AV1: Codec wars erupt

Reporting on developments in compression is like building with sand. No sooner do you think you’ve grasped it than the silica slips through your hand. Imagine how exasperating that must be for device manufacturers and online content providers who need to get a fix on tomorrow’s roadmap.

The good news for supporters of AV1, a rival or successor to HEVC, is that there is growing momentum behind its implementation - but there’s a fly in the ointment.

On the plus side, Samsung announced its intent to join AV1 development board Alliance for Open Media and seems likely to put the codec into its consumer devices from TVs to Galaxy smartphones.

With Apple, Amazon, Netflix, NVIDIA, ARM, Facebook, Microsoft and Google already AOMedia members the move would seem to lock down AV1 as the codec of choice for streaming media distribution.

It’s only been a year since AV1 specifications were launched but according to analyst Jeff Baumgartner of Light Reading, the codec has made significant progress in terms of adoption and commercial-readiness with “ample evidence that…