State of HEVC Bitrates in 2014: Comparing HEVC, H.264, and MPEG-2

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Publisher: SMPTE
Doc Type: Journal Article
Article Type: orig-research
Abstract: This paper presents the results of empirical testing of high-efficiency video coding (HEVC) for standard-definition (SD), high-definition (HD), and ultra-high-definition (UHD), including data from hundreds of encoding tests across a variety of bitrates. The paper then compares HEVC quality results with the quality achieved by common Motion Picture Experts Group 2 (MPEG-2) and advanced video coding (AVC) distribution profiles to determine HEVC bitrate recommendations for SD, HD, and UHD distribution. The paper presents the following recommended bitrates for HEVC encoding: SD at 860 kbits/sec, HD at 2703 kbits/sec, and UHD at 23,922 kbits/sec. These represent a 45% bitrate savings, compared to AVC. HEVC encoding was done using x265 version 1.2, and all quality measurements were done using the peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity index. The paper uses the HEVC Main (8-bit) profile to allow quality matching with H.264 and MPEG-2 8-bit encoding.
Publication Date: 2015-10-01
DOI: 10.5594/j18612
Link: https://doi.org/10.5594/j18612
Author(s): John Pallett

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John Pallett; State of HEVC Bitrates in 2014: Comparing HEVC, H.264, and MPEG-2, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 124, Issue: 7, October 2015); SMPTE, 2015. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/j18612

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John Pallett; State of HEVC Bitrates in 2014: Comparing HEVC, H.264, and MPEG-2, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 124, Issue: 7, October 2015); SMPTE, 2015. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/j18612

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<span class="citation">John Pallett; <cite>State of HEVC Bitrates in 2014: Comparing HEVC, H.264, and MPEG-2</cite>, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 124, Issue: 7, October 2015); SMPTE, 2015. Available at <a href="https://doi.org/10.5594/j18612" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.5594/j18612</a></span>

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John Pallett; State of HEVC Bitrates in 2014: Comparing HEVC, H.264, and MPEG-2, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 124, Issue: 7, October 2015); SMPTE, 2015
doi: 10.5594/j18612
url: https://doi.org/10.5594/j18612

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John Pallett; <cite id="bib-10-5594-j18612">State of HEVC Bitrates in 2014: Comparing HEVC, H.264, and MPEG-2</cite>, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 124, Issue: 7, October 2015); SMPTE, 2015
<span class="doi">10.5594/j18612</span>
</li>