KOLKATA: Online video consumption in India has grown exponentially, accounting for 80 per cent of consumer internet traffic. However, the user experience remains highly dependent on data usage and network speed.

Now, MX Player has upgraded its video encoding & compression technology to H.266 (Versatile Video Coding), cutting down data usage for streaming videos by more than 50 per cent. MX Player as well as MX TakaTak users will be the first in the world to experience the benefits of H.266, enabling them to consume higher quality HD video streams with significantly less data consumption.

With H.266, MX Player users will be able to stream more content with less data and network bandwidth - video streams will load faster and buffer less since they require only half (or less) the data it would need otherwise. H.266/VVC is the world’s most advanced video codec designed to succeed H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC, used by most streaming video services worldwide today. Unlike its competitors, the H.266 upgrade makes MX Player the first OTT platform in the world to deploy this technology.

MX Player and MX TakaTak CEO Karan Bedi said, “Video consumption dominates internet usage wherever you go across India, but the quality of experience deteriorates in areas with inconsistent data networks. The new standard is an opportunity for MX Player to give millions of users, regardless of where they are, an exceptional streaming experience that allows them to consume content the way content creators intended: faster loading, buffering-free, and true-to-life HD quality.”

MX Player SVP Product Sidd Mantri further added, “At MX Player, the future is now. We relentlessly focus on raising the customer experience bar for Indian users. We were amongst the 1st few OTTs to deploy AV1 that reduced data consumption by 20-30 per cent compared to H.265. With H.266, we are taking it to the next level. H.266 offers the most advanced video compression standard available in the world and reduces data usage by more than 50 per cent. Many users in India live on daily data consumption caps, so with H.266 they can watch more as well as watch better on MX Player.”