MC-IF shifts to production-ready VVC tools as global video traffic hits two-thirds

The focus on production environments marks a shift from laboratory standardization to operational cost-cutting. VVC offers approximately 50% better compression than HEVC, addressing a landscape where video occupies two-thirds of global internet traffic and data creation grows at double-digit rates. While AV1 has secured strong footing in royalty-free environments, VVC’s emergence in silicon roadmaps signals that premium high-bandwidth content—specifically 8K and immersive media—now has a viable delivery path for mass-market hardware. Tracking the volume of VVC-enabled smart TVs sold in the second half of 2026 will be the key signal for content providers to commit to VVC-first delivery pipelines.

The push by MC-IF occurs alongside a broader regional standardization of VVC, most notably in Brazil. In August 2025, Brazil’s SBTVD Forum finalized its TV 3.0 project, mandating VVC as the primary video codec for its next-generation terrestrial broadcast system. This move, per Digital TV Group (DTG) reporting in late 2025, forced global TV chipset manufacturers to integrate VVC decoders to remain compliant with the Brazilian market, effectively seeding the hardware ecosystem for other regions. Despite this, AV1 remains a formidable competitor; by early 2026, Netflix reported that AV1 was its second-most-streamed format, with YouTube utilizing it for 4K uploads, per Streaming Media.

Technically, VVC is landing in a market already struggling with 'codec fatigue.' While H.264 still accounts for a significant portion of general streaming, HEVC reached 65% production adoption by 2024, per Bitmovin. Analysts at TeleGeography noted in May 2025 that while global bandwidth demand growth slowed to 29% annually, the absolute volume of data necessitates the 50% bitrate reductions promised by VVC. To mitigate adoption friction, vendors such as V-Nova have combined VVC with MPEG-5 LCEVC to enable software-based decoding on older mobile devices, reducing the immediate need for hardware upgrades.

Licensing remains the primary hurdle for the broader ecosystem. While MC-IF works on technical interoperability, patent pools like Access Advance have introduced Multi-Codec Bridging Agreements to lower costs for devices using both HEVC and VVC. However, per StreamingMedia reporting in March 2026, 44% of industry respondents still cite royalties as a primary barrier to VVC. This stands in contrast to AV1, which has less than a 1% citation rate for licensing concerns, suggesting that VVC’s near-term success is likely confined to high-bitrate premium services and broadcast mandates where technical performance outweighs licensing overhead.