With the advent of the next generation of
high definition video compression technology on the visible horizon, it looks as
if it will be taking a much different path to video dominance than what has
been traversed in the past. Instead of the traditional digital TV world, High
Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) will likely be ushered in by the internet and
wireless parts of the video world. While Ultra HD is a definite allure of HEVC
for large screen displays, it’s the increase in compression efficiency that is
attracting carriers and providers in the cellular and internet world. As the
first compression technology to make efficient use of mobile networks, MPEG-4
AVC has already began paving the way for HEVC dominance in the mobile device
world.
With
consumers increasing mobile device use for video consumption and the large
number of devices on the market that support MPEG-4 AVC, mobile providers are
working hard to make the most of available bandwidth. DTC expects over 700
million MPEG-4 AVC mobile phones and tablets to ship in 2013, climbing to over
a billion units shipped in 2015 (MPEG-4 AVC Forecast report). Now that MPEG-4
AVC is thoroughly entrenched in these product categories, the market is ripe
for the next-generation of MPEG compression to make a major splash in the digital
video world. While tablets are a much younger and dynamic product category,
both phones and tablets are growing rapidly and are estimated to yield double
digit year-over-year growth over the next five years. The explosive growth of
VOD delivered over the internet to computers and mobile devices is driving a
move toward greater efficiency gains in compression. Now that MPEG-4 AVC is fueling
this online video consumption, the industry is ready for the next
video-compression evolution.
