Abstract
This registration is entered into the [webcodecs-codec-registry].
It describes, for HEVC (H.265), the (1) fully qualified codec strings,
(2) the codec-specific EncodedVideoChunk
[[internal data]] bytes, (3) the
VideoDecoderConfig.description bytes,
(4) the values of EncodedVideoChunk [[type]], and
(5) the codec-specific extensions to VideoEncoderConfig
The registration is not intended to include any information on whether a codec format is encumbered by intellectual property claims. Implementers and authors are advised to seek appropriate legal counsel in this matter if they intend to implement or use a specific codec format. Implementers of WebCodecs are not required to support the HEVC / H.265 codec.
This registration is non-normative.
Status of this document
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Table of Contents
- 1 Fully qualified codec strings
- 2 EncodedVideoChunk data
- 3 VideoDecoderConfig description
- 4 EncodedVideoChunk type
- 5 VideoEncoderConfig extensions
- 6 VideoEncoderEncodeOptions extensions
- 7 Privacy Considerations
- 8 Security Considerations
- Conformance
- Index
- References
- IDL Index
1. Fully qualified codec strings
The codec string begins with the prefix "hev1." or "hvc1.", with a suffix of four dot-separated fields as described in Section E.3 of [iso14496-15].
2. EncodedVideoChunk data
EncodedVideoChunk [[internal data]] is expected to be
an access unit as defined in [ITU-T-REC-H.265] section 7.4.2.4.
NOTE: An access unit contains exactly one base layer coded picture.
If the bitstream is in hevc format,
[[internal data]] is assumed to be in canonical format, as
defined in [iso14496-15] section 8.3.2.
If the bitstream is in annexb format,
[[internal data]] is assumed to be in Annex B format,
as defined in [ITU-T-REC-H.265] Annex B.
NOTE: Since [[internal data]] is inherently byte-aligned,
implementations are not required to recover byte-alignment.
3. VideoDecoderConfig description
If the description is present, it is assumed to be an
HEVCDecoderConfigurationRecord, as defined by [iso14496-15], section
8.3.3.1, and the bitstream is assumed to be in hevc
format.
NOTE: This format is commonly used in .MP4 files, where the player generally has random access to the media data.
If the description is not present, the bitstream is
assumed to be in annexb format.
NOTE: "annexb" format is described in greater detail by [ITU-T-REC-H.265], Annex B. This format is commonly used in live-streaming applications, where including the VPS, SPS, and PPS data periodically allows users to easily start from the middle of the stream.
4. EncodedVideoChunk type
If an EncodedVideoChunk’s [[type]] is
key, and the bitstream is in
hevc format, then the EncodedVideoChunk is expected
to contain a base layer primary coded picture that is an instantaneous decoding
refresh (IDR), clean random access (CRA), or broken link access (BLA) picture.
NOTE: If the bitstream is in hevc format, parameter sets
necessary for decoding are included in
VideoDecoderConfig.description.
If an EncodedVideoChunk’s [[type]] is
key, and the bitstream is in
annexb format, then the EncodedVideoChunk is
expected to contain both a base layer coded picture that is an instantaneous
decoding refresh (IDR), clean random access (CRA), or broken link access (BLA)
picture, and all parameter sets necessary to decode all video data
NAL units in the EncodedVideoChunk.
5. VideoEncoderConfig extensions
partial dictionary VideoEncoderConfig { HevcEncoderConfig hevc ; };
-
hevc, of type HevcEncoderConfig - Contains codec specific configuration options for the HEVC (H.265) codec.
5.1. HevcEncoderConfig
dictionary HevcEncoderConfig {
HevcBitstreamFormat format = "hevc";
};
-
format, of type HevcBitstreamFormat, defaulting to"hevc" -
Configures the format of output
EncodedVideoChunks. SeeHevcBitstreamFormat.
5.2. HevcBitstreamFormat
enum HevcBitstreamFormat {
"annexb" ,
"hevc" ,
};
The HevcBitstreamFormat determines the location of HEVC parameter sets, and
mechanisms for packaging the bitstream.
-
annexb -
Parameter sets are included periodically throughout the bitstream.
NOTE: This format is described in greater detail by [ITU-T-REC-H.265], Annex B. This format is commonly used in live-streaming applications, where including the parameter set data periodically allows users to easily start from the middle of the stream.
