ESPOO, Finland—European connectivity leaders Nokia and Ericsson, have partnered with Berlin’s Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), to shape and drive the next generation of video coding standardization—for better immersive media and mobile video user experiences in the 6G era.
For the first time, the three partners are combining their video codec research expertise with the goal of strengthening Europe's role in next generation standardization, they said.
Researchers from the three companies recently demonstrated a new video codec with considerably higher compression efficiency than the current standards (H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, and H.266/VVC) without significantly increasing complexity, while also improving energy efficiency and scalability. The documented research provides early evidence of technology capable of meeting the requirements for the next video coding standardization phase—an important milestone that helps initiate the process towards future decision-making, according to the companies.
Fraunhofer is a pioneer in the development of audio and video standards, having developed the MP3 audio standard in the early ‘90’s. The German institute was also a co-developer of the AAC standard and involved in the development of video MPEG standards as well.
The partners’ joint submission to the oversight bodies—the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group and the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG)—was positively evaluated and is expected to help catalyze progress towards evaluation and decision-making by the standardization committee, the companies said.
In line with forecast 6G deployment, the next video codec standard is expected to be operational from 2029-2030 and will define the digital media landscape for the following decade. Until then, current standards, such as VVC, play a vital role in delivering advanced video experiences, driving market demand for high-efficiency streaming, immersive media formats, and scalable solutions across diverse devices and networks.
The new standard will be essential to a wide range of video-based applications, including mobile communication and streaming, as well as immersive and low-latency experiences. Anticipated use cases include the coding of professional-, user-, and AI-generated content; coding of gaming and 3D content; coding of content for machine consumption; and automotive and industrial use.
“Nokia’s inventors have been instrumental in the development of all market-adopted video codecs for the last three decades, including fundamental H.26x video compression technologies, and we are excited about shaping the next generation of video standards,” said Ville-Veikko Mattila, Head of Multimedia Technologies for Nokia. “By working together at the very start of the standardization journey we will ensure that the values of openness, excellence, and sustainability are embedded in the next generation of digital media experiences.”
Magnus Frodigh, Head of Research at Ericsson, said, “as a global connectivity leader, Ericsson is perfectly positioned to research and drive 6G enablement capabilities. We are proud to partner with Nokia and Fraunhofer HHI in video coding to combine research expertise and shape the next standard. Our partnership video codec achievement not only shows the ability of European technology leaders to come together and pioneer breakthroughs, but, by being prominent at the very start of the process, also flags our combined determination and commitment to shape the next generation of standards.”
“Video technologies are central to the digital experiences of tomorrow,” said Prof. Thomas Wiegand, Executive Director of Fraunhofer HHI. “Our joint research with Ericsson and Nokia demonstrates Europe’s strong competence in advanced media technologies and its active role in global standardization efforts. This collaboration also builds upon the contributions of the broader JVET research community, whose work continues to drive progress in next-generation video coding.”
In the U.S., 6G video encoding standards research is being led by the Next G Alliance, a D.C.-based industry alliance that a year ago produced a white paper titled “Video Codecs for 6G-Machine-Type Communications: Improving the Quality of Critical Application Roles.” The paper addresses the role of video codecs in 6G machine-type communications and points toward the needed evolution of video compression for 6G.
