Basics about H.264 video format or MP4 format of videos.

1. H.264 Video Standard
National Institute of Science & Technology
H.264 VIDEO STANDARD
by
Mr. Varun Kumar Sahu
Roll # CS200118272
National Institute of Science & Technology
Palur Hills, Berhampur, INDIA-761 008
December 2004
Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

2. H.264 Video Standard
Outline
Technology
• Introduction
& • Objectives of H.264/AVC
Science • History of Video Coding Standards
• MPEG-4 Overview
of Institute • Overview of H.264
• H.264 Profiles
National • Performance comparisons
[2] Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

3. H.264 Video Standard
Introduction
[3] National Institute of Science & Technology
• The H.264 Advanced Video Coding (H.264/AVC) is an
advanced video compression standard.
• Also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, MPEG-4 AVC,
MPEG-4 JVT or H.26L (L stands for Long).
• First version released in the year 2003.
• Developed by the Joint Video Team (JVT), a
collective effort of the ITU-T VCEG & the ISO/IEC
MPEG.
Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

4. H.264 Video Standard
Objectives of H.264/AVC
[4] National Institute of Science & Technology
• To have a high-performance video coding design
using simple & straight forward techniques.
• To improve the compression performance.
• To support a wide variety of services/applications.
• To accommodate a wide variety of bandwidth
requirements.
• To ensure support for unfriendly network conditions.
• To develop a new part (Part-10) of the MPEG-4 family
of standards and a new ITU-T (H.264) recommendation.
Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

5. H.264 Video Standard
History of Video Coding Standards
Technology
ITU-T
& Standards H.261
H.263 H.263+ H.263++
Science Joint
ITU-T/MPEG
H.262/MPEG-2
Standards
of Institute MPEG
Standards
National [5] 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272
H.264
MPEG-1 MPEG-2 MPEG-4
Figure: Evolution of the video coding standards

6. H.264 Video Standard
MPEG-4 Overview
Technology
The standard was designed to address the following
issues:
• Interoperability
& • Transport Independence
Science • Compression & transmission of rich media
• Interactivity
• Scalability
of • Profiles
Institute The MPEG Encoding process:
• Frame slicing
• Intra-coding
National • Inter-coding
• Compression
[6] Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

7. H.264 Video Standard
Overview of H.264
[7] National Institute of Science & Technology
Note: The underlying approach of H.264 is similar to
that adopted in previous standards.
Key features of H.264/AVC:
• Integer block transform
• Enhanced motion estimation
• Improved in-loop deblocking filter
• Enhanced entropy coding
Average bit-rate reduction of about 50% compared to
any other standard.
Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

8. H.264 Video Standard
Overview of H.274 contd…
Technology
Intra-prediction
Integer Transform
& Inter-prediction
Quantization
Science Buffer of
of reference
frames
Institute De-blocking filter
National [8] Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272
CABAC
/
CAVLC
Current
Picture
Bit-stream
Inverse
quantization
Inverse
Integer
Transform
Figure: Block diagram of the H.264 Encoder

9. H.264 Video Standard
H.264 Profiles
[9] National Institute of Science & Technology
• A profile defines a set of coding tools or algorithms
that can be used in generating a compliant bit-stream.
• All decoders conforming to a specific profile have to
support all features in that profile.
• Encoders are not required to make use of any
particular set of features supported in a profile but
have to provide conforming bit-streams.
Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

10. H.264 Video Standard
H.264 Profiles contd…
Technology
In H.264/AVC, three profiles are defined currently:
& • Baseline profile – all features except CABAC, B-slices
Science & weighted prediction.
of Institute National [10] • Main profile – doesn’t support FMO that is present
in the Baseline profile.
• Extended profile – all features of Baseline & Main
profile except CABAC & macroblock switching.
Very soon, the High profile will be coming up.
Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

11. H.264 Video Standard
Performance Comparisons
Technology
Table 1: Average bit-rate savings compared to other standards
Codec MPEG-4 H.263 MPEG-2
& H.264 39% 49% 64%
Science MPEG-
4 - 17% 43%
of Institute H.263 - - 31%
Factors that enable superior rate-distortion:
National • Highly flexible motion model
• Very efficient CABAC
[11] Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

12. H.264 Video Standard
Performance Comparisons contd…
Technology
& Science of Institute MPEG-2 encoding at 100 kbps H.264 encoding at 100 kbps
National [12] Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

13. H.264 Video Standard
Performance Comparisons contd…
Technology
& Science of Institute Bandwidth Required
Storage Utilization
(Mbps)
(MB)
National [13] Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272
MPEG-2
MPEG-4
H.264
Download Time
(Minutes)
3.0
1.1
1.8
2025
1234
727
386
235 139
Figure: Performance comparison for a 90 min. DVD

14. H.264 Video Standard
Conclusion
Technology
• H.264/AVC is a major step forward in the development of
video coding standards.
• The following advantages:
& • Up to 50% in bit rate savings
Science • High quality video
• Error resilience features
• Network friendliness
of Institute National [14] helps H.264/AVC to outperform all other existing standards.
• More and more companies are looking to support the
H.264/AVC codec as it as a public and open standard.
• Combining an advanced audio standard with the improved
video quality can open up new possibilities.
Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

15. H.264 Video Standard
References
Technology
1. Intelligent Computing CHIP, November 2004
2. http://www.ebu.ch/trev_293-schaefer.pdf
& Science 3. http://www.utdallas.edu/~bhong/h264.pdf
4. http://www.ubvideo.com/mainmenu.html
of 5. http://www.pixeltools.com/h264_paper.html
Institute National [15] Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272

16. H.264 Video Standard
Technology
& Science Thank You!!!
of Institute National [16] Varun Kumar Sahu CS200118272