What is H.264?

H.264, short for H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, is a standard for video compression and is poised to become the next standard for format of convergence in the digital video industry now supported by Google / YouTube, Adobe, and Apple iTunes. It contains a number of features that enable it to compress video much more effectively than previous standards, and provides more flexibility for applications across a wide variety of network environments from low bit-rate Internet streaming to HDTV broadcast and Digital Cinema applications with nearly lossless coding.