The DVD Forum has ratified the H.264 Advanced Video Codec (AVC) to be included in the next generation HD-DVD format. The AVC codec was jointly developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and has been ratified into the MPEG-4 specification as the next generation video codec.
Apple has announced that it will incorporate AVC into its QuickTime software next year. AVC is a highly scalable video codec, delivering excellent quality across the enture bandwidth spectrum, from high definition video to video conferencing and 3G mobile multimedia, according to Apple. At NAB2004, Apple demonstrated QuickTime video encoded at full high definition resolution (1920x1080 24p), at 6.8 and 8 Mbps on a dual-processor Power Mac G5, delivering full HD quality at up to half the data rate of MPEG-2, which is used in current HDTV broadcasts.
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