VP6 is a high-quality, low bitrate video compression codec that can be used as a plug-in within any video processing application that is capable of utilizing third party codecs. The codec is free for personal/non-commercial use.

Download VP6

On2 Technologies describes the codec as follows:

VP6 is the leading codec available for PC and set-top box applications, offering up to 40% better quality and 50% better playback performance than our revolutionary VP5 codec.

VP6 is the best video codec on the market today. It offers better image quality and faster decoding performance than Windows Media 9, RealVideo 10, H.264, and QuickTime MPEG-4.

In our internal testing, VP6 beat H.264, Windows Media 9 and Real Video 10 in PSNR comparisons using the standard set of MPEG-2 test clips. The codec looks better than Windows Media 9, shows far fewer motion artifacts than Windows Media 9, and maintains more texture and detail than Real 10 or H.264.

See samples provided by On2 Technologies to make up your own mind.

Features of VP6 6.4.2.0 :

- Achieves a 10-15% improvement over previous versions of VP6 beta.
- Supports Multi-pass encoding.
- Highly configurable (constant or variable) datarate control.
- Direct access to the reconstruction buffer.
- Improves Error recovery.
- Multiple platform support (Intel, Equator, TI, PowerPC).
- Compresses high-definition (HD) material with no restrictions on the encoder. VP6 can play back 1920x1080 HD material on a 2.5 GHz PC and 1280x720 material on a 1.5 GHz PC.
- Supports real-time encoding at full D1 resolution.
- Up to 40% image quality improvement over VP5.
- Up to 50% faster playback than VP5.
- Optimized to produce the best quality video available on high-resolution material (640x480 and higher).
- Designed for inexpensive DSP processors. VP6 is ideal for embedded chipsets in non-PC devices and set-top boxes. Unlike some standards-based codecs (JVT, MPEG-4 v10), VP6 runs on general-purpose DSPs without requiring expensive add-on subprocessors.
- VP6 is a purely software-based solution that can be upgraded easily.
- Introduces predefined "profiles": Simple for fast playback on inexpensive processors, General for full D1 on set-top boxes, and Advanced for ensuring the best quality possible at extremely low datarates.
- Achieves any requested data rate by choosing automatically to adjust quantization levels, adjust encoded frame dimensions, or drop frames altogether.
- Carries no patent pooling restrictions or external licensing fees.

Changes in VP6 6.2.6.0 :

- Fixed Scanning Problem