Versatile Video Coding hasn’t yet superseded High Efficiency Video Coding as the global video industry’s codec of choice. But at IBC 2025 in Amsterdam this weekend, it will edge closer to the mainstream.

Today’s ubiquitous video compression standard, HEVC, or H.265, was once the theoretically-tinged subject of myriad pointy-headed white papers and technical demonstrations at IBC. H.265 began to have its real-world moment starting in round 2018, when the ubiquity of high-definition video content and the emergence of tangible amounts of 4K video pushed the global media and entertainment business to adopt a better video compression standard than H.264 (Advanced Video Coding).

But with 4K streaming now becoming ubiquitous, H.266, the latest compression standard to come from the Joint Video Experts Team, which delivers file sizes 30%-50% smaller versus H.265, is starting to feel a little more tangible.

“VVC was developed to meet the industry’s need for higher video quality at lower bitrates, which translates to a significant reduction in storage and transmission costs,” says Justin Ridge, President of Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF), which will once again unfurl a day full of VVC-centric presentations out of IBC on Sunday, September 14. “VVC’s coding efficiency enables companies throughout the media and entertainment technology ecosystem to find financial savings through improved bandwidth usage and resource allocation.”

Here what’s on MC-IF’s agenda for Sunday:

• In partnership with Tencent Multimedia Lab, Qualcomm will showcase the enhancements that VVC-based 3D video and volumetric video offer for extended reality (XR) experiences. Tencent’s self-developed VVC software codec and corresponding player delivers Ultra High-Definition video, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 chip. Demonstrations will highlight Tencent’s MultiView266 solution with binocular 4K video compression and decoding
• Ericsson will demonstrate how VVC’s built-in multi-view capabilities simplify the creation and delivery of a more dynamic and personalize content experience versus previous codecs. Multi-view video playback is gaining interest from sports video programmers seeking to expand viewer engagement.
• InterDigital will showcase its powerful implementation framework based on Film Grain preservations and VVC performance that enables content owners to take full control of video quality and deliver premium, cinema-grade streaming experiences. Film grain is a storytelling signature that brings depth, texture and authenticity to video. Paired with the compression power of VVC, Film Grain Analysis and Synthesis tools enable content creators and owners to elevate video quality.
• Nokia has three presentations planned.
  • The Finnish tech titan will demonstrate the inference of neural network post filter (NNPG) for various video codecs, including VVC real time decoding, using consumer-grade off-the-shelf hardware. As support for neural network hardware expands, the technology is being widely integrated into laptops, mobile phones and TVs
  • With the emergence of volumetric video, users are being immersed into experiences where they can virtually consume real-world captured content as if they were physically there. Nokia’s new technology, VolStream, enables a number of ew entertainment, education, industrial and communications experiences. The demonstration presents remote communications using volumetric video by recording a 3D representation of a person and streaming it over a network in real time to head-mounted AR glasses.
  • Nokia will also showcase a “Real-time eXtended Reality Multimedia” solution for real-time 360-degree video streaming and 3D spatial audio. RXRM, as it’s known, reduces the bandwidth requirements of 360-degree multimedia streaming by up to 90%, with near-zero latency and no loss in quality, creating immersive experiences for both on-site and remote event participants.
• Finally, Fraunhofer HHI will demonstrate its newly developed method for authenticating compressed video bitstreams by suing digital signatures. The authentication method is based on supplemental enhancement information (SEI) messages specified in H.274/VSEI and available by referencing it in H.266, H.265 and H.264. Fraunhofer HHI’s new method can be applied across multiple use cases beyond the scope of existing technologies like C2PA.