TECHNICAL
hardware support on all devices streaming providers target.
Transcoding company Bitmovin commissions annual research across the video industry. Their most recent data shows that H.264/AVC continues to be a popular choice for live and offline encoding, but this has been supplanted by H.265/HEVC as streaming service providers steadily transition to the newer video standard over the next couple of years. AV1 is also positioned strongly, initially in video-on-demand applications, given that the codec is now likely to gain traction in the next four to five years as device support widens. The world beyond AVC H.264/AVC enjoyed an extraordinarily long lifespan because it introduced an optimum set of encoding features just as Internet video began to proliferate. The standard arrived at the intersect point between the transition to “HD-Ready” flat panel TV displays and the first online videos, both of which presented an ideal market opportunity for the standard to flourish. Moreover, the awkward licensing situation surrounding H.265/ HEVC extended the lifespan for H.264/ AVC, such that encoders for the older standard were continuously updated and modernised for both television and mobile applications. H.264/AVC maintains around 71% share of codec usage in 2023, yet this is expected to reduce to under half (46%) by 2027. Migration to 4K HDR effectively forces a move to H.265/HEVC and AV1, both of which are displacing the older codec, with forecasts of 37% and 8% share in 2027 respectively. H.265/HEVC is expected to become the most prevalent video codec: by 2030 it will be employed in around 45% of video streaming applications, with H.264/AVC usage declining to around half of this (22%).
Installed base of UHD Video Entertainment Devices Source: Futuresource Consulting
4K HDR drives HEVC adoption Globally, the development of ultra-high definition (UHD) devices has witnessed strong growth in the past few years, with the technology establishing itself as a core feature in all media device categories. As a result, UHD video is rapidly becoming a common feature expected by consumers from streaming services. Certainly, HEVC encoded content is now more widely available. At the close of 2023, sales of 4K capable devices are expected to grow by around 4% worldwide. The share of 4K devices across total shipments including TVs, Set Top Boxes, Media Streamers, Game Consoles and home video player hardware is forecast to reach 81% by 2027, up from 68% last year. 4K resolution looks set to be the pinnacle of broadcast and streaming services for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile 8K resolution devices are likely to remain a niche segment, with the broadcast and film production industry not making any major steps toward the promotion of 8K. Concurrently, the 8K content supply chain has been growing very slowly despite the launch of professional 8K cameras by vendors including Nikon, Leica, Sony, Kinefinity and Red Digital Cinema. Undeniably, 4K HDR video is considered sufficient for most production uses today. Consequently, 8K consumer products are currently a niche segment representing a very small share of the total UHD devices market. 8K resolution is most prevalent in the Smart TV market, whereas in STBs and media streamers only a few regional players offer 8K capable products. 8K televisions accounted for just 0.4% of global shipments throughout 2022 and are predicted to reach only 3% by 2027. Moreover, the EU Energy Saving Directive came into effect in March 2023. This is influencing sustainable TV design; 8K HDR displays often exceed energy consumption limits, but there
are mitigating technologies to save energy, such as adaptive brightness. The regulation has had no immediate impact on the sales of 8K TVs, however, revisions to this regulation may hamper the 8K device market if manufacturers cannot comply with regulatory measures. Streaming video: Service providers embrace change The migration to HEVC is largely determined by the primary streaming service providers. They regularly evaluate the population of devices in the field that have hardware or software video decoders available. Even discounting the potential to deliver 4K HDR content, most indicate that a device penetration of around 30% is the required trigger level for deployment of any codec, not just HEVC. This is the point at which it becomes commercially viable to re- encode video catalogues and provide entertainment services to a population of devices using a newer codec. Codec deployment A primary consideration driving codec deployment is where those videos can be played, not how easy it is to encode the media assets. The first question is whether the codec can play without hardware acceleration. If the answer is no, then that codec is unlikely to be embraced until hardware support is widely available, which can take several years. Notably, HEVC already enjoys widespread
Planned video codec deployment (within 1 to 2 years) Source: 6th Annual Bitmovin Video Developer Report
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Volume 46 No.3 September 2024
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