LCEVC

Enhancement layer codec that boosts quality of H.264 or H.265.

What is LCEVC

LCEVC (Low Complexity Enhancement Video Coding, MPEG-5 Part 2) is a video enhancement standard developed by V-Nova and standardized by ISO/IEC in 2020. Unlike traditional codecs that replace the entire encoding pipeline, LCEVC works as an enhancement layer on top of H.264, H.265. It encodes a low-resolution base stream with the existing codec, then adds a lightweight residual enhancement layer that upscales the output to the target resolution with higher quality than the base codec alone. This approach improves visual quality by 1–2 dB PSNR at the same bitrate, or achieves the same quality at 30–40% lower bitrate — without requiring new hardware decoders. LCEVC decode runs via a JavaScript or software decoder on top of the existing hardware decode path.

When to Choose LCEVC

Choose LCEVC when:

• You want to improve quality of an existing pipeline without switching codecs — LCEVC enhances H.264, H.265, or other base codecs in place.
• Your audience has devices with hardware decode for older codecs — LCEVC can improve compression efficiency while keeping compatibility with legacy hardware.
• You have your own playback environment or platform where you can use a dedicated LCEVC-enabled player — videos can be played back in their intended quality only in a player that supports LCEVC decoding.
• You need fast encoding with better-than-base-codec quality — the LCEVC enhancement layer adds minimal compute overhead.

Consider alternatives when:

• Your target devices already support a more efficient codec natively — using that codec directly may achieve similar or better efficiency without an enhancement layer.
• You want a simple, single-codec pipeline — LCEVC adds complexity through two-layer decoding. A single H.265 stream may be simpler.
• You need a completely royalty-free solution — LCEVC is licensed. VP9 or other royalty-free codecs may be preferable.

Transcoding Demo

Source video

• Upload File
• Sample Video
• Enter URL for Source Video
• Maximum file size: 5GB
• Choose our Demo File

To test transcoding full files, select a source video and click “Convert” to see LCEVC output in action.

Key Characteristics

Browser & Device Support

How Qencode Handles LCEVC

Qencode supports LCEVC as an enhancement layer on supported base codecs. Enable LCEVC by adding the enhancement parameter to your encoding job — Qencode handles the two-layer encoding automatically.

Pair LCEVC with Per-Title Encoding for compounded optimization, or use Upscaling alongside LCEVC for maximum visual quality from low-resolution sources.

{
  "query": {
    "source": "https://your-storage.com/video.mov",
    "format": [
      {
        "output": "mp4",
        "video_codec": "lcevc_h264",
        "resolution": 2160,
        "quality": 20
      }
    ]
  }
}

Copy this payload and use it with your API key to generate LCEVC-enhanced output from any video source.

LCEVC vs. H.264

What It Costs

Related Features

Upscaling

AI-powered upscaling for maximum quality from low-resolution sources.