Google, Meta, and Vodafone have called on chipmakers and smartphone manufacturers to support the AV1 video codec in hardware, especially in midrange devices, a suggestion that’s not entirely altruistic.
The trio voiced their idea in a White Paper published on Wednesday, in which they point out that 70 to 80 percent of mobile traffic is video, and around 75 percent of new smartphones are low-end or mid-range devices priced at between $30 and $600.
Due to the costs associated with network upgrades, Vodafone is exploring ways to manage traffic growth
The White Paper also canvasses video codecs, noting that compression used in the AV1 codec is 30 percent more efficient than the VP9 codec, which in turn is 30 percent more efficient than H.264.
Better compression reduces the size of video files, which is welcome for owners of cheap smartphones because it means watching their favourite stuff will consume less of their download allowances.
The White Paper also admits that efficient video codecs benefit Google, Meta, and Vodafone.
“Due to the costs associated with network capacity upgrades, Vodafone is exploring ways to manage traffic growth,” the white paper states. “A key way to achieve that is by using more efficient video codecs.”
Meta and YouTube reveal “We regularly optimize our content delivery networks, including sophisticated content caching to optimize network efficiency and reduce traffic load.”
Less traffic reduces costs. And given Meta and YouTube make a lot of money selling ads that appear alongside the videos they serve to customers, if more smartphones can use AV1, and their owners stream more video, it’s a win for the tech giants.
Or as Meta and YouTube put it: “This is an opportunity to further collaborate among content providers and network operators to align with chipset manufacturers and device operating system developers to guarantee the best quality of experience to end-users, while ensuring optimal utilization of network resources with reduced congestion.”
“And for content providers, one key way to achieve this is by serving higher quality videos that use less data. When users can stream their favorite shows or movies in crisp, clear video without worrying about buffering or running out of data, they are more likely to be satisfied with their experience.”
To make that happen, the White Paper suggests that chipmakers should add hardware support for AV1 to the system-on-chips (SoCs) they design for use in modest smartphones.
“In future, hardware decoder availability within middle tier SoCs such as the MediaTek Dimensity 6000 and 7000 series, Qualcomm Snapdragon 6, or Samsung Exynos 1500 line would be a positive development,” the White Paper argues.
But the document also suggests chipmakers are prioritizing AI features, not hardware support for video codecs.
“We note that SoC revisions are slowing down and it is common to see newer phones based around SoCs from prior years,” the document states. “Additionally, SoC vendors are focusing more on increased AI capabilities through more powerful NPUs, which leaves less space on the silicon die for decoders.”
The three companies behind the White Paper therefore point out “Video playback is still an important mobile phone use case and increased hardware AV1 availability allows users to benefit from an improved video playback quality, lower data usage and increased battery life.”
The trio allow that some in the smartphone ecosystem won’t implement hardware support for AV1, but point out that it’s also possible to support the codec with software – and that it produces pretty good results. ®