In a nutshell: Streaming and other demanding video applications are growing rapidly, and existing codecs are struggling to keep pace. Fortunately, AOMedia has pledged to finalize a new generation of efficient, powerful, and royalty-free video codec technology sooner rather than later.
The Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) recently announced a new video codec designed to succeed AOMedia Video 1 (AV1). The AV2 codec is expected to launch by the end of the year, bringing significant improvements over its predecessor. While AV1 adoption continues to grow, AOMedia noted that the demand for more efficient streaming solutions is rising as well.
AV2 is not only an upgrade to AV1 but also a "foundational piece" for future technologies AOMedia plans to bring to market. The codec promises better compression rates than AV1 along with new features such as enhanced support for augmented and virtual reality, split-screen streaming for multiple programs, a wider visual quality range, and more.
Like its predecessor, AV2 will be released as a royalty-free video technology. AV1 itself was developed by AOMedia to replace VP9, an open-source alternative to proprietary formats such as H.264 (AVC) and H.265 (HEVC).
According to real-world tests conducted by Meta, AV1's reference encoder delivers 34 percent, 46 percent, and 50 percent higher compression rates than libvpx-vp9, x264 High Profile, and x264 Main Profile, respectively.
AV1 is now far more widely adopted than it was just a few years ago. First released in 2018, the codec is supported by both software- and hardware-based decoding solutions.
While software optimizations can improve the streaming experience, hardware decoding is essential to fully leverage the technology. On PCs, newer GPUs from Nvidia (GeForce RTX 40 series), AMD (RDNA 3), and Intel (Xe 2) now include hardware acceleration for both AV1 encoding and decoding workloads.
AOMedia's membership includes major IT corporations such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft, as well as smaller organizations like Mozilla. The consortium welcomes input from innovators across the tech industry, Executive Director Pierre-Anthony Lemieux said, noting that AV2's next-generation features were shaped in part by these contributions.
In addition to announcing the new codec, AOMedia also published survey results on adoption among its members. An overwhelming majority (88 percent) said AV1 is an important or even critical part of their product roadmaps.
Looking ahead, 53 percent of members plan to adopt AV2 within 12 months of its finalization, and 88 percent intend to implement it within two years.