Follow developments in AV1, AV2, H.264/AVC, HEVC/H.265, VVC/H.266, FFmpeg, cloud transcoding, hardware acceleration, bitrate optimization, and video quality measurement. StreamingMeme curates and summarizes the updates that matter to streaming engineers, product teams, and media technology leaders.
Gracia has released its 4D Gaussian Splatting volumetric video streaming app for the Apple Vision Pro. To facilitate streaming at a recommended 80 Mbps minimum, the company developed a proprietary codec-style compression method that transmits keyframes and motion deltas rather than entire volumetric scenes. The technology aims to address the shortage of fully immersive content on spatial headsets through cross-platform WebXR, Unity, and Unreal Engine streaming support.
OBS Studio 32.2 has entered public beta, introducing a new SDR-to-HDR composition filter and dynamic bitrate support for multitrack video. The open-source streaming software also brings improved PipeWire integration on NVIDIA GPUs alongside platform-specific optimizations for macOS and Windows.
Acer and ASUS have resumed shipping HEVC-enabled PCs in Germany after resolving their respective patent licensing disputes with Nokia. While ASUS settled via an arbitration agreement, Acer is employing a dual-distribution method that includes shipping units without pre-installed HEVC support, requiring users to manually activate it via third-party software channels.
Netflix has successfully migrated its managed batch compute solution to the Kubernetes-native job queueing system Kueue, integrating it within its Titus container platform. This architectural transition introduces preemption-based fair sharing, resulting in significantly increased resource utilization for running back-end processing pipelines. The migration of millions of batch workloads was achieved with zero downtime, maintaining complete API parity for internal users.
Meta has expanded AV1 video codec support to the majority of mobile devices for its real-time communication (RTC) applications, Messenger and WhatsApp. To overcome computational and bandwidth-constrained network limitations, Meta deployed an ultra-low-complexity encoder preset, integrated the dav1d decoder, and utilized a custom ML-based device eligibility framework. The architecture also leverages adaptive codec complexity switching and advanced error-resilience tools like temporal layers and Long-Term Reference (LTR) frames.
Streaming Learning Center analyzed how missing color space and color range metadata in video files causes automated scaling steps in VMAF analysis tools to fail, resulting in inaccurate quality scores. The issue affects tools like Bitrate Explorer and FFMetrics when encoding outputs omit header metadata flags. Declaring the color metadata explicitly during scaling resolves the discrepancy, preventing false-negative QC results.
Researchers at Technion introduced Time-to-Move, a plug-in technology that uses dual-clock denoising to allow intuitive motion control in AI-generated video via simple mouse movements. The method operates without additional training or significant computational resources, addressing key efficiency limitations in existing generative video workflows.
Netflix has detailed its cloud-based media pipeline that scales camera file processing using the FilmLight API to automate raw footage ingest, validation, and transformation. The architecture decouples compute from infrastructure to handle processing peaks like dailies and VFX workflows, while standardizing metadata formats using ACES.
Chips&Media has signed a multi-standard hardware IP licensing deal with an unnamed major North American technology company to deliver its next-generation AV2 decoder IP alongside AV1, HEVC, and H.264/AVC capabilities. The licensed technology features optimized multi-core hardware designs designed to process 8K@60fps and 4K@240fps video streams in upcoming flagship consumer and edge devices.
JPEG XL, an image compression standard developed by JPEG, Google, and Cloudinary, is gaining broader adoption across web browsers, operating systems, and image workflows. The format supports both lossy and lossless compression, offers computational efficiency over rivals like HEIC, and natively handles wide color gamut HDR content. Recent integrations in Chromium, Firefox, and major operating systems point to its growing role in web and media delivery ecosystems.
FFmpeg has released version 8.1.2 of its open-source multimedia framework, making the source code available for download. The release includes links to partner-provided pre-compiled binaries for Linux, Windows, and macOS, as well as instructions for PGP cryptographic verification.
Researchers have introduced PW-VQM, a perceptually-weighted video quality metric specifically designed for evaluating asymmetrically encoded sports content. By combining open-vocabulary object detection and optical flow analysis to prioritize foreground regions, the metric achieved a 0.9511 SROCC, outperforming established metrics like VMAF and SSIM. This development can help streaming engineering teams optimize bitrate savings in region-of-interest video encoding pipelines.
