Application
are	O
expected	O
to	O
pay	O
patent	O
licensing	O
royalties	O
for	O
the	O
patented	O
technology	O
that	O
their	O
products	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
private	O
organization	O
known	O
as	O
MPEG	O
LA	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
not	O
affiliated	O
in	O
any	O
way	O
with	O
the	O
MPEG	O
standardization	O
organization	O
,	O
administers	O
the	O
licenses	O
for	O
patents	O
applying	O
to	O
this	O
standard	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
other	O
patent	O
pools	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
for	O
MPEG-4	B-Application
Part	I-Application
2	I-Application
Video	O
,	O
HEVC	B-Algorithm
and	O
MPEG-DASH	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
patent	O
holders	O
include	O
Fujitsu	O
,	O
Panasonic	O
,	O
Sony	O
,	O
Mitsubishi	O
,	O
Apple	O
,	O
Columbia	O
University	O
,	O
KAIST	O
,	O
Dolby	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
JVC	O
Kenwood	O
,	O
LG	O
Electronics	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
NTT	O
Docomo	O
,	O
Philips	O
,	O
Samsung	B-Application
,	O
Sharp	O
,	O
Toshiba	O
and	O
ZTE	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
patents	O
in	O
the	O
pool	O
are	O
held	O
by	O
Panasonic	O
(	O
patents	O
)	O
,	O
Godo	O
Kaisha	O
IP	B-Protocol
Bridge	O
(	O
patents	O
)	O
and	O
LG	O
Electronics	O
(	O
patents	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
26	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
MPEG	O
LA	O
announced	O
that	O
royalties	O
wo	O
n't	O
be	O
charged	O
for	O
H.264	B-Application
encoded	O
Internet	O
video	O
that	O
is	O
free	O
to	O
end	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
other	O
royalties	O
remain	O
in	O
place	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
royalties	O
for	O
products	O
that	O
decode	O
and	O
encode	O
H.264	B-Application
video	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
to	O
operators	O
of	O
free	O
television	O
and	O
subscription	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
standard	O
was	O
completed	O
in	O
May	O
2003	O
(	O
years	O
ago	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
most	O
commonly	O
used	O
profile	O
(	O
the	O
High	O
profile	O
)	O
was	O
completed	O
in	O
June	O
2004	O
(	O
years	O
ago	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
the	O
relevant	O
patents	O
that	O
apply	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
expires	O
every	O
year	O
,	O
although	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
US	O
patents	O
in	O
the	O
MPEG	O
LA	O
H.264	B-Application
pool	O
lasts	O
at	O
least	O
until	O
November	O
2030	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2005	O
,	O
Qualcomm	O
sued	O
Broadcom	O
in	O
US	O
District	O
Court	O
,	O
alleging	O
that	O
Broadcom	O
infringed	O
on	O
two	O
of	O
its	O
patents	O
by	O
making	O
products	O
that	O
were	O
compliant	O
with	O
the	O
H.264	B-Application
video	B-Algorithm
compression	I-Algorithm
standard	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
,	O
the	O
District	O
Court	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
patents	O
were	O
unenforceable	O
because	O
Qualcomm	O
had	O
failed	O
to	O
disclose	O
them	O
to	O
the	O
JVT	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
H.264	B-Application
standard	O
in	O
May	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2008	O
,	O
the	O
US	O
Court	O
of	O
Appeals	O
for	O
the	O
Federal	O
Circuit	O
affirmed	O
the	O
District	O
Court	O
's	O
order	O
that	O
the	O
patents	O
be	O
unenforceable	O
but	O
remanded	O
to	O
the	O
District	O
Court	O
with	O
instructions	O
to	O
limit	O
the	O
scope	O
of	O
unenforceability	O
to	O
H.264	B-Application
compliant	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
