Hello, and welcome to Protocol Entertainment, your guide to the business of the gaming and media industries. This Friday, we’re taking a closer look at the AV1 video codec and things that have slowed its adoption, and we’re sharing tips on what to read, watch and play this weekend.
Waiting for AV1
Uptake of the open-video codec AV1 has been slow, with major video providers waiting for broader device support. Things could change over the coming months, as both consumer electronics companies and chipset providers are poised to introduce new hardware with native AV1 decoding capabilities.
Chief among them is Qualcomm, which is planning to add support for AV1 to its upcoming flagship Snapdragon mobile processor, Protocol has learned from a source who has seen spec sheets for the chip.
- Internally known as SM8550, the chip is expected to be introduced at the end of this year at the earliest, which means we shouldn’t expect any phones powered by it until 2023.
- The chip’s Adreno video-processing unit will support native AV1 decode, something that none of Qualcomm’s previous chips have offered.
- That’s barring any major changes, with our source cautioning that things could shift before the chip actually enters production.
- Qualcomm Mobile GM Alex Katouzian previously told AnandTech that the company hadn’t been able to add AV1 support to its existing chips due to the company’s long planning cycles, but that it would add support “in time.”
Qualcomm isn’t the only company looking to extend hardware support for AV1. The open-video format, which was first released in 2018, has been steadily gaining steam.
- Samsung announced last month that its new Exynos 2200 chip “integrates power efficient AV1 decoder enabling longer playback time.”
- MediaTek and Broadcom both have launched chipsets with AV1 decode support.
- Google is getting ready to introduce a new version of its Chromecast with Google TV streaming adapter capable of playing AV1 streams.
- Google has also been pushing TV and streaming device-makers to add AV1 support to their sets by making it a requirement for its Android TV platform last year.
- Google’s push to grow AV1 support has been two-pronged, as YouTube is now also requiring device-makers to implement AV1 to get access to 4K streams.
- The latter was part of a fight between Google and Roku. The two companies didn’t really explain how they resolved their differences, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if Roku was going to add AV1 support to all new 4K-capable devices this coming fall.
- One industry insider I talked to told me that the majority of streaming devices coming
