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I'm not quite sure either, but AV1 seems to be the free format alternative to HEVC. However, it lacks the level of hardware support the latter has achieved, whi
by Tmpod 3y ago
I'm not quite sure either, but AV1 seems to be the free format alternative to HEVC. However, it lacks the level of hardware support the latter has achieved, which is very much relevant for TVs and such, seeing as software decoding (of both HEVC and AV1) is expensive and may not be good enough in a lot of consumer devices out there.
- jauntywundrkind 3y agoAV1 was built with extraordinary care to make sure it didn't use any patents, to try to build a free & clear open technology for sharing video. But none the less, vipers will spring up from the sand to strike at humanity's ankles. Avanci has declared a new patent pool over some parts of av1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38246756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38246756
- mort96 3y agoWhat do we actually do in light of this ... ? Do we just have to keep using H.264 for 20 more years until the initial round of H.265 patents are expired? I'm genuinely wondering. I can't imagine living in a world where we're just starting to move on from H.264 in 2043. But I also can't imagine another royalty-free video codec project succeeding if AV1 is found to be covered by patents outside of the AOM. It genuinely seems like our only shot.
- Narishma 3y agoOn the plus side, it would mean less devices being made obsolete.
- fuzzfactor 3y agoLooks like a good number of the H.265 patents will be expiring in about 10 years now, so maybe 2033 would be good. A major defect is really in the policies that allow standardization to include encumbered technologies. Otherwise consensus standards among established leaders which do not require the removal of encumbrances before standardization, will give rise to what we have now as "patent pools" where only well-established organizations can deploy the standard after is is approved.
- jauntywundrkind 3y agoProblem: it's up to many dozens of court systems to decide what encumbers what. It's not a defect of the standardization effort: it's the everyday worldwide pandemonium of corporate goliaths given endless opportunities to court shop. Patents are broken inside jurisdictions, but across jurisdictions this is an uncoordinated mess that can never be won.