AMD collaborated with the developers of the open-source HandBrake transcoder to resolve performance bottlenecks on high-core-count CPUs. Software updates in HandBrake version 1.11.0 and later fix thread management and scheduling overhead, resulting in transcoding performance increases of up to 215% on AMD Ryzen Threadripper and Threadripper PRO processors.
Rockchip has released documentation for its new RK3539 quad-core Cortex-A55 SoC, which features built-in hardware decoding for 4K AV1, H.265, and H.264 video. The processor is debuting in the ultra-budget HS89 T15 Android 14 TV stick, signaling the continued descent of AV1 hardware capabilities into low-cost media client devices.
Eyevinn Technology has released Strom, an open-source GStreamer media pipeline engine with a browser-based node editor for real-time video flows. The system supports WebRTC, SRT, NDI, and AES67, and acts as the media backend for the Open Live production platform.
AWS Elemental MediaConvert has introduced reserved queues, enabling users to purchase dedicated transcoding capacity for 12-month periods based on Reserved Transcode Slots (RTS). This allows for a predictable number of concurrent transcoding jobs with dedicated computing resources. Users now have the option to manage and prioritize their transcoding workload more efficiently.
Google has officially released the stable version of Android 17 for Pixel devices, introducing various system-level updates for foldables and multitasking. For streaming media professionals, the release introduces native support for Eclipsa Video, a new HDR format competing with Dolby Vision, and the Extended HE-AAC software audio encoder for improved low-bandwidth performance.
CUTZ offers an ML-powered video encoding solution designed to reduce video file sizes and energy consumption while maintaining high visual quality (guaranteeing VMAF scores above 95). The solution aims to help businesses achieve 'digital sobriety,' comply with regulations like CSRD, and improve delivery performance by reducing bandwidth usage and increasing engagement through faster loading times. It integrates via a SaaS platform or codec-agnostic API, providing a full report on estimated gains to prove ROI.
AWS Elemental Live provides a detailed list of 20 supported caption formats, including ARIB, DVB-Sub, and SMPTE-TT. The documentation specifies which formats are accepted for input and output, such as burn-in captions for output only, assisting professionals with diverse content delivery requirements. This guide is crucial for understanding how the platform handles various captioning standards for content processing.
Beamr has introduced Beamr Cloud SaaS, a fully managed platform designed to automate and optimize video transcoding using its content-adaptive compression technology. The service targets OTT, FAST, and enterprise video providers with a usage-based pricing model aimed at reducing storage and CDN delivery expenditures.
AMD collaborated with HandBrake developers to resolve critical threading bottlenecks in HandBrake version 1.11.0, boosting video transcoding performance on high-core-count CPUs. The software optimizations yield performance gains of up to 215% on AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors and similarly benefit high-end Intel Xeon CPUs by improving thread management.
The article demonstrates high-performance VR streaming technology, running DCS Warbirds in 4K at 60fps using an AV1 stream on a Meta Quest 3 headset, powered by an Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU. This highlights the capabilities of modern encoding standards and hardware for demanding streaming applications.
Limecraft has released version 2026.4 of its platform, introducing account-level Teams for cross-workspace access control and beta GPU-accelerated video encoding/decoding on Apple Silicon Macs. This update aims to streamline media workflows for large organizations by improving access management and processing performance. Additionally, it features refinements to AAF export functionality and new translation optimization settings.
Researchers have developed Trans-SURNet, a novel model utilizing a linear transformer (Koalaformer) to efficiently predict picture-wise just noticeable difference (PJND) distributions. This method allows for the direct derivation of satisfied user ratio (SUR) curves, significantly improving the assessment of image compression quality. The end-to-end approach addresses inefficiencies in existing PJND prediction methods, offering faster inference and better accuracy through quality-aware feature learning.
Harmonic Inc. announced a tier-1 broadcaster successfully migrated its video distribution from satellite to Harmonic's SRT-based IP solution, achieving a 68% reduction in bandwidth costs. The solution incorporates HEVC compression, software-based edge devices for customization, and remote management through DMS X and VOS360 Media SaaS. This modernization enables flexible content delivery to 150 affiliates and supports advanced features like local ad insertion and branding.
This article from Hostinger introduces Tdarr, an open-source, distributed media transcoding system for automating video and audio library conversion, compression, and health-checking. It highlights Tdarr's ability to efficiently process large media libraries using FFmpeg or HandBrake and its benefits when self-hosted on a VPS, including control over encoding profiles and hardware acceleration. Hostinger positions its VPS service as an optimal platform for running Tdarr, offering one-click deployment, security features, and a built-in Docker manager.
