NETINT's "2026 State of Video Encoding" report, based on a survey of 286 professionals, highlights key trends including the diversification away from GPU-only hardware for encoding, the increasing adoption of the AV1 codec with a projected 231% growth rate, and the integration of AI/ML into core encoding workflows. It also identifies organizational barriers like budget constraints and team capacity as primary blockers, alongside a significant portion of the market lacking formalized Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) methodology, and the emergence of hybrid software/hardware solutions for large-scale operations.
The immediate signal is that encoding buyers are no longer treating GPU-only infrastructure, AV1, or AI/ML as side bets; they are planning around all three at once. The market angle is even clearer at scale, where hybrid software-hardware deployments rise to 45% and single-approach models shrink, while 30% of respondents still lack formal TCO methodology. Watch the AV1 rollout rate through 2026, especially the gap between the 17% already in production and the 57% who say it will be deployed or planned by year-end.
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