About the H.264 / AVC codec
H.264 hits the practical sweet spot of quality, encode speed and hardware decoding, which is why it remains the compatibility default.
- Media
- video
- Compression
- Lossy
- Introduced
- 2003
- Licensing
- Patent pool (MPEG LA / Access Advance)
H.264 / AVC scores
Deterministic scores calculated from the structured facts above. Identical facts always produce identical scores.
Overall score
83/100
Archiving score
100- it is a current, actively maintained format
- it is actively maintained and current
Confidence 36% · evidence coverage 56%
Longevity score
89- it is actively maintained and current
- it is a current, actively maintained format
- it occupies a niche corner of the ecosystem
Confidence 38% · evidence coverage 75%
Related to H.264 / AVC
Data quality
Every claim on this page is classified as a verified fact, a derived fact or an assumption.
- Overall confidence
- 90%
- Verification status
- verified
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-03
- Verified facts
- 2
2 classified claims backed by 2 sources.
- Convert Always editorial review — Convert Always
- Media container and codec guide — MDN Web Docs
Sources and review status
Review status: verified · confidence 90%
Last reviewed 2026-08-03 (revision 1).
- Convert Always editorial review — Convert Always