By 2018, HEVC support was a mess:
Many security cameras marketed with "Alarum" or "Alarm" branding utilize H.265/HEVC encoding to filter non-human movements and reduce false positives via deep learning-based recognition.
It is the industry standard for delivering smooth 4K and 8K streaming, which is critical for modern security applications. Alarum Technologies and Video Standards alarum hevc
Alarum HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) is a video encoding software designed for professional video encoding and transcoding applications. Developed by Alarum, a company specializing in video encoding solutions, Alarum HEVC aims to provide efficient and high-quality video encoding for various industries, including broadcasting, surveillance, and online video streaming.
HEVC reduces file sizes by up to 50% without sacrificing resolution. By 2018, HEVC support was a mess: Many
Today, HEVC remains a quiet giant—running on billions of iPhones and set-top boxes, yet rarely mentioned in developer docs without a warning label. The alarm has subsided, but any engineer or entrepreneur encountering HEVC for the first time will still hear its echo:
First published: April 2026
But the alarum sounded almost immediately. Unlike H.264, which had a relatively simple patent pool, HEVC was a patent minefield. Three major patent pools (MPEG LA, HEVC Advance, and Velos Media) plus dozens of independent patent holders claimed ownership of essential technologies. The result? that could kill small hardware companies and terrify enterprise users.
HEVC’s low-latency encoding makes it attractive for video conferencing. But WebRTC implementations (like those in browsers) avoided HEVC due to patent fears. Only recently (2023–2024) have some SDKs (e.g., Millicast) re-introduced HEVC for selective use, citing expiring patents and better legal clarity. Developed by Alarum, a company specializing in video