x265 is an open source and cross-platform next-generation video encoder utility that uses the H265/HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) video compression standard, the successor of the widely used H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Coding) format.
It has been designed from the ground up to encode video files that have the same quality as the ones created with the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video encoder, but outputting smaller size files. It can also encode files with much better video quality than H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, but at the same bit rate.
The project has been developed by various developers from the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) projects, as a MPEG-H Part 2 and H.265 encoder.
Runs entirely in text mode
The program runs entirely in text mode (command-line interface) and has been engineered to define the lows of video compression standards, supporting the 8K UHD (Ultra High Definition) format and resolutions up to 8192 x 4320.
Input options support raw YUV or Y4M, source color space parameter, bit-depth, source picture size, first frame to encode, maximum number of frames to encode, and source frame rate.
Users can enable various options
Users can enable various options, such as Wavefront Parallel Processing, set the maximum CU size, choose a motion search method, enable asymmetric and rectangular motion partitions, enable early SKIP detection, as well as Cbf fast mode.
In addition, it allows users to enable open-GOP, disable adaptive I-frame decision, use B-frames as references, enable weighted prediction in P slices, set the size of the VBV buffer, enable cutree for Adaptive Quantization, and much more.
Bottom line
All in all, x265 is the future of video encoding. It supports GNU/Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows operating system, and believe that it will become the industry’s standard in video encoding, offering high definition (HD) files of 720p and 1080p in smaller sizes.
