A new MPEG video standard called High Efficiency Video Coding claims to be twice as efficient as current standards which essentially means that we can expect to download movies twice as fast as before. The format will be able to maintain the same level of quality that we are accustomed to while only requiring half of the bandwidth.
Visual Technology manager Per Fröjdh from Ericsson Research says that video accounts for the majority of data sent over networks today. In fact, Fröjdh believes that 90 percent of all network traffic will be video-related by 2015.
The idea of consuming half the amount of bandwidth that current standards use is great news for those that watch videos on the go using a wireless data plan, especially given the fact that most wireless providers have gotten away from unlimited plans. HEVC videos are said to be more stable as well, yet another boon for streaming watchers.
But if you already have a speedy net connection and data usage isn't a concern, HEVC can also allow for double the quality of current HD video. Streaming HD video already looks pretty nice so one can only imagine what doubling that quality would look like.
The Visual Technology manager feels that we could see this new standard show up in commercial products as soon as 2013. Any bets as to which phone we will see adopt the new standard first?