AVCH264

AVCH264 is not a formal designation used in official standards. The term is sometimes encountered as a mistaken or shorthand reference to H.264, also known as MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC (Advanced Video Coding). The standard’s official names are ITU-T H.264 and ISO/IEC 14496-10.

Development and scope: H.264/AVC was developed jointly by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) and the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). It was designed to improve compression efficiency over previous video codecs while maintaining broad compatibility with consumer devices and software. The baseline, main, and high profiles address a range of applications from low-complexity video conferencing to high-definition broadcasting.

Technical features: H.264 uses block-based motion compensation, variable block sizes for motion prediction, intra-prediction within frames, transform coding with discrete cosine transforms, and flexible entropy coding (CAVLC and CABAC). It supports inter- and intra-frame coding, multiple reference frames, and scalable profiles. These techniques collectively deliver higher quality at lower bitrates compared with earlier standards.

Applications and impact: H.264 became the dominant video codec for online streaming, broadcast, Blu-ray discs, and many video conferencing systems. It is widely supported by hardware decoders and software encoders, with popular implementations such as the x264 encoder contributing to its ubiquity.

Licensing: H.264 is covered by numerous patents; licensing is typically managed through patent pools and licensing agencies, which has influenced its adoption in some contexts and led to considerations of alternative codecs in certain markets.

See also: H.264, AVC, MPEG-4 Part 10, video codecs. If you encounter AVCH264, it is likely a colloquial or erroneous reference to H.264/AVC rather than a distinct standard.