MainConcept HEVC Codec Continues to Lead the Industry

MSU, the Preeminent Codec Benchmarking Lab, Shows MainConcept as Industry Leader in 10-bit and 8-bit Encoding with up to 30% Greater Bitrate Efficiency than Open Source

Aachen, Germany; San Diego, California – April 21, 2021 – MainConcept®, the leading provider of codec and streaming technologies, has once again topped the list of HEVC codecs tested as part of the highly respected Moscow State University (MSU) Video Codecs Comparisons. MainConcept powers digital video solutions for the professional and broadcast industries as well as streaming platforms, camera manufacturers, post-production facilities, medical and surveillance equipment manufacturers, and others who require top-tier codec technology.

The MSU Graphics & Media Lab (GML), Video Group—now in their 15th year of testing codecs—published their latest report earlier this month. The comparison used an objective assessment methodology in their testing of HEVC encoders, including sequences at 4K resolution as well as 8- and 10-bit color resolution. For the second year in a row, MainConcept came out on top in tests across 8- and 10-bit encoding.

The HEVC Codec is available from MainConcept as a SDK (software development kit) for professionals and supports both Intel x86 and ARM processor architectures. It is deployed in industry-leading products such as Adobe Premiere Pro, MAGIX Video Deluxe and VEGAS Pro, AVID Media Composer and Media Central, and Wowza Streaming Engine, to name a few. Those looking for ready-to-use options get the same HEVC codec incorporated in the MainConcept FFmpeg plugin and the MainConcept Codec plugin for Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio video editing software. Other MainConcept products that pack the powerful HEVC codec include TotalCode Studio and Live Encoder.

The 10-bit tests, using x265 as a reference, showed that the MainConcept HEVC codec produced the best quality. In fact, MainConcept improved on the previous study, topping open source by 30% in bitrate encoding efficiency—proving the superiority of MainConcept engineering.

In the 8-bit encoding tests, MainConcept led the list for best speed to quality trade-off. This metric is especially important for streaming and other use-cases that rely on fast and reliable content delivery. In this test, MainConcept again beat out open source by delivering better quality at a faster encoding speed.

“I am proud that MainConcept continues to top the MSU list of HEVC encoders. For over 25 years, we have been leading the development of video codecs, delivering the highest quality and best-performing products for leading companies across their respective industries,” said Thorsten Schumann, Senior Vice President of Engineering, MainConcept. “There is a reason hundreds of companies choose MainConcept over other solutions, including open source, and the MSU results prove why.”

There are many open-source products in the marketplace today, but often there are hidden costs. Open-source projects are built on a variety of APIs and do not deliver the quality of audio and video that is the hallmark of the MainConcept product line. MainConcept products are built using a singular API that allows you to quickly and easily add more codecs and formats into your digital video workflows as needed. The company also offers support and professional services to ensure customer success.

For more information on MainConcept, visit www.MainConcept.com. A full copy of the report from Moscow State University is available online.