Intel and Netflix reveal SVT-AV1 - promises to use just half the bandwidth of H.264 AVC

Posted on Monday, April 08 2019 @ 19:00 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
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Over at the National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB Show), Intel and Netflix introduced SVT-AV1, a new video codec that promises to use just half the bandwidth of H.264 AVC, today's most popular codec. The new codec will be made available as open source and royalty free.
What's New: At The National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB Show) today, Intel and Netflix* announced a new high-performance video codec that is available as open source and royalty-free to content creators, developers and service providers. Scalable Video Technology for AV1 (SVT-AV1) offers performance and scalability in video processing.

"The SVT-AV1 codec offers both high performance and efficiency. And compared to today's most popular codec (H.264 AVC), SVT-AV1 can help service providers save up to half their bandwidth, delivering leading-edge user experiences that can be quickly and cost-effectively delivered at a global scale. This codec makes it possible for services ranging from video on demand to live broadcast of 4Kp60/10-bit content on Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, including the recently launched 2nd-Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor." –Lynn Comp, Intel vice president of the Network Platforms Group and general manager of the Visual Cloud Division

Where to Hear about It: Join Intel's NAB keynote featuring Comp at 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. PDT Monday, April 8, on keynote stage N4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Why It Matters: Modernization of video software codecs for increased efficiency will help deliver rich user experiences and reach global scale, accelerating time to market and lowering costs for developers and service providers. SVT-AV1 is a software-based scalable codec offering the best trade-offs among performance, latency and visual quality when working with visual cloud workloads. SVT-AV1 performance advantages are based on the SVT architecture, which is a cohesive and highly optimized codec architecture that already has delivered multiple generations of codecs, including SVT-HEVC, SVT-VP9 and SVT-AV1. The new SVT-AV1 codec is unique in that it allows encoders to scale their performance levels based on the quality and latency requirements of the target applications — ranging from highest quality video on demand (VOD) to livestreaming use cases. The high-quality encoding and decoding in SVT-AV1 will enable developers working with visual cloud workloads to get them to market faster. The codec is optimized for video encoding on Intel Xeon Scalable processors.

What Netflix Says: "The SVT-AV1 collaboration with Intel brings an alternative AV1 solution to the open-source community, enabling more rapid AV1 algorithm development and spurring innovation for next-generation video


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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