Key techniques of High Efficiency Video Coding standard and its extension

High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) is the newest video coding standard, which is developed by the Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC) consisting of ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) and ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). To improve the coding efficiency, HEVC adopts many new key techniques, such as coding tree unit, prediction unit, transform unit, multi-angle intra prediction, variable PU motion estimation, sample adaptive offset, and so on. Compared with its predecessor-H.264/AVC, HEVC is able to save about 50% bit rate while maintaining almost the same perceptual video quality. This paper aims to illustrate the key techniques of the HEVC standard and preview its extension in the near future.