BEAVERTON, Ore. - eTradeWire -- Versatile Video Coding (VVC) made significant strides in 2024, with growing adoption across consumer electronics, software frameworks, and industry applications, positioning it as a transformative technology set to expand further in 2025 with broader deployments and increased efficiency gain, says Justin Ridge, president of the Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) and principal engineer at Nokia's multimedia research and standardization unit, in a recent vidcast interview for journalists. The past year saw VVC make significant inroads across multiple sectors, particularly in consumer adoption and industry integration.

Milestones of 2024: VVC Finds Its Footing

"One of the most notable achievements of 2024 was Intel's decision to integrate VVC decoding capabilities into its Lunar Lake GPUs. Released in September, this hardware-level integration signaled a major step forward in VVC's adoption, bringing the technology into the hands of everyday consumers through their devices," he said.

In addition to hardware, software advancements also underscored VVC's growing presence. The versatile multimedia framework FFmpeg added support for VVC encoding and decoding mid-year, marking another critical milestone.

Ridge described FFmpeg as a "Swiss Army knife for multimedia" and emphasized that its adoption of VVC makes the technology accessible to a much broader audience, from developers to independent content creators.

"These developments," Ridge noted, "are fostering a foundation for more widespread use.

The Future of VVC: Forecasting 2025

As 2025 approaches, Ridge expects VVC to make significant strides in three key areas.

"First, grassroots interest in the technology is likely to increase, thanks in part to FFmpeg's integration. With more tools making VVC accessible, independent creators and 'prosumers' are beginning to explore how the technology can compress files more efficiently and optimize streaming," he said.

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This grassroots adoption, Ridge predicted, will spark greater awareness and demand for VVC capabilities.

Simultaneously, VVC is poised to expand further into consumer electronics. Ridge highlighted its inclusion in TV chipsets and its role in Brazil's new TV standards as signs of growing momentum.

"Once regional markets like Brazil adopt VVC on a larger scale," Ridge explained, global economies of scale often follow, driving adoption in other parts of the world."

The integration of VVC into mobile ecosystems represents another promising frontier. Ridge pointed to demonstrations in 2024 that showcased the technology running efficiently on older mobile devices.

"These prototypes, combined with software designed for broader use, suggest that VVC's mobile applications could soon reach commercial deployment," he explained.

Challenges and Key Considerations for Adoption

Despite its promise, the adoption of VVC is not without challenges. Ridge emphasized that deploying a new codec requires careful consideration of several factors. In industries like telecommunications, spectrum and bandwidth efficiency are critical. VVC's ability to deliver high-quality video at lower bitrates offers a potential solution to spectrum saturation, providing an incentive for adoption.

"Another challenge lies in managing fragmentation and compatibility. While VVC provides clear benefits, organizations must also consider how to maintain support for legacy systems during the transition. For example, broadcasters cannot afford to alienate audiences with older devices that lack VVC compatibility," said Ridge.

The logistical complexities of integrating VVC into workflows also pose hurdles. From video production to transmission and decoding, the entire ecosystem must support the new codec for it to succeed. Ridge pointed out that timing is key; organizations must carefully align their efforts with broader industry readiness to maximize the benefits of adoption.

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The ROI of VVC

For organizations considering VVC, the potential return on investment is a compelling factor. On this front, Ridge noted that VVC has a lot going for its immediate and long-term future.

"This technology's coding efficiency is unparalleled, enabling organizations to achieve higher video quality at lower bitrates. This makes it possible for industry players to reduce storage and transmission costs significantly, an efficiency that translates directly into financial savings, whether through reduced storage needs or optimized spectrum usage," he said.

Additionally, VVC's technical design makes it well-suited for deployment across an extensive variety of devices, including lower-end products.

"The codec's reasonable decoder complexity, which allows it to operate efficiently on a wide range of devices—including older smartphones—without excessive battery drain," he said.

Beyond cost savings, VVC's rigorous design and testing processes ensure reliability and interoperability across various industries. The ability to span applications—from immersive video to scalable formats—further enhances its appeal, offering a unified solution that reduces the need for multiple specialized codecs.

MC-IF's Role in Supporting Adoption

As the industry navigates the opportunities and challenges of VVC, MC-IF will continue to play a critical role in facilitating adoption. Ridge outlined the organization's commitment to education, aiming to bridge the gap between the technical complexity of VVC standards and the practical needs of users. By providing clear guidelines and addressing concerns that VVC is difficult to deploy, MC-IF helps stakeholders understand how to integrate VVC effectively into a growing number of operations. Ridge underscored the expanding role of video across industries.

"From automotive applications to surveillance and beyond, video is becoming integral to products and services that were once outside the traditional scope of video technology. By supporting interoperability and scalability, VVC offers a pathway to unlock new opportunities across these emerging markets," he said.

With the collective efforts of a growing ecosystem, 2025 promises to be a landmark year for this versatile and transformative technology. For Ridge and the industry at large, the focus remains on ensuring VVC delivers on its potential to reshape the future of video.

To see the full interview with Justin Ridge, Click Here.