Fraunhofer HHI was involved in the development of the new video codec H.266/VVC (Versatile Video Coding). Due to significantly improved compression, VVC requires 50% lower data rates than its predecessor codec H.265/HEVC while maintaining the same perceived picture quality. This enables more efficient transmission and storage of all video formats from SD to 8K and thus streaming applications with much lower bandwidth.

The codec was developed specifically with a focus on ultra-high resolution video content (4K and 8K) and also supports special applications such as high dynamic range and omnidirectional 360-degree video. Mobile video applications, where data capacity is usually limited, also benefit from the reduction of the required data rates. Overall, VVC improves the accessibility of video formats in general and at the same time expands the range of possible applications.

VVC-compatible chips are currently under development. Fraunhofer HHI has already published suitable software for both encoder and decoder.