Allegro DVT has integrated its AV2 Decoder IP into the Pulsar D400 Series Multi-Standard Decoding IP, with three customers already receiving the AV2 D440 Decoder IP. This development supports the emerging AV2 open, royalty-free video compression standards for next-generation streaming, enabling SoC and ASIC designers to incorporate advanced video coding. Allegro DVT also provides compliance tools for the AV2 ecosystem, including Sirius AV2 Test Suites and Astralis AV2 Bitstream Analyzer.
Google Cloud has released details and pricing for its new g2-standard-16 instance, featuring an NVIDIA L4 GPU, 16 vCPUs, and 64GB RAM. This new instance, available in 18 regions, is designed for graphics-intensive workloads, video streaming, and transcoding, with pricing starting at $834.72 monthly. The article also highlights its suitability for running AI models alongside streaming tasks.
InterDigital secured an injunction against Disney from the Unified Patent Court, alleging infringement of an HEVC video encoding patent across 11 EU countries. This ruling confirms the patent's validity and could significantly impact Disney's streaming operations that rely on video compression technologies. Disney has the option to appeal the decision.
The article details how Harmonic's VOS Media Software, a comprehensive video platform for workflows from playout to origin, is optimized to run on Red Hat OpenShift, a leading Kubernetes-based container orchestration platform. This integration aims to create a cloud-native foundation for service providers, tackling challenges like data deluge, live event traffic spikes, and sustainability commitments in video delivery. The collaboration focuses on delivering scalable, secure, and efficient video operations for the telecommunications industry.
Users on Level1Techs Forums are discussing GPU recommendations for Linux systems, specifically focusing on low-power, multi-output cards with modern codec decoding capabilities like AV1. Intel Arc A-series and AMD Radeon 6000/7000 series GPUs are frequently mentioned for their Linux support and hardware decoding features. The discussion highlights the challenge of finding low-power, current-generation GPUs suitable for tasks primarily involving video decoding rather than gaming or AI.
Harmonic successfully delivered flawless live streaming for major Q1 2026 sports events including the Super Bowl and March Madness, achieving 100% uptime targets. The company detailed its multi-cloud platform leveraging VOS®360 Media SaaS and MSL5 across AWS, Azure, GCP, and Akamai Cloud, combined with a global DevOps team and 'monitor by anticipation' methodology. This highlights advanced operational practices for high-stakes live sports, emphasizing reliability and scalability.
ITU and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29 are organizing a workshop in January 2025 to develop the next generation of video coding standards beyond VVC, with a strong focus on the role of Artificial Intelligence and advanced signal processing. This collaboration aims to shape future video codec standards for streaming professionals and may lead to formal Calls for Evidence and Proposals in 2025.
At its 149th meeting, MPEG promoted three key standards to Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) status: MPEG-I Immersive Audio, MPEG Immersive Video (Second Edition), and MPEG-DASH (Sixth Edition). These advancements bring significant improvements to immersive content coding, adaptive streaming, and low-latency delivery. Additionally, MPEG issued a Call for Proposals for Lenslet Video Coding and reached a Committee Draft for Avatar representation format, alongside adding new SEI Messages to HEVC.
InterDigital will showcase innovations in AR and energy-efficient video streaming at the 13th FOKUS Media Web Symposium, including AI-enabled Pixel Value Reduction (PVR) technology and contributions to MPEG-I Scene Description. These demonstrations highlight advancements in immersive media and sustainable streaming, aiming to reduce energy consumption without sacrificing quality and enable interactive AR experiences.
A critical security vulnerability, CVE-2026-46230, was discovered in AMDGPU's VCN3 driver via static analysis, affecting RDNA2 GPUs and APUs. The flaw, a missing bounds check in the video decoder engine, has been patched in the Linux kernel. This discovery is part of a series of similar bugs found across multiple VCN generations, highlighting persistent driver code weaknesses.
AWS Elemental's documentation details various video encoding rate control modes, including CBR, VBR, ABR, and CQ, highlighting QVBR as providing the best video quality per bit. The article explains how each mode functions and offers recommendations for their use in video encoding for streaming professionals. This provides essential technical guidance for optimizing video quality and bitrate in professional streaming workflows.
An online forum discusses optimal settings and codecs within the Hybrid tool for deinterlacing analog video captures, particularly for family "watch copies." Users explore efficient workflows and codec choices like H.264, Huffyuv, FFvHuff, and ProRes, for handling legacy video formats.
