Comparative Evaluation of H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC for DVB-T2: Rate–Distortion, Complexity, and Capacity Implications

With the increasing demand for efficient video delivery over terrestrial broadcasting systems, selecting the appropriate video compression standard is crucial for optimizing bandwidth usage and maintaining high-quality transmissions. This study presents a comparative analysis of MPEG-4 (H.264/AVC) and HEVC (H.265) video compression standards in the context of Digital Video Broadcasting - Second Generation Terrestrial (DVB-T2) transmission. MPEG-4 has been widely adopted in previous broadcasting systems, while HEVC offers improved compression efficiency, making it a promising alternative for modern broadcasting applications. The research evaluates both codecs based on key performance metrics including compression ratio, video quality (measured via PSNR and SSIM), bitrate efficiency, and computational complexity. Test scenarios are developed using standard-definition and high-definition video content, encoded under similar transmission parameters suitable for DVB-T2. The results demonstrate that HEVC achieves up to 50% bitrate savings compared to MPEG-4 for equivalent video quality, thereby allowing more channels or higher quality content within the same bandwidth. However, HEVC's increased encoding complexity and hardware requirements are noted as potential limitations for deployment in existing infrastructure. This analysis provides critical insights into the trade-offs between legacy and next-generation codecs for DVB-T2 broadcasting, supporting broadcasters and policymakers in making informed decisions regarding system upgrades and spectrum management.