LEAD H.264 Video Codec

LEAD H.264 Codec is built as a state of the art DirectShow filter for compressing and decompressing video data using H.264/AVC standard.
H.264 is the latest and most advanced video standard developed jointly by ITU and MPEG. H.264/AVC provides a far more efficient algorithm for compressing video than any other compression method available. It typically outperforms all existing standards by a factor of three to four especially in comparison to MPEG-2.
Main features:
- H.264 Standard and Professional Encoders include the LEAD AAC Encoder and ISO Multiplexer.
- H.264 Decoder includes the LEAD AAC Decoder and ISO De-multiplexer.
- User definable motion estimation settings controls the balance between encoder speed and quality.
- Multiple reference frames of any combination of past and future frames, provides precise interprediction as well as improved robustness during packet loss while streaming over the network or Internet.
- Unrestricted motion search uses reference frames that may be partly outside the frame improving network performance by predicting missing data.
- Only the difference between motion vectors is saved, increasing the compression ratio.
- Intraprediction may be performed either on 4x4 blocks or 16x16.
- Motion vector prediction is performed before the frame is prepared for compression (pre-DCT) improving prediction and compression performance.
- Computation is more efficient because LEAD implements the traditional Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) as an integer transform.
- The LEAD H.264 Encoder makes use of the SAD HADAMARD calculation to increase the compression ratio.
- A context-sensitive deblocking filter smoothes out internal edges, significantly improving the visual quality of the video. The filter strength depends upon the prediction modes and relationship between the neighboring blocks.
- Employs Context-Adaptive Variable Length Coding (CAVLC) to encode transform coefficients.
- The Context-Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding (CABAC) method continually updates frequency statistics of the incoming data and adaptively adjusts the algorithm, improving compression performance.
- The LEAD H.264 Encoder provides the user with control of the number and types of frames encoded into the video stream