WHAT'S H.264, H.265, and H.265+ and WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SECURITY SYSTEMS?

WHAT IS H.265?

H.265 video codec achieves a better compression ratio while maintaining high quality pictures at reduced network bandwidths.

H.265, also referred to as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), is a type of video compression which directly affects the rate of streaming (how much or how little delay/glitching/buffering may be happening to a video stream), as well as the amount of space the video file takes up on a hard drive disk (HDD).

H.264 VS. H.265

The most common codec before this was, and to some degree still is, H.264, or AVC.  Most video used in online streaming or downloaded from the internet uses H.264 coding, as well as most security systems, until now.  Comparatively, HVEC (H.265) offers users double the data compression ratio (a significantly smaller compression size) without compromising the quality of the video, or a substantially improved video quality or higher resolution at the same bit rate as lower resolutions now.  H.265 supports video resolutions all the way up to 8192×4320, or 8K UHD.

WHAT'S H.265+ THEN?

An intelligent algorithm self-developed by the manufacturer Hikvision that can greatly decrease the bitrate of video based on a standard H.265 codec. Hikvision's H.265+ is such an optimized video encoding technology based on the standard H.265/ High efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) format. 

With H.265+, video quality nearly matches that of H.265/HEVC but reduces the transmission bandwidth and storage capacity required, due to three key technologies — prediction encoding, noise suppression, and flexible bitrate control.

It demonstrates incredible improvements in bandwidth reduction, data storage efficiency, and video content analyses. 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SECURITY SYSTEMS?

In short, H.265 coding means you can stream an 8 or 12 MP IP camera’s video, or even multiple 12 MP cameras, with much greater ease over your network, and when your footage is stored on your NVR, you will be able to fit a significantly higher amount of footage onto a single HDD.  H.265 gives you better, faster streaming, and saves you money on the amount of storage you need to provide for your data on your NVR.