Test Model 8 for Versatile Video Coding (VTM 8)

The JVET established the Versatile Video Coding (VVC) draft 8 and the VVC Test Model 8 (VTM8) algorithm description and encoding method at its 17th meeting (7–17 January 2020, Brussels, BE). This document serves as a source of general tutorial information on the VVC design and also provides an encoder-side description of VTM8. The VVC standard has been developed by a joint collaborative team of ITU-T and ISO/IEC experts known as the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET), which is a partnership of ITU-T Study Group 16 Question 6 (known as VCEG) and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11 (known as MPEG). This draft new standard has been designed with two primary goals. The first of these is to specify a video coding technology with a compression capability that is substantially beyond that of the prior generations of such standards, and the second is for this technology to be highly versatile for effective use in a broadened range of applications. Some key application areas for the use of this standard particularly include ultra-high-definition video (e.g., with 3840×2160 or 7620×4320 picture resolution and bit depth of 10 or 12 bits as specified in Rec. ITU-R BT.2100), video with a high dynamic range and wide colour gamut (e.g., with the perceptual quantization or hybrid log-gamma transfer characteristics specified in Rec. ITU-R BT.2100), and video for immersive media applications such as 360° omnidirectional video projected using a common projection format such as the equirectangular or cubemap projection format, in addition to the applications that have commonly been addressed by prior video coding standards.