The security industry has already been through one complete codec transition, from H.264 to H.265: roughly half the bitrate for the same picture quality, and storage and network pressure fell with it. H.266 (VVC) is now discussed often, and the real question is when it becomes usable in practice.

The value of a codec has to be judged across the whole chain. The camera must encode it, and decoders, NVRs, desktop clients and mobile apps must all decode it. Miss one link and you end up recording footage nobody can watch. H.265 took years to spread, and the cost was never the algorithm itself but ecosystem support and compatibility testing.

For most projects, the more practical route is to get more out of H.265 first. Setting a sensible I-frame interval and enabling smart encoding to squeeze bitrate out of static backgrounds often saves 20–30% of storage without touching the hardware. Once H.266 front ends and decoders reach an attractive price-performance point, pilot it on new projects or priority locations.

In short, a codec upgrade is a cost tool, not a technical showpiece. When selecting, put "can the whole chain decode it" ahead of "how much does compression improve".