North American Big Tech licenses Chips&Media AV2 IP for flagships
Chips&Media has signed a multi-standard hardware IP licensing deal with an unnamed major North American technology company to deliver its next-generation AV2 decoder IP alongside AV1, HEVC, and H.264/AVC capabilities. The licensed technology features optimized multi-core hardware designs designed to process 8K@60fps and 4K@240fps video streams in upcoming flagship consumer and edge devices.
Key Takeaways
- Licensed AV2 hardware IP delivers a 20-30% compression efficiency improvement over the current AV1 standard.
- Decoder IP facilitates high-resolution streaming at 8K@60fps and 4K@240fps using a flexible multi-core architecture.
- Integrated multi-standard bundle includes legacy support for H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, and the existing AV1 codec.
- The deal follows a previous licensing agreement for the APV (WAVE-P) codec, signaling specific consecutive roadmap alignment.
Why It Matters
The adoption of AV2 by a primary North American technology firm accelerates the shift toward royalty-free, high-efficiency video standards for flagship hardware. By decreasing bandwidth requirements by up to 30%, AV2 reduces delivery costs for platforms like YouTube and Netflix while enabling 8K and high-framerate 4K playback on mobile and edge devices. This licensing reinforces Chips&Media as a critical hardware enabler in the Alliance for Open Media ecosystem, putting competitive pressure on proprietary codecs like VVC. Watch for the first commercial silicon featuring this AV2 IP to debut in consumer flagship devices by early 2027 as hardware-level support is required to manage AV2's increased decoding complexity.
Additional Context
The finalization of the AV2 specification by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) in June 2026 marks a significant milestone for the royalty-free video ecosystem. According to AOMedia reports from June 2026, the standard is designed to deliver roughly 30% better compression than AV1, making it a viable foundation for high-bandwidth applications such as 8K streaming, immersive AR/VR, and cloud gaming. While software-based decoders like dav2d are in development, early industry testing suggests that AV2 decoding is approximately five times more computationally complex than AV1, per VideoLAN estimates in June 2026. This technical overhead makes dedicated hardware IP, such as the solution provided by Chips&Media, essential for power-efficient deployment in mobile and edge environments. Recent standard updates also indicate that AV2 introduces advanced features including larger 256x256 pixel superblocks and improved film-grain synthesis to maintain visual fidelity at lower bitrates. Per Android Authority and other industry outlets in late 2025, approximately 88% of AOMedia members—which include giants like Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft—are expected to implement the codec in their roadmaps within two years of specification finalization. This momentum mirrors the trajectory of AV1, which saw Netflix mandate hardware support for all certified devices starting in 2025, according to Netflix engineering updates from late 2025. The transition to AV2 represents the next phase in a long-term strategy by major streamers to bypass the fragmented and costly patent licensing pools associated with proprietary standards like HEVC and VVC.
Read full article at design-reuse-embedded.com