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Re:AV1: A new general-purpose video codec by wmf on Tuesday April 10, 2018 @01:09AM (#16799112)
AFAIK a lot of "hardware" codecs are DSPs with some extra instructions that are good for video (like sum of absolute differences). In theory maybe they could support new algorithms with a firmware update. In reality, such firmware may simply not be developed or the DSP may not be fast enough to run a new codec.
Re:AV1: A new general-purpose video codec by greenpenguin on Tuesday April 10, 2018 @07:03AM (#16800440)
Most DSPs I've worked with have an assortment of really specific extra instructions added for the particular application. I suspect these DSPs are similar - adding a new codec probably means adding a few more instructions, or even the odd hardware block dangling off the side.
Re:AV1: A new general-purpose video codec by vanderZwan on Tuesday April 10, 2018 @09:07AM (#16801036)
Do you think the Mill family of processors could find a niche here? (if it ever sees the light of day, and I hope so because the technical videos are super-interesting (and educational))

[0] https://millcomputing.com/

Re:AV1: A new general-purpose video codec by wmf on Tuesday April 10, 2018 @06:27PM (#16806160)
People suggesting Mill as the solution to every problem without giving any reasons certainly doesn't give a good impression.
Re:AV1: A new general-purpose video codec by vanderZwan on Tuesday April 10, 2018 @07:18PM (#16806547)
The Mill has been described as having more in common with a DSP than with a regular CPU. Apologies, I thought that was common knowledge.