H.264 vs H.265: File Size, Bitrate, and When to Use Each

H.265, or High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), has been lauded since 2013 for offering 50% smaller file sizes at the same visual quality compared to its predecessor, H.264. However, its adoption has been hindered by complex patent licensing involving multiple patent pools, leading to higher costs and fragmented browser support. This has paved the way for AV1, a royalty-free codec supported by major tech companies like Google and Netflix, which is gaining traction due to its comparable or superior compression efficiency without the licensing complications. Both H.265 and AV1 show significant advantages in bandwidth savings for high-resolution content, such as 4K, but H.265's real-world compression savings vary by resolution, with notable advantages primarily at higher resolutions. H.264 remains the most compatible choice across platforms, especially for live streaming and lower-resolution content, due to its universal support and simpler licensing terms. Despite H.265's technical merits, its broader adoption is challenged by the royalty-free AV1, which offers a compelling alternative with growing hardware support, especially as encoding technology continues to advance.