H.264 Zone

There is a good chance you'll be hearing a lot about H.264 in the coming future. H.264, also known as MPEG-4 AVC, is the next logical step in terms of video compression.

MPEG-2 has been around for a while now, and is no doubt still the most popular video compression format around due to it's use in DVDs. MPEG-2 was developed at a time when most people's computers were only just capable of decoding a standard resolution PAL/NTSC video without the aid of dedicated decoder cards. Computers now are 5 or 6 times as powerful, and it is more than enough computing power to not only decode and encode MPEG-2 in realtime. High definition MPEG-2 clips are easily handled as well. By using more of the CPU, it is very much possible to improve the quality of video compression and at the same time, decrease file size. This is where H.264 comes in.

H.264 can offer the same quality as MPEG-2 at only half the size. This makes H.264 ideal for high definition broadcasts and optical formats like Blu-ray or HD DVD - H.264 is included as part of the specifications for both Blu-ray and HD DVD. H.264 is also the format chosen by the Apple iPhone and Apple TV set top box, and is supported by the Xbox 360 and PS3.

H.264 encoded files are gaining popularity on the Internet too, with many people opting to use this format to encode files to minimize the file size. There is some confusion as to MP4 files and H.264, which are actually two separate things (although you'll more than likely see them being used together). MP4 is a file container format much like AVI, and like AVI, it can allow different compression codecs, including the H.264 codec, to be used. MP4 with H.264 is probably the most common combination around, so some people will refer to H.264 content as MP4 and vice versa.