H.264\AVC

H.264 also known as MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC (Advanced Video Coding) - is a video encoding standard designed for high efficient video streams compression. The first version of the standard was published in May 2003. H.264 was developed by ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) and ISO / IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). Some video encoding programs also identify this standard as “AVC1”

H.264 standard contains several video encoding tools for more efficient compression against previous standards:

• Motion compensation for dynamic block sizes from 16x16 to 4x4.
• Out of picture motion vectors
• Qpel interpolation
• Intra prediction modes for intra frames (before only DC coefficient was allowed)
• PAFF and MBAFF modes for combining interlace and progressive encoding
• Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) algorithms for blocks 4x4 and 8x8
• Deblocking algorithm, sometimes also called “loop filter”
• New entropy coding algorithms
  CABAC - Context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding
  CAVLC - Context-adaptive variable-length coding
• Network Abstraction Level (NAL units)
• Multiframe inter prediction
• Weighted prediction including bidirectional

and many others…

H.264 standard consumed more than a hundred patents held by organizations such as MPEG LA, Microsoft, Fujitsu, Philips, Apple, Samsung, Cisco, Toshiba, Panasonic.