H.264 Codec SDK Libraries

The LEADTOOLS H.264 Codec is a state-of-the-art DirectShow filter and Media Foundation Transform for compressing and decompressing video data using H.264/AVC standard (ISO/IEC 14496-10). H.264 is one of the most popular and advanced video standards developed jointly by ITU and MPEG. H.264/AVC provides a far more efficient algorithm for compressing video than most other compression methods available. H.264 typically outperforms all existing standards by a factor of three to four, especially in comparison to MPEG-2.

Feature-rich H.264 Codec SDK

H.264 Codec Libraries

In addition to the standard compression advantages that H.264 brings, the LEADTOOLS implementation adds a proprietary "super compression" option, even further increasing compression while still having the ability to be decoded by standard H.264 decoders.

  • Full support for encoding, decoding, and transcoding H.264/AVC-compressed video data adhering to ISO/IEC 14496-10 standard
  • Decode and play high-definition 720i, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p formats in real time
  • Decode and encode with hardware acceleration for optimal speed
    • Intel Quick Sync Video
    • NVIDIA CUDA asynchronous and synchronous modes (NVENC & NVCUVENC)
  • Generate High, Main, and Baseline profiles for encoding onto Blu-ray media
  • Preset compression options for iPhone, iPod, and other devices and Smart Phones
  • Correct audio and video synchronization issues with automatic timestamp drift correction
  • Provides a mechanism for smoother playback of corrupted video data
  • User-defined motion estimation settings controls the balance between encoder speed and quality
  • Precise interprediction and network packet-loss protection achieved through multiple reference frames
  • Intraprediction may be performed either on 4x4 or 16x16 blocks
  • Efficient computation through Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) as an integer transform
  • Motion vector prediction is performed before the frame is prepared for compression (pre-DCT), improving prediction and compression performance
  • Implements the SAD HADAMARD calculation to increase the compression ratio
  • Employs several contextual algorithms that improve both visual fidelity and compression ratios
    • Context-sensitive deblocking filter smooths out internal edges for improved visual quality
    • Context-Adaptive Variable Length Coding (CAVLC) to encode transform coefficients
    • Context-Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding (CABAC) method continually updates frequency statistics of the incoming data and adjusts the compression algorithm
  • Control the number and types of frames encoded into the video stream
  • Produce and consume RTP H.264 streams that work with video conferencing systems such as TANDBERG and Polycom
  • Includes .NET (C# & VB) and C DLL libraries for 32 and 64-bit development
H.264 description

What is H.264?

H.264 is a high quality video compression algorithm and is suited for all types of applications with different ranges of bit rates. In addition to MP4 files, H.264 compressed video data can be stored inside AVI, Ogg, MPEG-2 Program, MPEG2 Transport Stream, MKV (Matroska), and MXF files with the option of saving the file with or without the audio data. The technology is also known as AVC (Advanced Video Coding) or MPEG-4 Part 10 (ISO/IEC 14496-10).

H.264 Codec Development Made Easy

Easy to Integrate

LEADTOOLS handles the heavy lifting, eliminating months of R&D, while giving you the best quality and performance available. You'll be free to focus on other components of your application. Download the LEADTOOLS evaluation to streamline your development.

Cross platform libraries

H.264 Codec SDK Platforms and Programming Interfaces

Operating Systems

Projects that use LEADTOOLS H.264 Codec libraries can be deployed to Windows devices.

Frameworks

Developers that are leveraging these frameworks can utilize the H.264 Codec SDK: .NET Framework, WinForms, and ASP.NET

Programming, Scripting, Markup

H.264 Codec code snippets and demo applications are provided for the following: C#, VB, XAML, and C/C++

Start Coding with LEADTOOLS H.264 Codec


Multimedia libraries for Windows development in C, C++, C#, and VB.NET targeting DirectShow and Media Foundation frameworks.

Download LEADTOOLS Libraries