Video Encoding Standards: Evolution, Patents, and Industry Adoption in Chinese Streaming Platforms

In the post‑pandemic era, high‑definition video has become a daily expectation for users, and the technology that makes 1080p, 4K and even 8K streaming possible is video encoding. Encoding compresses raw video by removing spatial and temporal redundancy, reducing file size and bandwidth requirements so that large video files can be stored, transmitted and played back efficiently.

Several mainstream video coding standards have emerged internationally, including the VPx family (VP8, VP9), the H.26x series (H.264, H.265/HEVC), China’s AVS series (AVS1, AVS2) and the newer AV1 from the Alliance for Open Media. Each new generation roughly doubles compression efficiency, allowing the same visual quality with half the bandwidth. For example, HEVC needs about half the bitrate of H.264, while AV1 can save more than 20 % bandwidth compared with H.265.

Patents play a decisive role in the adoption of these standards. The HEVC Advance patent pool charges royalties, prompting many companies to favor royalty‑free codecs such as VP9 and AV1. China’s AVS standards were designed with low or zero patent fees, helping domestic platforms avoid costly licensing.

Major streaming giants—Cisco, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Netflix, iQIYI and others—have all invested heavily in video coding. iQIYI, for instance, was the first Chinese platform to support VP9, AV1 and AVS2, and it has built proprietary encoders (QVP9, QAV1) that outperform open‑source versions by several times in speed while maintaining high quality.

The practical impact of advanced encoding is evident: users can watch 1080p content on 4G networks without buffering, and storage consumption is reduced (a 10 GB 1080p movie can be compressed to about 8 GB with AV1). This bandwidth efficiency also eases network load during traffic spikes, such as the surge in video traffic observed during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Beyond pure compression, the industry faces challenges related to standard monopolies and hardware support. While H.265 enjoys broad hardware decoding, newer codecs like AV1 require optimized software or dedicated silicon to achieve real‑time performance. Chinese platforms are already preparing for next‑generation standards such as AVS3 and H.266 to meet 5G and 8K demands.

In summary, video encoding standards drive the continuous improvement of streaming quality, reduce bandwidth costs, and shape the competitive landscape of the global video industry. Understanding the technical evolution, patent landscape, and real‑world deployments is essential for anyone involved in streaming media, network engineering, or digital content production.