Since this is a translation of an overseas article, there may be some inaccuracies.
https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1780642255
AV2 Video Codec Officially Released: 30% More Efficient Than AV1
After several delays, AV2 has been officially released, promising an average 30% improvement in video compression efficiency over AV1 for 4K, 8K, VR and other formats.
The release of AV2 comes eight years after the launch of AV1, which despite being adopted by Netflix and YouTube, has yet to see widespread adoption. This suggests that expectations for the near future should be tempered.
"The Open Media Alliance (AOMedia) has released AV2 after years of development. The innovation behind this new video codec is thanks to the tireless efforts of the amazing engineers from AOM's 50+ member companies," said Roshni Baliga, Group Product Manager at Google.
Both AV1 and AV2 are royalty-free (though controversial) video codecs developed by the Open Media Alliance, which includes numerous major tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Intel, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, and Samsung.
30% More Efficient Than AV1
Tests show that AV2 is approximately 30% more efficient in video compression than AV1. However, these results are based on tests conducted by participating companies and no comparative data with HEVC or VVC has been released.
In other words, viewers could use 30% less bandwidth to get the same picture quality from streaming services like Netflix. Or streaming services could offer higher quality at the same bitrate, or something in between. AV2 works with SD, HD, 4K, 8K, 3D, VR, AR and more types of content.
Actual performance may ultimately differ as optimization for quality, speed, and efficiency continues over the next few years. We are waiting for independent tests.
AV2 introduces larger superblocks (256x256 compared to AV1's 128x128), smarter partitioning, and improved prediction capabilities. It is not yet designed to utilize AI or machine learning technologies. The AV2 v1.0.0 specification can be found here. Official AV2 logo
Will It Be Adopted More Quickly This Time?
AV1 arrived about five years after HEVC was already widely deployed by streaming services and UHD Blu-ray for 4K and HDR content. AV2 arrives about six years after VVC.
However, VVC has barely been adopted since its launch in mid-2020, with some describing it as dead on arrival. AV2 is more likely to be widely adopted because many of the companies involved in its development are leading the implementation across chips, smart TVs, media players, PCs, web browsers and streaming platforms.
The Current State of AV1
AV1 is hardware supported in most smart TVs released after 2020 or 2021, depending on the brand. Individual model AV1 support can be checked in TV databases. AV1 is also supported by newer streaming devices like Google TV streamers, but not by Apple TV 4K (software decoding only) or Nvidia Shield.
Netflix started using AV1 in February 2020 and currently delivers about 30% of its streams via AV1, making it the second most used codec on the platform. YouTube started using AV1 in September 2018 shortly after its launch. Amazon Prime Video has been testing AV1 but streaming services like Apple TV, Disney+, and HBO Max still rely solely on HEVC for 4K and HDR content.
▶ Source: https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1780642255
