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An international standards team is close to approving a new compression format for digital video, promising improvements as well as a few uncertainties for emerging multimedia technology.
Known as H.264, among other designations, the new format is turning heads over claims that it can deliver DVD-quality broadcasts over the Internet using considerably fewer network resources than rivals.

Created in a unique partnership between U.S. and European standards groups known as the Joint Video Team, the format, or codec, should be ratified as part of the MPEG-4 (Moving Picture Experts Group) multimedia standard by year's end, according to Robert Koenen, chairman of the MPEG Requirements Group.

"The codec is the result of technical advances in the arena of video compression," he said. "It's quite impressive, especially in light of the powerful hardware available today to run multimedia applications."

The main licensing clearinghouse for MPEG-4 standards, MPEG LA, has asked companies to submit for consideration by Friday any patents they believe cover the H.264 format. The early deadline aims to ensure that technology licensing for the format, which is hammered out separately from standards-setting, does not fall too far behind the ratification process, as has been the case with MPEG-4.

Compressing bulky data files is key for delivery of video online and onto wireless devices--two markets long coveted by media companies but effectively ruled out in part because of cost and quality issues.

Few high-speed Internet access providers can guarantee data throughputs in excess of 500kbps, making the size of video files a top hindrance to Hollywood's Internet video-distribution plans. H.264 goes a long way in solving the problem, having demonstrated DVD-quality broadcasts at bit rates slightly under 1mbps in tests.

Although that doesn't mean average consumers will begin seeing DVD-quality streaming over standard broadband connections anytime soon, it sets an important performance benchmark when compared with other formats.

The data savings realized in H.264--also known as MPEG-4 Part 10--could speed Internet and wireless video-on-demand services. It could prove valuable for cable operators that want to broadcast more channels over their pipes, and publishers that seek to cram more and higher-quality video files on digital media such as DVDs. Those industries, for now, typically use the older MPEG-2 video standard, which is up to four times bulkier.

H.264 also promises a 33 percent improvement over video formats currently implemented under MPEG-4.

While few doubt the power of the new format, its emergence could complicate the landscape for MPEG-4's video format offers, which presently consist of two implementations: Simple Profile (SP) and Advanced Simple Profile (ASP).

Despite advantages over its predecessors in raw compression power, H.264 may not wind up as a simple replacement for SP and ASP. That's because H.264 is built on a new architecture that requires considerably more processing power than the generation of video-compression formats now in use, making it less efficient in energy-sensitive applications that run on battery power, such as handheld devices and camcorders.

In addition, H.264 is not "backwards compatible," meaning software written for older MPEG-4 formats, including SP and ASP, will not automatically support it. Upgrading the older software to support the new format would be relatively painless, but could cause problems for consumers and companies forced to keep track of multiple formats.

H.264's pending approval could motivate some customers to wait until the new format is ratified and implemented before making the jump to MPEG-4, further delaying adoption of a standard that has been tied up in licensing troubles for years.