scope:

This clause specifies tests designed to verify whether bitstreams and decoders meet normative requirements specified in ITU-T Rec. H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10. An encoder can claim conformance to ITU-T Rec. H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10 if the bitstreams that it generates are conforming bitstreams.

Characteristics of coded bitstreams and decoders are defined for ITU-T Rec. H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10. The characteristics of a bitstream define the subset of the standard that is exploited in the bitstream. Examples are the applied values or range of the picture size and bit rate parameters. Decoder characteristics define the properties and capabilities of the applied decoding process. The capabilities of a decoder specify which bitstreams the decoder can decode and reconstruct, by defining the subset of the ITU-T Rec. H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10 standard that may be exploited in the bitstreams that it will decode. A bitstream can be decoded by a decoder if the characteristics of the bitstream are within the subset of the standard specified by the decoder capabilities.

Procedures are described for testing conformance of bitstreams and decoders to the requirements defined in ITU-T Rec. H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10. Given the set of characteristics claimed, the requirements that shall be met are fully determined by ITU-T Rec. H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10. This clause summarizes the requirements, cross references them to characteristics, and defines how conformance with them can be tested. Guidelines are given on constructing tests to verify bitstream and decoder conformance. This clause gives guidelines on how to construct bitstream test suites to check or verify decoder conformance. In addition, the test bitstreams implemented according to those guidelines are provided as an electronic annex to this document.