Software implementations of a new codec are generally available earlier, but the first implementations shipping to consumers (in STBs, phones, etc) are all goin

Software implementations of a new codec are generally available earlier, but the first implementations shipping to consumers (in STBs, phones, etc) are all going to be in hardware, because the computational cost of a new codec is typically high enough to justify that lead time. That hardware will be limited to a specific set of of run-time levels and profiles, VBV sizes, etc. Of course hardware implementations have their benefits. But the knobs that software codecs offer are much more interesting.