Video Formats Is There a Best Video File Format? 10 Top Video Formats 5 Ways to Change Videos to Any Format Lossless Video Format: 7 Popular Formats and How to Choose All You Need To Know About MP4 To MOV Conversion Choosing Your Codec: AVC (H.264) vs. HEVC (H.265) Decoding the Future: x264 vs. x265 Mastering HEVC: The Future-Ready Video Compression Standard Pixel Perfect: H.264 VS H.265 Explained FFmpeg: Features, Use Cases, and Pros/Cons You Should Know VP9 vs. H.264 What Are Container File Formats (Media Containers)? VP8 vs VP9: 8 Key Differences and How to Choose What Is the M4A Format? | M4A vs. MP3 vs. WAV What Is MPEG-DASH? And MPEG-DASH vs. HLS What Are Video Subtitles? Common Formats and Best Practices H.264 Video Encoding: How It Works, Benefits, and 9 Best Practices QuickTime File Format (MOV): Apple’s MPEG-4 Predecessor MP4 Format (MPEG-4 Part 14): How It Works, Pros and Cons MKV Format: How It Works and How It Compares to MP4 AVI Format: Should You Still Use AVI? Windows Media Video (WMV) Format: What You Should Know HD Format: History of HD Video and 8 Formats You Should Know M4V Format: How It Works and MP4 vs. MPV FLV Format: Security Concerns and 5 Reasons to Switch to MP4 Top Six Web-Video Formats of 2024 What Is Video Transcoding? Video Frame Rates Explained Along With Tips for Picking the Right FPS A Primer on Video Codecs Open-Source and Royalty-Free AV1 Compresses Video Efficiently and Effectively Convert Video Formats: Six Essential Features of Video-Conversion Tools OGG Format: An In-Depth Look WebM Format: Basic Facts, Compatibility, and WebM vs. MP4

Choosing Your Codec: AVC (H.264) vs. HEVC (H.265)

hevc vs avc

When it comes to picking a codec for your video project, it’s common to consider HEVC vs AVC. While both codecs have their merits, understanding their characteristics is essential to ensure you’re delivering optimal video quality without overburdening your infrastructure or your audience’s bandwidth.

Join us as we dissect the differences, weigh the pros and cons, and shed light on simplifying this choice. Whether aiming for the sharpest 4K video or ensuring smooth playback on diverse devices, we have the insights to guide your decision. Let’s get started.

What is AVC?

AVC, often called H.264, emerged as a widely adopted video codec in recent times. If you’ve ever watched an online video or streamed content on any platform, chances are you’ve encountered AVC. It’s a standard that aims to offer good video quality with relatively lower bit rates. This was revolutionary during its inception because it allowed for efficient video streaming even on networks with limited bandwidth.

The technical aspects of AVC are rooted in its ability to compress data without a noticeable dip in quality. Simply put, it packs video data into a smaller package, making it more transportable without sacrificing too much on the visual experience.

What is HEVC?

Following in the footsteps of AVC is the High-Efficiency Video Coding or HEVC, commonly known as H.265. As the name suggests, the primary goal of HEVC is to provide even higher efficiency in video compression, aiming for nearly double the data compression ratio of AVC at the same level of video quality.

While AVC was groundbreaking, the surge of 4K videos and higher resolutions made a more efficient codec necessary. HEVC answered that call. It’s designed to handle 8K UHD and enables smooth playback of high-resolution videos even with constrained network resources.

hevc vs avc

Comparing HEVC vs AVC

Both AVC and HEVC have their strengths, but they differ in several key aspects:

  1. Compression Efficiency: HEVC’s primary advantage over AVC is its improved compression efficiency. While AVC set a commendable standard, HEVC takes it a notch higher, compressing video files to nearly half the size of AVC without losing quality.
  2. Resolution Handling: While AVC can handle 4K, HEVC is better at it and even smoothly handles 8K UHD, making it the choice for future-proofing content delivery.
  3. Complexity and Cost: HEVC, with its advanced compression abilities, naturally comes with more complexity. This means that the encoding process might require more computational power. Additionally, licensing costs and royalties associated with HEVC can be higher than those for AVC, something to consider for extensive applications.

For developers and content creators, it’s crucial to weigh the advantages of improved efficiency against the potential increased costs and complexity.

Which One Should You Choose?

The HEVC vs AVC debate isn’t about picking the “best” codec universally; it’s about choosing the right tool for the job. Here’s a straightforward breakdown to help you decide:

  1. Current Infrastructure: If you’re working with legacy systems, AVC might be a safer bet. It’s widely supported, well-understood, and more than competent for many applications. On the other hand, if you’re building a new system or updating existing infrastructure and have the computational resources, HEVC’s efficiency improvements could be well worth the investment.
  2. End-user Devices: Consider the devices your audience uses. While newer gadgets can easily handle HEVC decoding, older devices might struggle or lack support. Delivering content in HEVC to an audience that predominantly uses legacy devices might lead to playback issues.
  3. Content-Type: For HEVC vs AVC, The differences might be minimal in practical terms for standard-definition content. However, if you’re focusing on delivering high-definition content, especially 4K and above, HEVC’s efficiency gains become more pronounced.
  4. Budgetary Constraints: Always factor in costs. While HEVC offers superior compression, there might be additional costs in terms of licensing, hardware upgrades, and potential encoding delays. Evaluate if these costs are justified by the benefits for your specific use case.

