H.264 vs. H.265: What They Are and Which One Is Better

With the growing popularity of videos in the past couple of decades, we have been witnessing advancements in video playback technology. One such piece of tech, indispensable for a smooth viewing experience, is a video codec. Two of the most commonly used video codecs today are H.264 and H.265. But what is the difference between the two and which one is better? Let’s end the H.264 vs. H.265 debate once and for all.

What Is H.264 Codec?

H.264, also known as Advanced Video Coding (AVC) or MPEG-4 Part 10 is the most widely used video compression standard in the industry right now. It was first released in 2004 as a much more advanced version of its predecessors.

H.264 has the power to lower video bitrates by a much larger margin without compromising the quality of the video nearly as much as previous codecs. This high-efficiency video encoding is precisely what made H.264 become the most widely used codec of all time. 

AVC is supported by almost all protocols in use today, including Real Time Streaming Protocol, HLS Streaming, MPEG-DASH, HDS Streaming, and more.

How Does H.264 Codec Work?

H.264 utilizes block-oriented coding. In other words, it breaks down each video frame into so-called macroblocks (up to 16×16 pixels). It then uses data from the current and previous frames to form a prediction of motion, which, in turn, makes for a more efficient encoding process. During the decoding process, these predictions are used to reconstruct each macroblock. The video can then be played through an HTML5 video player.

What Is H.265 Codec?

H.265, also known as High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) or MPEG-H Part 2, is a newer video compression standard and, in many ways, an upgrade of H.264. It came out in 2013, but it still has a long way to go to achieve the same level of popularity as AVC.

Due to higher efficiency, HEVC requires better (and more expensive) hardware than its predecessor. Because of this, it is still mostly used by professional broadcasters and streamers, rather than the general public.

H.265 also enjoys the support of many of the video streaming protocols used today, including HLS, MPEG-TS, and RTSP.

How Does H.265 Codec Work?

Unlike AVC, HEVC does not use macroblocks in the encoding and decoding process. Instead, it uses coding tree units (CTUs), which are not necessarily the same size or shape. CTUs can be as small as 4×4 pixels and large as 64×64 pixels, which allows the program to compress data way more efficiently. 

Aside from differently-sized blocks, HEVC also boasts a much more efficient motion compensation and prediction technology, making it a particularly good choice for very dynamic videos. 

More advanced technology also means that H.265 requires much more advanced hardware, which has been somewhat of an obstacle in this codec gaining popularity. On the other hand, H.265 requires much less bandwidth and processing power to go through the encoding and decoding processes. 

H.264 vs. H.265: How They Compare

Now that we’ve covered the basics of each of these codecs, it’s time to crunch some numbers. Let’s take a look at a side-to-side H.264 vs. H265 comparison.

	H.264 (AVC)	H.265 (HEVC)
Supported container formats	mkv, mp4, qtff, asf, avi, mxf, ps, ts, m2ts, evo, 3gp, f4v	mkv, mp4, qtff, asf, avi, mxf, ps, ts, 3gp
Recommended bandwidth for video encoding	480p — 1.5 Mbps 720p — 3 mpbs 1080p — 6 Mbps 4K — 32 mbps	480p — 0.75 Mbps 720p — 1.5 mpbs 1080p — 4 Mbps 4K — 15 mbps
Required bandwidth for 4K broadcasting	32 mbps	15 mbps
Intraframe prediction	9 modes	35 modes
Motion compensation technology	Vector prediction	Advanced vector prediction
Color depth	8 bit	10 bit

From the table above, you can probably conclude that, in most ways, H.265 is better than H.264. It requires half as much bandwidth as H.264, both for encoding and broadcasting, while retaining the same video quality. It also has over three times as many intraframe motion prediction modes — 35, as opposed to AVC’s nine — and uses more advanced prediction technology. All of this makes for a much more efficient video compression process.

However, this doesn’t mean you should switch over to H.265 and never look back. As advanced as this codec is, it still has significant drawbacks. For starters, the processing power necessary for HEVC to work makes the required hardware quite costly. Due to this, the popularity of this codec is still lacking. The relatively limited device and browser compatibility for H.265 widens this gap even further. Estimates show that HEVC is supported by only 30% as many devices as AVC, and fewer video file formats support HEVC than AVC.

Lastly, if you’re planning on using an online video CMS to host, manage, and distribute your content, you should know that most online video platforms only support H.264.

So Which One Is Better?

So which one should you choose, H.264 vs. H.265? Are you a content creator looking to start live streaming from the comfort of your bedroom? Then H.264 should be more than enough for your needs. Do you work for a large broadcasting company looking to make the streaming process more efficient? Then you might get more bang for your buck with H.265.

If you ask us, despite its slightly inferior performance, H.264 still reigns as the industry standard, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. That is why we at the Brid.TV video platform use this codec to ensure our publishers can save up on space without compromising the viewing experience of their audience. 

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