H.265 vs. H.264 Comparison Guide: Which Codec is Better? - Boris FX
| Metric | x264 (1080p, CRF 18) | x265 (1080p, CRF 20, 10-bit) | |--------|----------------------|-------------------------------| | Bitrate | 2.8 Mbps | 1.4 Mbps | | SSIM (similarity to source) | 0.978 | 0.972 | | Encode time (per min of video) | 0.5x realtime | 4.2x realtime | | Artifact visibility (flat areas) | None | Minor banding in gradients (e.g., sky) | s/family guy x265
A standard 22-minute episode that might take up 400MB+ in x264 can often be reduced to 200–300MB in x265 with no perceptible loss in quality. A 50% reduction in file size lowers the barrier to piracy
A 50% reduction in file size lowers the barrier to piracy. Users on metered or slow connections who would not download a 500 MB episode might download a 120 MB x265 version. However, studies show that availability, not file size, is the primary piracy driver (Danaher et al., 2020). studies show that availability