在上個月的 3/28，AV1 1.0 規格終於定案並且釋出了， 它特別強調對 4K 或更高畫質 (UHD) 的影片做優化。 接著就是，會有 Google, Mozilla 與甚至是 Microsoft 大力的投入， 這幾家公司會提早在各自的瀏覽器上實裝。 而串流平台方面， Netflix 與 Amazon 也允諾會大力投入，擔任先行者的角色。 事實上，Firefox Nightly build + Bitmovin 已經先小小證明了一下下了， 而正在進行中的 NAB Show 2018 也會有更多看頭。
換個比較白話文的說法：
一個新的 video codec, AV1, 特別針對 4K 以上畫質優化的 codec， 已經可以進入商業開發與導入，並且也已經好幾家大廠背書要投入了！
一般來說，一個 video codec 從規格定案到真正在商業產品上的成功，是很花時間的。 拿 H.264 (AVC) 來說，它花了快十年，才在 Apple 一聲號令下，成功的拿下市場。 而它的後期之秀 H.265 (HEVC) 過了快五年， 即使 Apple 說它的 iPhone 7 搭配 iOS 11 就能支援 HEVC， 依然是無法在市場上佔有一席之地。 而幾家大廠挾持著 HEVC 還沒成功之際，推出了所謂的 royality-free AV1， 是不是會有機會吃掉 HEVC 而先行成功呢？ 我的感覺是：有可能，而且說不定成功的機率不小。
AV1 會不會成功，有很大的因素取決於它的對手, HEVC, 陣營是不是會自亂陣腳。
AV1 是什麼？
- 無版權費用，或幾乎沒有。
- 壓縮率較現今商業上流行的 codec 來得優化，尤其是在大尺寸影片時，可以有 30% 以上的優化。
- codec 的設計，有針對硬體做優化，特別是在計憶體的使用上。
- 提供一個開放源始碼的實作，同時規格書也開放。
為什麼會有這麼一篇？因為 Neal 在 Streaming Meetup #1 分享了個非常有意思的演講。
那各大廠商，特別是那些加入 AOM 的，它們又是怎麼看待 AV1 的咧：
- Amazon – great viewing experience
- Arm – bringing high-quality video to mobile and consumer markets
- Cisco – ongoing success of collaboration products and services
- Facebook – video being watched and shared online
- Google – future of media experiences consumers love to watch, upload and stream
- Intel – unmatched video quality and lower delivery costs across consumer and business devices as well as the cloud’s video delivery infrastructure
- NVIDIA – server-generated content to consumers. […] streaming video at a higher quality […] over networks with limited bandwidth
- Mozilla – making state-of-the-art video compression technology royalty-free and accessible to creators and consumers everywhere
- Netflix – better streaming quality
- Microsoft – empowering the media and entertainment industry
- Adobe – faster and higher resolution content is on its way at a lower cost to the consumer
- AMD – best media experiences for consumers
- Amlogic – watch more streaming media
- Argon Design – streaming media ecosystem
- Bitmovin – greater innovation in the way we watch content
- Broadcom – enhance the video experience across all forms of viewing
- Hulu – Improving streaming quality
- Ittiam Systems – the future of online video and video compression
- NGCodec – higher quality and more immersive video experiences
- Vidyo – solve the ongoing WebRTC browser fragmentation problem, and achieve universal video interoperability across all browsers and communication devices
- Xillinx – royalty-free video across the entire streaming media ecosystem
To be continued as this blogging is not finished yet…
參考資料：
- The Alliance for Open Media Kickstarts Video Innovation Era with “AV1” Release, https://aomedia.org/the-alliance-for-open-media-kickstarts-video-innovation-era-with-av1-release/
- A crisis, the causes and a solution, http://blog.chiariglione.org/a-crisis-the-causes-and-a-solution/
- Netflix and YouTube streaming video is about to get a lot faster, https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-youtube-streaming-video-is-about-to-get-a-lot-faster-av1-compression/
- Next-Generation And Royalty-Free AV1 Video Codec Is Released, http://www.tomshardware.com/news/av1-video-codec-released-aom,36771.html
- Tech giants are lined up behind the ‘royalty-free’ 4K codec AV1, https://www.engadget.com/2018/03/28/google-apple-intel-av1-netflix-amazon/
- Google-Backed 4K UHD Compression Tech ‘AV1’ Now Available, https://www.androidheadlines.com/2018/03/google-backed-4k-uhd-compression-tech-av1-now-available.html
- AV1 Specification Released: Can we kiss goodbye to HEVC and royalty bearing video codecs? https://bloggeek.me/av1-video-codec/
