FFmpeg’s low-level stack now reaches AV2, robots, and archival video
A Lex Fridman Podcast transcript features Jean-Baptiste Kempf (VideoLAN) and Kieran Kunhya (FFmpeg) discussing the history, technical complexities, and community surrounding FFmpeg and VLC. The conversation spans topics including video codecs, open-source development models, the challenges of low-level assembly optimization, ultra-low latency streaming, and the future of multimedia archiving. Notable discussions include the historical significance of x264, the development of AV1/AV2 codecs, and the practical challenges of open-source maintenance.
Key Takeaways
- Jean-Baptiste Kempf said FFmpeg has about 100,000 lines of assembly across codecs, while dav1d alone has 240,000 lines of handwritten assembly plus 30,000 lines of C.
- Kempf said Netflix now serves about 30% of video in AV1 and YouTube about 50%, and that dav1d can decode 720p with one or two cores.
- The guests said FFmpeg’s FATE testing covers many OS/compiler combinations, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, BSD, Solaris, PowerPC, RISC, and ARM.
- Kempf said VLC has been downloaded at least 6.5 billion times and still runs on Windows XP, macOS 10.7, iOS 9, and even OS/2.
- Kempf said Kyber is targeting 4 milliseconds glass-to-glass latency for robots, drones, and remote machines using QUIC over UDP with audio, video, and control streams together.
Why It Matters
The immediate signal is that the core multimedia stack is still being pushed by low-level work: assembly, runtime CPU detection, and exhaustive testing, not just higher-level codecs. That matters because FFmpeg and VLC remain embedded in everything from browser playback to archival systems, while AV1 and AV2 raise the performance bar and the patent stakes. The ecosystem angle is broader than streaming: the same tooling now shows up in robotics, teleoperation, and long-term media preservation. Watch for dav2d and AV2 tooling to emerge, and for Kyber’s claimed 4 ms glass-to-glass target to be demonstrated beyond lab conditions.
Read full article at lexfridman.com
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