The Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) has launched a strategic initiative in 2026 to recruit growth-stage technology companies with annual revenues under $300 million. By expanding its membership tiers to include a broader segment of the innovation community, MC-IF aims to harness the agility of emerging innovators to accelerate the global commercial rollout of Versatile Video Coding (VVC). This push comes as the media industry faces critical shifts in bandwidth economics and next-generation service expectations across streaming, mobile, and broadcast markets.
MC-IF is targeting growth-stage companies with <$300M in annual revenue.
The forum has expanded its entry-level membership fees to lower barriers for startups.
Focus is on accelerating VVC (H.266) adoption in mobile, streaming, and broadcast.
VVC offers approximately 50% bitrate reduction over HEVC for the same quality.
Members gain access to neutral interoperability forums and joint industry outreach.
Leadership includes representatives from industry giants Qualcomm, Nokia, and Apple.
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While established technology leaders provided the foundation for the VVC standard, MC-IF recognizes that practical implementation breakthroughs often emerge from smaller, agile development teams. These companies are currently leading the way in compression optimization, mobile delivery efficiency, and software-based deployment models. By bringing these innovators into a neutral forum, MC-IF seeks to bridge the gap between technical standards and real-world market readiness.
“Widespread deployment of a next-generation codec such as VVC not only depends on technological merits, but also on the availability of support on devices and a robust collaboration of the larger ecosystem centered around the market’s needs,” said Aytac Biber, MC-IF board member and Director at Qualcomm.
Published in July 2020, the VVC standard (H.266) was designed to support the modern demands of High Dynamic Range (HDR), Wide Color Gamut (WGC), and remote screen content sharing. Its primary value proposition is a substantial increase in compression efficiency, achieving a 50% bitrate reduction over its predecessor, HEVC. For growth-stage companies, joining MC-IF provides a platform to demonstrate how these technical advantages translate into measurable commercial value, shortening the path to large-scale deployment.
“MC-IF is committed to creating tangible opportunities for companies to elevate awareness of their work and to demonstrate how VVC-based innovations are delivering real value in the market,” said Justin Ridge, President of MC-IF and Principal Engineer at Nokia.
About MC-IF
The Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) is an open industry forum with the purpose of furthering the adoption of MPEG standards, initially focusing on VVC, by establishing them as well-accepted and widely used standards for the benefit of consumers and industry. Ready to get involved? Visit us at www.mc-if.org or LinkedIn and reach out at info@mc-if.org.
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