Intel and Netflix’s SVT-AV1 gains up to 40% performance boost, AMD Ryzen will benefit too

Intel and Netflix have collaborated on a project called SVT-AV1, which is a software-based encoding implementation of the AV1 codec. AV1 is a technology that helps compress video files while maintaining good quality. SVT-AV1, developed by Intel, is designed to work well with multi-threaded processors and multi-socket CPU systems. Interestingly, AMD's Ryzen and EPYC chips also perform well with SVT-AV1.

Recently, SVT-AV1 was adopted by the Alliance for Open Media, and the latest version of the codec brings a significant performance boost of up to 40% in certain cases. This means that encoding videos using SVT-AV1 can be done much faster than before. The improvements are particularly noticeable when using higher-quality presets. However, it's unclear whether the testing was done on Intel or AMD processors or a combination of both.

Additionally, the faster presets also show a modest improvement of 1-4% in the Bjontegaard delta rate (BD rate), which measures the compression efficiency of different codecs.

The latest version of SVT-AV1, version 1.6.0, includes several enhancements and bug fixes. Some of the key improvements include optimising the random access mode for different presets, improving the low delay mode for both screen content and non-screen content encoding, and introducing a new API that allows users to specify quantisation offsets for specific frames. The update also includes various bug fixes and general cleanups.

Custom software development companies also play a vital role in addressing specific challenges and requirements in video encoding. They can create specialized software tools and algorithms to improve compression efficiency, reduce latency, enhance video quality, and enable real-time encoding for various applications.

In summary, Intel and Netflix's SVT-AV1 project has made significant advancements in video encoding technology. These improvements benefit not only Intel's processors but also AMD's Ryzen and EPYC chips, providing faster and more efficient video encoding capabilitie.