EncodingTechnical Development
AV1’s 25% size reduction still justifies long-term adoption
The article discusses the perceived value of an approximately 25% reduction in video stream size, asserting that such an efficiency gain justifies its adoption. It specifically highlights the long-term viability of the AV1 codec and YouTube's continued encoding in H.264 to support older devices.
Key Takeaways
- AV1 is described as offering about a 25% reduction in video stream size.
- The source says that extra 25% makes the efficiency gain worth adopting.
- AV1 is expected to stick around for a long time.
- YouTube still creates H.264 encodes to support older devices.
Why It Matters
A 25% smaller stream is treated as enough of an efficiency gain to justify AV1 adoption, even if legacy support remains necessary. The article also reinforces that streaming delivery is not a clean codec swap: AV1 can persist for years while YouTube continues producing H.264 encodes for older devices. The concrete signal to watch is whether major platforms keep publishing both AV1 and H.264 outputs rather than retiring legacy encodes.
Read full article at news.ycombinator.com