Codec introduced in 2018 was supported by major players in the streaming market. Hardware suppliers have confirmed support for the new codec, and endpoints with AV1 hardware decoding should be available by the end of the year. Against this background, patent trolls with financial demands became more active.
Video codec open source has been developed since 2015 by engineers from a number of companies, including Amazon, BBC, Netflix, Hulu and others, who created the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia). The new technology is intended primarily for streaming video in ultra-high resolutions (4K and higher), with an expanded color palette and various HDR technologies. Among the main features of the codec, AOMedia points out compression algorithm compared to existing methods, predictable hardware computing requirements, and maximum flexibility and scalability.
These companies with their own streaming services need effective codecs like air. First, AV1 reduces Internet connection bandwidth requirements both at the data center (DPC) level and at the level of providers and end users. Secondly, Amazon Studios' use of 65mm film and IMAX MSM 9802 cameras (which are very difficult to rent) and RED Monstro for the film Aeronafta () shows that the company is preparing for a post-4K era, where current codecs won't seem as efficient.
As for software decoders, they are currently a range of companies including Cisco, Google, Netflix, Microsoft and Mozilla. At the same time, software decoding, as a rule, always means increased power consumption and very limited use. Therefore, it will be interesting to see support for hardware decoding.
Chips & Media was one of the first to introduce the AV1 hardware decoder in October last year. Video processor is a licensed intellectual property (synthesized at the RTL level) that can be embedded in a system-on-chip (SoC) using the internal ARM AMBA 3 APB and ARM AMBA3 AXI buses. This decoder supports AV1 codec level 5.1, a maximum bitrate of 50 Mbps, color depth of 8 or 10 bits, and 4:2:0 color subsampling. The Wave 510A's single-core 450MHz configuration can be used to decode 4K resolution streams at 60Hz (4Kp60) while the dual-core configuration can be used to decode 4Kp120 or 8Kp60 streams.
In addition to Chips & Media, several other companies offer licensed video processors with AV1 support. For example, Supports both AV1 and other popular formats including H.264, H.265 (HEVC), VP9 and JPEG. They also support 4:2:0 and 4:2:2 chroma subsampling for consumer and professional applications. At the same time, Allegro says that these solutions have been licensed by first-tier equipment suppliers and will be used in end devices that will be released before the end of the year.
In addition to licensed video processors, a number of developers have announced ready-made systems-on-chip with AV1 support for TVs, set-top boxes, players and other similar devices. Amlogic stands out among others supporting resolutions up to 8Kp60, Broadcom with 4Kp60 support, Realtek (4Kp60) and (8Kp60). In addition, LG's third-generation Ξ±9 SoCs, which power the company's 8 2020K TVs, also support AV1. In addition, MediaTek announced the Dimensity 1000 mobile system-on-chip with AV1 hardware decoder.
As you can see, support for hardware decoding of AV1 streams from developers of licensed video processors and chips is still very modest. However, given the support of the new codec from a number of technology companies (Apple, Amazon, AMD, ARM, Broadcom, Facebook, Google, Hulu, Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Netflix, NVIDIA, Realtek, Sigma and many others), it is worth expect hardware support for AV1 in the coming years.
Formally, the AV1 video codec does not require payment of licensing fees for the use of certain patents owned by members of the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia). Although the process of including a patent in AV1 requires the opinion of two experts that it does not infringe anyone's rights, there are always patent trolls whose rights are always violated by everyone.
Thus, the Luxembourg company Sisvel has collected a pool of 3000 patents from dozens of companies that describe technologies similar to those used in AV1 and VP9. Starting from March this year, Sisvel those wishing to license these patents for β¬0,32 for a device with a display (TV, smartphone, PC and others) and for β¬0,11 for a device without a display (chip, player, motherboard and others). Although Sisvel does not plan to charge licensing fees for the content, it appears that software is considered the same as hardware, meaning software developers must pay the company.
Although Sisvel has not yet begun legal proceedings with the creators of the hardware and software (and will not begin until the technology becomes widely used), it is quite clear that such intentions exist. However, AOMedia protect participants in the AV1 ecosystem, although it does not explain how.
AV1's creators expect it to be ubiquitous across all platforms, so expect it to be supported not only by major chip designers, software creators and service providers, but also by leading consumer electronics manufacturers.
However, not everything is so rosy for AV1. Firstly, since most players, TVs and set-top boxes do not support this codec, the transition of the entire industry to it will be relatively slow. In addition, it is worth remembering that for the post-8K era, developers are preparing the AV2 codec. Secondly, the demands of patent trolls will clearly reduce interest in the technology among some companies.
Source: 3dnews.ru