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Intel Releases Open Source Encoder for Next-Gen AV1 Codec
Intel published its own open source CPU-based encoder for the next-generation and royalty-free AV1 codec (a codec is a program for encoding / decoding a digital data stream or signal). Intel is one of the main founding members of the Alliance for Open Media (AOM), the non-profit group behind the development of the AV1 codec.
Intel's new encoder, called Scalable Video Technology AOMedia Video 1 (SVT-AV1), aims to fill the role of a good CPU-based encoding software tool until dedicated AV1 encoders are ready for prime time. The encoder supports the Linux, macOS and Windows operating systems.
A CPU-based encoder requires a beefy system, so it's no surprise the real-time encoding specifications for SVT-AV1 are no joke. SVT-AV1 requires Skylake-generation or newer Xeon processors with at least 112 threads and at least 48GB of RAM for 10-bit 4K video encoding. Outside of video streaming companies, these type of systems are out of reach for most. Consumers that want to encode AV1 videos may want to wait for dedicated AV1 encoding hardware to appear, which make take another year or so.
Here's a recent 42-minute talk (no transcript) about AOMedia Video 1 (AV1). Hardware support for AV1 should begin appearing around 2020.
Related: Alliance for Open Media Announces Release of AOMedia Video Codec 1.0 (AV1) Specification
YouTube and Netflix Upload AV1-Encoded Videos for Testing
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @08:46AM
But, it depends on the quality of what you are encoding, as well as the compression rate (as previously mentioned.)
10 years ago (roughly) it took a beefy machine to run Handbrake and encode a DVD down to a roughly 750MB file in realtime. My current (2-yr old) laptop can do the same in less than 1/2 hour. You could always encode the DVD down with a less beefy machine even 10 years ago, it just wasn't realtime. I have not tested, but I am guessing that my current laptop can at least encode a 720p broadcast in realtime... not sure about greater quality though. (Remember, twice the vertical and horizontal resolution requires 4x the amount of data that needs to be manipulated.) Also remember, that it depends on if your GPU has encoding hardware as well. It can be done without a hardware encoder, but again, it just takes longer.
As for video chat, heck, smartphones have been doing that for 10 years, and webcams have been out longer. Of course, the big difference is the quality and resolution. I play D&D through Roll20.net... They have built in audio/video streaming through the browser with the WebRTC platform. So video chat in realtime is not an issue at all for modern computers... even in a browser; but you will not be doing it in 4k video. Screen sharing takes up even less because you do not need a very high frame rate for that.
As I did mention 4k video... I doubt many people will be encoding that and streaming it in realtime. At today's compression rates, are their even that many people in the US that have the bandwidth to handle it (even just the download bandwidth, let alone upload which many ISPs still manipulate to be 1/10th the speed of downloading.) (And this is probably a huge factor in why intel is promoting a new codec, for better compression of higher resolution video.)
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P