-
hevc -
Parameter sets are not included in the bitstream and are instead emitted
via the
[[output callback]]as thedescriptionof theEncodedVideoChunkMetadata.decoderConfig.NOTE: This format is described in greater detail by [iso14496-15], section 8.3. This format is commonly used in .MP4 files, where the player generally has random access to the media data.
6. VideoEncoderEncodeOptions extensions
partial dictionary VideoEncoderEncodeOptions { VideoEncoderEncodeOptionsForHevc hevc ; };
-
hevc, of type VideoEncoderEncodeOptionsForHevc - Contains codec specific encode options for the [ITU-T-REC-H.265] codec.
6.1. VideoEncoderEncodeOptionsForHevc
dictionary VideoEncoderEncodeOptionsForHevc {
unsigned short ? quantizer ;
};
-
quantizer, of type unsigned short, nullable - Sets per-frame quantizer value. In [ITU-T-REC-H.265] the quantizer threshold can be varied from 0 to 51.
7. Privacy Considerations
Please refer to the section Privacy Considerations in [WEBCODECS].
8. Security Considerations
Please refer to the section Security Considerations in [WEBCODECS].
Conformance
Document conventions
Conformance requirements are expressed with a combination of descriptive assertions and RFC 2119 terminology. The key words “MUST”, “MUST NOT”, “REQUIRED”, “SHALL”, “SHALL NOT”, “SHOULD”, “SHOULD NOT”, “RECOMMENDED”, “MAY”, and “OPTIONAL” in the normative parts of this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119. However, for readability, these words do not appear in all uppercase letters in this specification.
All of the text of this specification is normative except sections explicitly marked as non-normative, examples, and notes. [RFC2119]
Examples in this specification are introduced with the words “for example”
or are set apart from the normative text
with class="example",
like this:
This is an example of an informative example.
Informative notes begin with the word “Note”
and are set apart from the normative text
with class="note",
like this:
Note, this is an informative note.
Index
Terms defined by this specification
- "annexb", in § 5.2
- annexb, in § 5.2
- format, in § 5.1
- "hevc", in § 5.2
-
hevc
- dict-member for VideoEncoderConfig, in § 5
- dict-member for VideoEncoderEncodeOptions, in § 6
- enum-value for HevcBitstreamFormat, in § 5.2
- HevcBitstreamFormat, in § 5.2
- HevcEncoderConfig, in § 5.1
- quantizer, in § 6.1
- VideoEncoderEncodeOptionsForHevc, in § 6.1
Terms defined by reference
-
[WEBCODECS] defines the following terms:
- "key"
- EncodedVideoChunk
- VideoEncoderConfig
- VideoEncoderEncodeOptions
- [[internal data]]
- [[output callback]]
- [[type]]
- decoderConfig
- description
-
[WEBIDL] defines the following terms:
- unsigned short
References
Normative References
- [RFC2119]
- S. Bradner. Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels. March 1997. Best Current Practice. URL: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2119
- [WEBCODECS]
- Paul Adenot; Eugene Zemtsov. WebCodecs. 5 May 2026. WD. URL: https://www.w3.org/TR/webcodecs/
- [WEBIDL]
- Edgar Chen; Timothy Gu. Web IDL Standard. Living Standard. URL: https://webidl.spec.whatwg.org/
Non-Normative References
- [ISO14496-15]
- ISO/IEC 14496-15:2024 Information technology — Coding of audio-visual objects — Part 15: Carriage of network abstraction layer (NAL) unit structured video in the ISO base media file format. October 2024. URL: https://www.iso.org/standard/89118.html
- [ITU-T-REC-H.265]
- H.265 : High efficiency video coding. August 2021. URL: https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-H.265
- [WEBCODECS-CODEC-REGISTRY]
- Paul Adenot; Eugene Zemtsov. WebCodecs Codec Registry. 12 February 2026. DRY. URL: https://www.w3.org/TR/webcodecs-codec-registry/
IDL Index
partial dictionary VideoEncoderConfig { HevcEncoderConfig hevc ; }; dictionaryHevcEncoderConfig{ HevcBitstreamFormat format = "hevc"; }; enumHevcBitstreamFormat{ "annexb" , "hevc" , }; partial dictionary VideoEncoderEncodeOptions { VideoEncoderEncodeOptionsForHevc hevc ; }; dictionaryVideoEncoderEncodeOptionsForHevc{ unsigned short ? quantizer ; };