Inkrypt Videos published a guide detailing optimal bitrates for 1080p video across recording, live streaming, and uploading, highlighting the importance of matching bitrate to use case and platform constraints. The guide explains the differences between CBR and VBR encoding and the implications of codec choice (H.264, H.265, AV1) for video quality and compatibility. It also emphasizes the combined importance of bitrate and secure, performant delivery, promoting Inkrypt Videos' DRM and CDN services.
This article provides an in-depth technical overview of High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), detailing its advancements over AVC, including improved compression, support for resolutions up to 16K, and enhanced color spaces. It discusses HEVC's performance factors, feature advancements like Coding Tree Units, and various profiles, tiers, and levels, as well as its market penetration and relation to ISO standards. The Apple Vision Pro headset's adoption of 3D-HEVC is noted as a significant boost to its credibility.
GStreamer 1.28.4, a maintenance update to the open-source multimedia framework, has been released, adding support for FLAC decoding on Android and new codec profile mappings for various formats including WMV, VC1, AC3/EAC3/AC4, AAC, and H.265. The update also improves the RTSP client plugin with better error handling, authentication, HTTP tunneling, and SRTP support, alongside enhancements for WebRTC and D3D12 decoder performance on Qualcomm GPUs.
Fuma Kimishima and Jinjia Zhou have developed a new method using few-step generative models (like Rectified Flow and Consistency Trajectory Models) for lossy compression, aiming to replace traditional diffusion-based codecs. This approach significantly reduces encoding and decoding times while enhancing image realism at low bit rates. The research demonstrates how existing pre-trained generative models can be used as codecs without retraining, showing improved performance on benchmarks like CIFAR10 and ImageNet.
Chips&Media has licensed its latest-generation 8K video codec IP to Ambarella, expanding their strategic collaboration. This partnership aims to optimize power, performance, bandwidth, and area (PPBA) for Ambarella's next-generation Edge and Physical AI SoCs. The technology will be applied across sectors including autonomous driving, IoT, industrial automation, and robotics.
Elysia Tools has launched a new free online converter and API allowing users to convert MKV video files to MP4 format. The service supports H.264/AAC transcoding and container-only swaps, aiming to address playback compatibility and file size optimization across various devices and web platforms. It offers features like custom CRF quality settings and the option to remove subtitles, and provides an API for integration into other systems.
Hikvision has introduced Guanlan Encoding, a technology that integrates its Guanlan Large-Scale AI Model into H.265 encoding to reduce video storage costs by 30-50%. This innovation preserves HD details for key objects through precision Region of Interest (ROI) segmentation while maintaining compatibility with existing H.265 decoders. The technology is being rolled out across various Hikvision products including cameras and DVRs.
AWS Elemental MediaConvert now integrates with Amazon CloudWatch, offering streaming professionals real-time insights into transcoding performance and resource utilization. This integration provides new metrics to monitor encoding jobs, enhancing operational visibility for users of the service.
V-Nova details how MPEG-5 LCEVC enables scalable, two-layer video encoding directly on sender devices for video messaging, improving quality without requiring cloud transcoding. This approach allows services to deliver a universal baseline while offering higher quality to recipients with LCEVC-enabled apps. The technology can be deployed via app updates on iOS and Android, working with existing AVC/HEVC hardware encoders.
A guide demonstrates how to significantly reduce video file size for YouTube uploads using H.265 (HEVC) in Adobe Premiere Pro, achieving an almost eight-fold reduction compared to H.264 while maintaining visual quality. The tutorial explains that H.265's efficient compression allows for much lower bitrates, benefiting upload times and storage for content creators. It highlights specific settings within Premiere Pro needed to leverage H.265 for optimal compression.
Amazon Science has developed a Dynamic Resolution Switching (DRS) framework for live streaming that enhances existing adaptive bitrate (ABR) systems. This method utilizes a lightweight, bitstream-based video quality metric (VQM) to dynamically construct ladders and achieve approximately 9% Bjøntegaard Delta rate reduction. The framework is designed for compatibility with current streaming protocols.
The Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) is accelerating the adoption and deployment of Versatile Video Coding (VVC) in 2026, focusing on implementation and interoperability to address growing video traffic demands. This initiative aims to reduce bandwidth strain and infrastructure costs for streaming providers by moving VVC from standards work into production environments. MC-IF is also expanding participation and supporting multi-codec strategies for efficient video delivery.
