The CM70 series and CM93 support H265, H264 and MJPEG compression formats 

H.264, also known as Advanced Video Coding (AVC), was developed by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) together with the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). Released in 2003, H.264 became a milestone in video compression, offering a significant improvement in video quality at lower bit rates compared to its predecessors, such as MPEG-2. Its efficiency and versatility made it the standard for a wide range of applications, from streaming services like YouTube and Netflix to Blu-ray Discs and video conferencing.

A decade later, H.265, also known as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), was introduced in 2013 by the same collaborative efforts between VCEG and MPEG. H.265 aimed to double the data compression ratio of H.264 while maintaining the same level of video quality, or to provide substantially improved video quality at the same bit rate. This advancement was crucial for adapting to the growing demands for higher resolutions, such as 4K and 8K, and for efficient streaming in increasingly bandwidth-constrained environments.

Both H.264 and H.265 have played pivotal roles in shaping modern digital video delivery, with H.265 continuing to push the boundaries of video compression technology, ensuring smoother and more efficient viewing experiences across diverse platforms and devices.

The key technical differences between H.264 and H.265 lie in their compression efficiency and algorithm complexity. H.265, or HEVC, utilizes more advanced techniques, such as larger and more flexible block structures, called Coding Tree Units (CTUs), which can be as large as 64x64 pixels compared to H.264's maximum of 16x16. H.265 also enhances motion compensation and prediction, offering improved precision and variable block sizes. Additionally, it supports more sophisticated intra- and inter-prediction modes, better handling of high-resolution content, and superior parallel processing capabilities, enabling more efficient encoding and decoding processes while significantly reducing bandwidth requirements.

To select the compression format, open the camera Web GUI and navigate to VIDEO > Video Encoder (Don't forget to hit the SAVE button!)

MJPEG (Motion JPEG) is a video compression format in which each video frame or interlaced field of a digital video sequence is compressed separately as a JPEG image. It has been originally developed for multimedia PC applications. Note that if you select MJPEG, you will have only one stream and it is not the most efficient method of encoding.

(FYI, the Avonic CM7x-IP cameras are equipped with a MJPEG snapshot feature to, for example, implement into

third party software. Every time the page is refreshed, the picture will be updated. See MJEPG Snapshot)

H.264 (also referred to as Advanced Video Coding (AVC) or MPEG-4 Part 10) is still by far the most supported compression format today not only because it is an open standard but especially the beauty of H.264 is that you do not have to worry about bandwith (especially compared with 1Gb/10Gb AVoIP bandwidths) as you can set the limit and prefered settings yourself and the encoder will take care of the rest to still deliver quality video streams. Plus H.264 (as H265 below) can have very low latency if implemented in the right way (See our case study with NATO of IP viewing in the same room) 

H.265 (also called HEVC -High Efficiency Video Coding-) is the successor to H.264 but has some performance improvements over it and can be faster, but it heavily depends on the decoder. It generates smaller files than H.264, thus decreasing the bandwidth required to view these streams. This makes it an ideal codec for high-resolution streaming but H265 is currently not supported by many systems.