SVT-AV1 crosses 2,300 commits and expands Meta deployment
This AOMedia article highlights the development and adoption of SVT-AV1, an open-source video encoder, noting its origins as an Intel and Netflix project and its current status as a flagship project of AOMedia's SIWG. The encoder offers significant compute scalability and bitrate efficiency improvements, including a "fast-decode" mode for older mobile devices. Meta uses SVT-AV1 for over 50% of video watch time on Facebook and Instagram.
Key Takeaways
- SVT-AV1 started as an Intel- and Netflix-led project in 2019 before AOMedia’s SIWG made it a flagship project in 2020.
- The project has logged 20 releases, more than 2,300 commits, and is currently at version 3.1.0.
- AOMedia says SVT-AV1 offers three orders of compute scalability, with a slowest-to-fastest preset spread of more than 1,000x.
- The encoder can deliver more than 50% bitrate savings and reaches x264-veryfast speeds, according to Ioannis Katsavounidis.
- Meta says all of its AV1 streams on Facebook and Instagram are produced with SVT-AV1, and those streams account for more than 50% of video watch time on the two apps.
Why It Matters
SVT-AV1 is now doing more than sitting in a standards body: AOMedia says it is producing production AV1 streams at scale, including more than 50% of Facebook and Instagram video watch time at Meta. The technical pitch is straightforward: wide compute scaling, more than 50% bitrate savings in some modes, and a fast-decode path aimed at older mobile phones. That combination matters because it ties encoder efficiency directly to device reach, not just codec benchmarks. The next data point to watch is whether AOMedia or Meta shares any update on AV1 adoption beyond Facebook and Instagram, or on how the fast-decode mode is used in production.
Read full article at aomedia.org
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