Performance Comparison of High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) with Standard H.264/AVC Encoders

Background: The emergence of new video applications and beyond high-definition formats (e.g.,4k×2k or 8k×4k resolution) signifies the need to develop a new video coding standard that is more sophisticated than other existing standards, including H.264/AVC. The new standard must have higher coding efficiency than that of H.264/AVC. High efficiency video coding (HEVC) has been designed to address all existing applications of H.264/MPEG-4 AVC and focus on suitability for high-level aplications. Method: In this study, we compared the new HEVC standardization and the previous version (H.264/AVC). The two encoders and the different tools and algorithms used were also comprehensively investigated. Finally, a comparison between software and hardware implementation was conducted. This study provides a relevant new hardware architecture for HEVC (H.265) using the existing one for H.264/AVC. Result: Experimental results show that H.265/MPEG-HEVC provides significant average bitrate savings of 40.3% and 35.4% for interactive and entertainment applications, respectively, compared with H.264/MPEG-AVC.