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With x264, it was because we tested using two presets - Slow and Veryslow. Note that the range in encoding requirements vary so significantly for two reasons. Comparing performance and quality for pre-2020 codecs. Similarly, the best performing AV1 codec (Aurora1 from Visionular) produced the same quality as x264 at about 50% of the data rate. To explain the quality line, the 35% efficiency shown for HEVC means that the x265 codec in this study produced the same quality as x264 at about a 35% lower data rate. Note that the quality and performance data for AVC, HEVC, and AV1 were pulled from this article whereas this article shows libvpx- vp9 (Google’s VP9 codec in FFmpeg) slightly behind HEVC in quality but with roughly similar encoding times. Let’s look at the basic performance characteristics for the pre-2020 codecs, as shown in Table 1. In addition - at least in the case of VP9 - it seems that when AV1 launched, many producers who’d been considering VP9 decided to instead go with AV1. Why is this? Because deploying new codecs adds to encoding costs, R&D costs, and storage costs while making caching in delivery infrastructure less efficient. They don’t seem to adopt new codecs because of potential bandwidth savings. In general, as bandwidth costs continue to drop, most producers below the Netflix/Amazon/YouTube level adopt new codecs only when needed to serve new markets, such as smart TVs. YouTube uses the VP9 codec on many of its higher-volume videos. In terms of usage, VP9 and AV1 are primarily used by the top-of-the-pyramid companies - such as Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, and Amazon - but by relatively few others.įigure 1. Although both organizations claim that their codecs are royalty-free, a patent pool administrator named Sisvel has launched patent pools for both codecs, putting this claim in doubt. VP9 was released by Google, and AV1 was released by the Alliance for Open Media.
![av1 video codec av1 video codec](https://winaero.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Windows-10-AV1-codec-banner.png)
Both AVC and HEVC were launched by MPEG/ITU, and they’re royalty-bearing. AVC is by far the dominant codec, whereas HEVC is primarily deployed by producers who target living room viewers with premium content, often using high dynamic range (HDR). There are three primary markets for video consumption: browser, mobile, and OTT / smart TV. Just remember that AVC is the same as H.264, and you should be OK. In this article, I’m going to use the ITU designation (AVC, HEVC, VVC) because it’s more familiar to most of you. Versatile Video Coding, or VVC, is also H.266 for the same reason.
![av1 video codec av1 video codec](https://img.olhardigital.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/shutterstock_1792870444.jpg)
In addition, AVC/H.264 and HEVC/H.265 have two names because each codec was standardized by both MPEG and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). When discussing actual codec performance, it’s more appropriate to refer to the specific version itself. When discussing a codec in general, it’s appropriate to use the generic name. For example, Cisco is tuning its AV1 codec for Webex - its videoconferencing system - and claims that its implementation operates “within a similar CPU footprint to AVC/H.264.” As you’ll see below, my testing of four other AV1 codecs showed a CPU footprint of 15-30 times x264 for encoding video on demand. Similarly, there are at least five current versions of the AV1 codec from vendors such as the Alliance for Open Media, Cisco, Intel/Netflix, and Visionular.Īs you would expect, different implementations from different vendors have different performance characteristics. Multiple codec developers, however, create versions of that codec, usually with discrete names - such as x264, which is an implementation of AVC/H.264, and x265, which is an implementation of H.265/HEVC. Each codec is defined by a specification - such as HEVC/H.265 and AV1.
Av1 video codec update#
In this article, I’ll provide a status update for streaming codecs, discuss the new MPEG codecs, identify factors that will control their adoption, and make some predictions regarding 2021 and beyond.īefore getting started, let’s clarify some terms. This year saw the launch of two standards-based codecs (with another due soon) from the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG), the first hardware support for the Alliance for Open Media’s AV1 codec, and continued deployment of HEVC/H.265. By any measure, 2020 was a hectic year for video codecs or the compression technologies that drive streaming video.