Editing Advanced Video Coding (section)

=== Overall history ===
In early 1998, the [[Video Coding Experts Group]] (VCEG&nbsp;– ITU-T SG16 Q.6) issued a call for proposals on a project called H.26L, with the target to double the coding efficiency (which means halving the bit rate necessary for a given level of fidelity) in comparison to any other existing video coding standards for a broad variety of applications. [[VCEG]] was chaired by [[Gary Sullivan (engineer)|Gary Sullivan]] ([[Microsoft]], formerly [[PictureTel]], U.S.). The first draft design for that new standard was adopted in August 1999. In 2000, [[Thomas Wiegand]] ([[Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications|Heinrich Hertz Institute]], Germany) became VCEG co-chair.

In December 2001, VCEG and the Moving Picture Experts Group ([[MPEG]]&nbsp;– [[ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29]]/WG 11) formed a Joint Video Team (JVT), with the charter to finalize the video coding standard.<ref name=JVTsite>[http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/studygroups/com16/video/Pages/jvt.aspx Joint Video Team], [[ITU-T]] Web site.</ref> Formal approval of the specification came in March 2003. The JVT was (is) chaired by [[Gary Sullivan (engineer)|Gary Sullivan]], [[Thomas Wiegand]], and Ajay Luthra ([[Motorola]], U.S.: later [[Arris Group|Arris]], U.S.). In July 2004, the Fidelity Range Extensions (FRExt) project was finalized. From January 2005 to November 2007, the JVT was working on an extension of H.264/AVC towards scalability by an Annex (G) called [[Scalable Video Coding]] (SVC). The JVT management team was extended by [[Jens-Rainer Ohm]] ([[RWTH Aachen University]], Germany). From July 2006 to November 2009, the JVT worked on [[Multiview Video Coding]] (MVC), an extension of H.264/AVC towards [[3D television]] and limited-range [[free-viewpoint television]]. That work included the development of two new profiles of the standard: the Multiview High Profile and the Stereo High Profile.

Throughout the development of the standard, additional messages for containing supplemental enhancement information (SEI) have been developed. SEI messages can contain various types of data that indicate the timing of the video pictures or describe various properties of the coded video or how it can be used or enhanced. SEI messages are also defined that can contain arbitrary user-defined data. SEI messages do not affect the core decoding process, but can indicate how the video is recommended to be post-processed or displayed. Some other high-level properties of the video content are conveyed in video usability information (VUI), such as the indication of the [[color space]] for interpretation of the video content. As new color spaces have been developed, such as for [[High-dynamic-range video|high dynamic range]] and [[wide color gamut]] video, additional VUI identifiers have been added to indicate them.