HDR Video Coding For Aerial Video With VVC and AV1

Today, a huge variety of video codecs are available for compressing video, for a wide range of applications. Besides the traditional MPEG-2 and H.264 codecs, we now have H.265, VP9, AV1, H.266, EVC, and LC-EVC. H.266 succeeds H.265; EVC is essentially a light version of H.266/VVC; AV1 is a more advanced version of VP9; and LC-EVC is not a codec at all (nor related to EVC), but a codec enhancer. So of the remaining contenders for the next-generation video codec, we focus on perhaps the two most relevant: VVC and AV1. We take a practical approach, and focus on a specific application: high-quality, 4K aerial HDR video. Consumers love 4K UHD HDR. That moniker sells TVs. And among the most common way consumers can get a hold of capturing such content is with a high-end consumer drone. Modern drones can already capture 4K (and even 8K) in HDR, using the HLG transfer function, in 10-bit H.265, at 100 Mbs, creating clean content. We have collected some representative aerial HDR video clips to test with. In this context, we consider three issues: (a) convenience of conversion; (b) coding efficiency; and (c) playback support. We mention IP licensing issues in passing but focus on the technical merits as well as business prospects. In short, we find that both formats are usable, and moderately convenient to convert to. VVC has a slight edge in terms of coding efficiency (similar to 15%). However, only one of these has even a possibility of wide playback support at this time: AV1. But that will change in time (similar to 3-5 years). AV1 dates to March, 2018, VVC only to July, 2020.