Using Cloudinary for Optimal Video Delivery

Whether you’re considering HEVC vs AVC, the underlying challenge remains: how do you deliver high-quality video content efficiently to a diverse range of devices? This is where Cloudinary steps in.

  1. Adaptive Bitrate Streaming: One of the main challenges in video delivery is adapting to the viewer’s network conditions. Nobody likes buffering. With Cloudinary’s adaptive bitrate streaming, the best video quality is dynamically delivered based on the viewer’s bandwidth and device capabilities. This ensures smooth playback without any hiccups.
  2. Real-time Video Transcoding: As a developer, you’d want the freedom to upload videos in any format without codec limitations. Cloudinary’s real-time video transcoding lets you upload your content, and it’ll automatically be transcoded to the desired format, whether AVC, HEVC or another codec, based on your or your viewer’s requirements.
  3. Optimized Storage and Delivery: Storing multiple versions of the same video to cater to different devices and resolutions can be a storage nightmare. Cloudinary optimizes storage by creating versions on the fly, ensuring that only the necessary variants are generated, thus saving on storage costs and ensuring efficient delivery.
  4. Built-in Analytics: Understanding viewer behavior is key. Which parts of your video are watched the most? At what point do viewers drop off? Cloudinary offers built-in analytics that provides insights into viewer engagement, helping you optimize content and improve viewer retention.

hevc vs avc

Whether you’re a die-hard AVC user or looking to dip your toes into the HEVC waters, Cloudinary’s robust suite of tools has you covered. With Cloudinary, the technical intricacies fade into the background, allowing you to focus on what you do best: creating and delivering stellar video content.

Remember, in the world of codecs, there’s no one-size-fits-all. But with the right tools and insights, you can make an informed choice that best serves your audience and business needs.

Conclusion

We’ve discussed the most important aspects of AVC and HEVC, dissecting their strengths, weaknesses, and key differentiators. Deciding between the two isn’t about chasing trends but understanding what aligns best with your specific goals and the needs of your audience. And while technology will continue to evolve, with new codecs emerging on the horizon, your commitment to delivering top-notch video experiences should remain constant.

As you gear up to make your codec choice, remember that Cloudinary is here to streamline the process, ensuring smooth, high-quality video delivery tailored to your requirements.

QUICK TIPS
Kimberly Matenchuk
Cloudinary Logo Kimberly Matenchuk

In my experience, here are tips that can help you choose between AVC (H.264) and HEVC (H.265) effectively:

  1. Evaluate audience device readiness
    Assess the devices most commonly used by your audience. While HEVC offers better compression, many older devices may not support it. AVC remains a safer choice for broad compatibility, especially on older or less powerful devices.
  2. Consider your content delivery network (CDN)
    Ensure your CDN supports HEVC effectively if you’re leaning towards this codec. Some CDNs might have better optimizations for AVC, which could impact your decision if streaming performance is critical.
  3. Leverage hybrid encoding strategies
    Use a hybrid approach where both AVC and HEVC versions of a video are generated. This allows for automatic delivery of the optimal version based on the viewer’s device capabilities and network conditions, maximizing both reach and quality.
  4. Analyze storage implications
    HEVC’s better compression means you’ll save on storage, especially for large-scale projects or archives. However, weigh this against the potential increased processing time and computational load during encoding.
  5. Plan for future scalability
    If you’re producing content intended for long-term use or future-proofing against emerging standards like 8K, HEVC is the better option. Its efficiency with high-resolution content makes it more scalable for future technologies.
  6. Budget for licensing costs
    HEVC may involve higher licensing fees, especially if used in commercial applications. Factor this into your overall budget and evaluate whether the benefits justify the additional costs compared to the more widely licensed AVC.
  7. Test encoding and decoding times
    Perform test encodings to compare the processing time required for both codecs. HEVC typically requires more computational power, which could slow down your workflow if you’re dealing with large volumes of content.
  8. Monitor viewer analytics
    Use analytics to understand how different codecs perform with your audience. If you notice higher buffering or dropout rates with HEVC, you may need to adjust your strategy or fallback to AVC for certain segments.
  9. Optimize bitrate and resolution
    When using HEVC, take full advantage of its ability to maintain quality at lower bitrates. This can be particularly useful for delivering high-definition content over constrained networks without compromising the viewing experience.
  10. Keep an eye on emerging codecs
    Stay updated on newer codecs like AV1, which promise even better efficiency than HEVC. Keeping track of these developments will help you stay ahead of the curve and make more informed codec decisions as technology evolves.
Last updated: Aug 31, 2024