Trends in Streaming Codec Technology

If your platform has not explored AV1, it is not just leaving expense 💰 savings on the table, it is indeed falling behind in engineering readiness. For many, AV1 is still seen as a “future” codec. Something to explore later, when infra matures, when user demand rises, when everything else is solved. But here is the truth: 📍 AV1 adoption is not just about better compression. 📍 It is a signal of how ready your team is to innovate, adapt, and optimize for the long game. The platforms that are experimenting with AV1 today are not just chasing lower bitrates: ⚡️They are future-proofing their workflows. ⚡️They are training their teams to build for flexibility. ⚡️And they are proving to themselves, and their users, that experience still matters. At Visionular, we have seen first-hand how AV1 adoption shifts the ceiling on what is possible: 📍 AV1 runs even faster than VP8 with lower compute resource while delivering significantly larger bitrate savings. 📍 AV1 excels not only at screen content but all computer-generated visuals, from animation and gaming to GenAI content. 📍 AV1 powers both screen sharing and camera feeds, even on low-end Android devices, offering a major leap over OpenH264 in real-time visual communications. Curious how teams are making the transition? Let’s talk! #Visionular #AV1 #StreamingTech #VideoCompression #FutureProofing #PlatformEngineering

Hey all: My recent article in Streaming Media highlights a key tension in modern video delivery: software decoding on mobile makes next-gen codecs like AV1 and VVC more accessible, but at what cost? The article reports on a white paper from Friedrich-Alexander University that tested H.264, HEVC, AV1, and VVC. It compared hardware decoding for H.264 and HEVC against software decoding for AV1 and VVC using optimized decoders with SIMD. The tests measured both compression efficiency and energy use during playback on ARM-based devices. The results were clear. AV1 and VVC offered significantly better compression than H.264 and HEVC. But decoding those streams in software consumed far more energy—enough to cut mobile battery life by 25 to 50 percent depending on the codec and resolution. For publishers, the benefits are economic. Better compression means lower bandwidth and storage costs. For viewers, the payoff is better quality at lower bitrates, especially on mobile networks. But the cost is real: shorter battery life and potential playback instability. The tradeoff is straightforward. What’s less clear is how publishers and viewers evaluate it in practice. We’re running two quick surveys to get your take: 👉 Take the Publisher Survey - https://lnkd.in/e_7s52WV 👉 Take the Viewer Survey - https://lnkd.in/eakqUvvh If we get enough responses, we’ll share the results in a future issue. streamingmedia.com Here's what else I'm covering. Have a great week. Jan AI Codecs and Encoding Technologies - Deep Render: An AI Codec That Encodes in FFmpeg, Plays in VLC, and Outperforms SVT-AV1 Codecs - SVT-AV1 V3.0 is Now Available | Alliance for Open Media - JPEG XS — Forward-Looking Standard for Professional All-IP Video Production Encoders - How Norsk Approaches Emerging Streaming Codecs and Protocols Encoding Techniques - How to get the most out of SRT - Optimizing Your x264 and x265 Encodes Technology News - Leveling Up Error Handling: Why We Refactored Flowplayer's Error System

NAB Show 2025: Growth Could Be Found Despite Challenges in the Market! A few things stood out for me: 💡 AI is no longer hype but delivering tangible ROI. 💡 Ultra-low latency streaming is finally beating traditional broadcast. 💡 Next-gen codecs (AV1, VVC, LCEVC) are moving from labs to production, with impressive bandwidth savings of 30-40% while maintaining quality. V-Nova Ltd. presentation with Globo showed that the TV 3.0 ecosystem with VVC, LCEVC, and MPEG-H is here. 💡 The monetization focus was also striking, with interactive advertising formats and AI-driven ad placement showing how the industry is maturing beyond "growth at any cost" to sustainable business models. 💡 Networks are adopting hardware to accelerate video processing and encoding. Akamai Technologies' announcement of adopting NETINT Technologies Inc. VPUs was striking. This will be disruptive at one penny ($0.01/hr) for a live 1080p30 AV1/HEVC/H.264 stream. What did you see, and which video tech innovations excited you most? Check out the full report for the complete picture! #VideoStreaming #NABShow2025 #MediaTech #AIinStreaming #av1 #lcevc