MC-IF pushes VVC from standards to deployment in 2026

Media Coding Industry Forum is shifting its 2026 focus to real-world deployment of Versatile Video Coding as device support grows and streaming providers weigh costs, compatibility and scale. The push comes as video traffic keeps rising and the industry looks for more efficient codecs across mobile, streaming and broadcast.

Why it matters: - Video traffic continues to rise across mobile, streaming and broadcast, increasing pressure on bandwidth, infrastructure costs and user experience. - VVC offers higher compression efficiency, which can lower delivery costs and support higher-quality video at lower bitrates. - The codec’s adoption will shape how companies balance performance, reach and operational complexity as next-generation video delivery moves into production.

What happened: - Justin Ridge outlined MC-IF’s 2026 priorities and the market outlook for Versatile Video Coding in a recent video interview conducted for journalists. - Industry stakeholders are moving beyond standards work and into deployment planning and production environments. - Support for VVC is beginning to appear in mobile operating systems and silicon roadmaps. - Adoption remains uneven because streaming providers, platform operators and hardware makers are still waiting for stronger signs of scale. - Ridge described the market as still being in a “chicken-and-egg scenario.”

The details: - MC-IF is focusing on implementation and interoperability rather than debating whether VVC will be used. - The forum is building test bitstreams, validation resources and implementation guidelines to reduce integration complexity. - MC-IF is positioning itself as a place for members to exchange insights, validate approaches and solve common deployment problems. - Bandwidth remains a major cost factor, especially in mobile and high-volume streaming environments. - Reporting by Reuters says global data creation continues to accelerate at near double-digit rates, driven largely by video. - VVC adoption still requires updates to encoding pipelines, storage systems and delivery architectures. - Organizations are weighing those integration costs against the efficiency gains. - MC-IF is expanding discounted membership eligibility to companies with up to $300 million in revenue. - The broader industry is using multi-codec strategies instead of relying on a single standard. - AV1 remains important because of its existing deployment across devices and platforms. - VVC is better suited to compression efficiency and also supports interactive and immersive content. - Legacy codecs still matter for compatibility across mixed device populations.

Between the lines: - Asia, especially China, is moving faster on VVC adoption than Europe and North America. - Earlier deployment of VVC-enabled devices and services in Asia is creating momentum that could influence other markets. - MC-IF’s addition of Huawei expands the forum’s geographic footprint and reflects stronger engagement from regions where VVC activity is more advanced. - The forum is also broadening participation to smaller companies that are working on encoder development and AI-driven video workflows. - That suggests the next phase of codec adoption will depend as much on ecosystem coordination as on technical performance.

What’s next: - Future codec work is already underway, including a successor to VVC often referred to as H.267. - Those technologies are not expected to mature until later in the decade. - In the near term, companies are likely to keep aligning codec investments with current device support, content delivery scale and regional adoption patterns. - MC-IF plans to keep expanding its role as an enablement body with a focus on operational outcomes, cross-industry collaboration and broader participation. - Ridge said MC-IF is “not a closed club.”

The bottom line: - VVC has moved from theory to execution, and 2026 looks like the year the industry tests whether better compression can become broad, profitable deployment.