Every few years, a new video compression technology has the chance to go mainstream. Hardware-accelerated decoding for playback usually comes first, then hardware allows for accelerated (near real-time) encoding for content creation, and finally major corporations decide to support the new codec for widespread use. If a codec is truly lucky, hardware acceleration eventually enables real-time encoding of video for live-streaming content on the web. The recent arrival of the AMD RX 7600 means that real-time hardware encoding of AV1 is now both affordable and available through Intel, NVidia, and AMD. And now that YouTube now supports AV1 streaming and Twitch has upset content creators, it could be the perfect storm to speed up AV1 adoption. Or will it?
Intel Arc came first
All Arc graphics cards support hardware-based AV1 encoding, even the Arc A380, a card retailing for $139 or $119 USD. We’ve tested its encoding capabilities as a helper card and it seems to do well. This remains the most affordable option for AV1 encoding. We’ve also seen a strong showing from the mobile A370M and it’s available in laptops starting at $499 US.
NVidia was second
All the RTX 4000-series cards support hardware AV1 encoding, including the most affordable RTX 4060 Ti ($399 USD). In systems that can only handle one graphics card, this is a potentially appealing option. NVidia is the most popular brand for graphics cards in PCs, according to the Steam Hardware & Software Survey.
AMD joins the party
All RX 7000-series cards support hardware AV1 encoding. While the RX 7900 XT came in December 2022, it costs around $1000 and has seen several price reductions in an attempt to drive sales. The RX 7600 supposedly dropped in late May, but is now available from stores like MicroCenter and Best Buy starting at $269 USD. We consider this the first mainstream release from AMD.
As you can see from this YouTube comparison, the quality holds up remarkably well even at only 1.5 Mb/s, and for fast-moving subjects, AV1 appears to destroy HEVC in terms of compression artifacts. The results speak for themselves.
These more affordable cards are well-suited to systems with PCIe 4.0 because they only support 8 lanes. That might sound bad, but PCIe 4.0 x8 should be equivalent to PCIe 3.0 x16. Unfortunately, in a system limited to PCIe 3.0, the 8 lane limit remains and that could ultimately limit performance for older PCs. But as a secondary helper card whose only purpose is transcoding, even 4 lanes should be fine.
AV1 brings HDR, 10-bit color, and improved clarity to livestreams. And this is excellent news for those with limited upload speeds or those looking to livestream from mobile devices with limited cellular bandwidth. Most Internet providers intentially limit upload speeds, likely to discourge users from setting up wild servers in their homes.
Apple is potentially behind in terms of hardware support for AV1. It appears that even the M2 Ultra is missing hardware support for AV1 encode and decode. Although Apple disclosed AV1 support in Safari, we don’t know which devices are supported. As far as we know, you may need to wait until M3 for hardware support. This means even the $6999 Mac Pro and the $3499 Vision Pro may not contain hardware to support AV1 natively.
The new OTA broadcast standard, ATSC 3.0 still uses h.265 (HEVC). We have ordered the first NextGenTV box ever. It will arrive in July and although we don’t know whether it contains hardware for AV1, we know that existing ATSC 3.0 tuners use HEVC. Will that change? It’s difficult to say at this point.
What about your PC? Intel’s 11th gen and later and Xe iGPUs support hardware decoding for AV1. AMD’s 6000-series (mobile) and 7000-series (desktop) APU support native AV1 decode. AMD’s new 7040-series (mobile) APU also appears to support AV1 encoding. This means the AMD Z1 we mentioned in our last post may be the first handheld to support native AV1 encoding. While some laptops may support AV1 through the dGPU, expect more fan noise and reduced battery life for decoding on those machines.
What about your game console and streaming sticks? Apparently even the Xbox One and Playstation 4 Pro can support a GPU-based decode for video playback. There’s no way to know whether Playstation 5 and Xbox Series S and X can encode to AV1 for streaming. Although we’ve tested Twitch streaming directly from Xbox Series S and X, Twitch doesn’t support AV1 yet.
Should I upgrade my hardware for AV1? We expect most people won’t know to demand AV1 or know which codecs their devices are using even if they do. And the quality of the encoder can contribute to quality, too. NVidia claims their encoder is superior to Intel and AMD, but whether viewers can actually tell the difference depends on a number of variables.
Can AV1 save streaming services? It’s no secret that a number of streaming services lose money. But reducing bandwidth requirements for streaming services can benefit both the server rack and the user’s power consumption, assuming the decode is well-optimized. AMD’s new Alveo card can supposedly encode up to a single watt per stream, but streaming services will still need H.264 or H.265 (HEVC) versions of their content as a fallback.
Can AV1 help improve my Zoom calls? Assuming your camera is good and everyone on the call can decode and encode AV1, it might. But if one single computer on the call can’t support AV1, the session would likely be forced to use an older codec anyway. And this all assumes Zoom wants to support AV1. But it’s worth noting that Google Duo now supports AV1.
Will AV1 enable 8K streaming? Let’s not get too excited here. I’d say it depends on whether streaming services survive long enough, people buy 8K TVs in great enough number to create user demand, and the EU relaxes efficiency standards that have made 8K TVs essentially impossible to buy.
How can I encourage AV1 adoption within my organization? Check out the Alliance for Open Media and consider speaking to decision-makers at your company to convince them to join.