CCTV | Storage Comparison of H.264, H.265, and H.265+

What is H.264?
H.264, also referred to as Advanced Video Coding (AVC), operates by using advanced algorithms, inter-prediction and spatial intra-prediction. These units, termed as macro-blocks, consist of 16x16 pixel samples which can be further subdivided into sub macro-blocks. The H.264 codec is known to achieve significantly reduced bit-rate compared to its forerunner and remains in use across various streaming sources.

What is H.265?
H.265 represents the advanced iteration of H.264, alternatively also known as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). Diverging from H.264's macro-block approach, H.265 utilizes Coding Tree Units (CTUs) for information processing. While blocks in H.264 were confined to 16x16 sizes to 4x4 sizes, H.265 can use a complete range of blocks from 64x64 pixels all the way to 4x4, resulting in notably more efficient compression. HEVC also demands higher computational power for effective data compression.

The Difference between H.264 vs. H.265

Video Quality
H.264 and H.265 codecs exhibit significant difference in video quality at equivalent bit-rates. In the case of H.264, the borders of the blocks are likely to be distorted because each macro-block is fixed, and each macro-block’s data is independent of another. In contrast, H.265 delivers sharper, more detailed images with fewer artifacts. This enhancement arises from its ability to determine CTU (Coding Tree Unit) sizes based on contextual information, making H.265 superior to H.264 in terms of compression and image quality.

Compression and File Size
The degree to which a codec compresses digital videos directly influences the resulting file size for transmission or streaming. Smaller file sizes equate to lower bandwidth at a certain quality. Since H.265 uses a smaller bit-rate to transmit the same quality as H.264, we can conclude that H.265 can export smaller files. Consequently, H.265 takes the lead in scenarios where limited storage capacity or constrained bandwidth is necessary for smaller file sizes.

A corollary of this is that, H.265 also achieves a higher coding efficiency as compared to H.264 at the same quality.

Compatibility
In the realm of compatibility, H.265 surpasses H.264 but it lags behind it in popularity. While H.264 enjoys support from a larger number of devices and browsers, support for H.265 is limited to a lesser number of devices and browsers. This is mainly due to H.265’s patent issues that are preventing its easy adoption.

The size of a video is defined as duration and bit rate. This video coding format helps you to store your large amount of videos with smaller size, to stream your favorite movies with less network consumption. You can also benefit more from H.265 that provides a better visual quality.

H.265 (High-Efficiency Video Coding, or HEVC) is generally considered a better video codec than H.264 because it offers better compression efficiency, higher video quality, and reduced bandwidth and storage requirements:

Compression efficiency
H.265 can achieve up to 50% more compression than H.264, which means it can deliver the same quality video using less bandwidth or storage.

Video quality
H.265 produces sharper, more detailed images with fewer artifacts than H.264.

Resolution
H.265 supports videos up to 8K at 300 frames per second (fps), while H.264 only supports videos up to 4K at 60 fps.

Color depth
H.265 supports up to 14-bit color depth, while H.264 supports up to 8-bit. 

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