Re:Google Duo rolls out realtime AV1
by grishka on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @08:30PM
(#22940794)
> On phones I think less so right now, if you're talking about using AV1 to get noticeably better rates than VP9.
Yes, otherwise what would be the point of using AV1 in the first place. Many (most?) Android phones already have hardware VP9 and HEVC encoders. iPhones only support HEVC, so you know what the choice has to be to maximize the compatibility. HEVC and VP9 offer pretty much identical subjective visual quality for a given bitrate for the purpose of video calling - I tested a lot.
But anyway, even if you were able to run a realtime software-only AV1 encoder on a phone, there's still the concern of heat and battery life. Mobile devices usually aren't designed to run at 100% CPU load for any kind of extended period of time. Hardware codecs are much more power-efficient.
Yes, otherwise what would be the point of using AV1 in the first place. Many (most?) Android phones already have hardware VP9 and HEVC encoders. iPhones only support HEVC, so you know what the choice has to be to maximize the compatibility. HEVC and VP9 offer pretty much identical subjective visual quality for a given bitrate for the purpose of video calling - I tested a lot.
But anyway, even if you were able to run a realtime software-only AV1 encoder on a phone, there's still the concern of heat and battery life. Mobile devices usually aren't designed to run at 100% CPU load for any kind of extended period of time. Hardware codecs are much more power-efficient.