allianceforopenmedia
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Tech giants are lined up behind the 'royalty-free' 4K codec AV1
Usually, when a new video compression scheme arrives it takes so long before there's a combination of compatible hardware and content that its arrival is anticlimactic. Google, Apple, Netflix, Microsoft, Intel, Amazon and a host of other companies have taken steps to make sure AOMedia Video Codec 1.0 (AV1) moves a bit faster, and for several good reasons. Today they're teaming up to announce the release of a 1.0 specification for AV1, and get the ball rolling on support for video creation, distribution and playback with the new format. With AV1, the group promises it can deliver 4K UHD video using 30 percent less data. That's great for high-res streams and should provide plenty of savings even for those on older hardware -- expect faster video startup time, less buffering and better picture quality.
Apple joins group pushing for efficient mobile video
As streaming video becomes more ubiquitous on all every platform, it's even more important that we get some sort of standard for scalability across devices and bandwidth. The Alliance for Open Media is an open-source project that has engaged a ton of tech heavy hitters to get together and figure out how to create a next-gen video format that can do just that. As noted by CNET, Apple has just joined the Alliance at a founding (board) member tier. Engadget checked archive.org and confirmed Apple's inclusion in the list sometime in the past week. We've reached out to Apple and will update this post if we hear back.
Google, Microsoft and Netflix team up on free video formats
It's no secret that many tech companies hate video formats that are closed, cost money or both -- enough so that they'll drop popular standards and develop their own codecs. There hasn't been a concerted attempt to tackle this problem, however, which is why several industry giants have just launched the Alliance for Open Media. Founding members Amazon, Cisco, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla and Netflix are working on a future video format that should be royalty-free, open to anyone and playable on just about any modern device. It's still extremely early (the group hasn't even said how others can join), but you should hear more about their efforts later this year.
