MainConcept Brings Fast, Efficient AV1 Encoding to More Video Platforms

Enabling the open source SVT-AV1 within the MainConcept SDK allows OTT access to more web browsers and mobile devices than ever

Aachen, Germany; San Diego, California – June 10, 2020 – MainConcept, a leading provider of codec and streaming technology to the professional and broadcast industries, today announced it has worked with Intel Corporation to integrate Scalable Video Technology for AV1 (SVT-AV1) encoder into the MainConcept codec portfolio. This move will allow content producers to better leverage the increased compression capacity of AV1 and brings high-performance, scalable and efficient encoding for video-on-demand (VOD) streaming to the ever-growing video delivery marketplace.

As AV1 continues to gain traction across web browsers and mobile operating systems, and with extended hardware support for decode coming later this year, it has become increasingly clear that AV1 has solid momentum as a codec of choice for video distribution. With the promise of better quality and lower bitrate as compared to other codecs, AV1 allows users to distribute more content, providing a great experience to an expanded group of mobile consumers.

SVT was designed to run efficiently on multi-core CPUs like Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel Xeon D processors from edge to cloud. The encoder core is split into independently operating threads, each thread processing a different segment of the input picture, running in parallel on different processor cores, without introducing any loss in fidelity. AV1’s efficiency in such an environment is ideal for MainConcept’s innovative codec portfolio of highly optimized SDKs.

Bringing the SVT-AV1 encoder into the extensive MainConcept codec portfolio enables customers to seamlessly combine AV1 encoding with MainConcept’s proven MPEG-DASH multiplexing and formatting technology, thereby enhancing their VOD streaming offerings. SVT-AV1 will be extended by MainConcept to use the common API familiar to all MainConcept users and adds additional features to the core codec, including scaling and color space or color gamut conversion.

“In just a short time, AV1 has proven its staying power. By collaborating with Intel on SVT technology, MainConcept brings further improvements to the version of AV1 being used by some of the world’s most popular content streaming platforms,” said Thomas Kramer, Vice President, Product Management, MainConcept. "Further, this immediately extends the reach of the AV1 codec to those companies already working with us, as well as offering a new option to those needing additional support with their implementations.”

“We are pleased to continue our more than 10 years of collaboration with MainConcept across a variety of video production technologies. Our engineers work with MainConcept to help develop video compression technology ideally suited for today’s market,” said Lynn Comp, Vice President, Data Platforms Group, and General Manager, Visual Infrastructure Division, Intel Corporation. “Integrating the open source SVT-AV1 into MainConcept’s SDK makes it easier for developers and platform providers to take advantage of cloud and edge technologies and leverage the compression efficiency of advanced codecs.”

The announcement builds upon prior collaborations on H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC encoding using Intel Quick Sync Video, as well as the full optimization of MainConcept codecs to run on Intel Xeon processors.

The MainConcept AV1 SDK is now available. To learn more, email sales@mainconcept.com or visit www.mainconcept.com/av1. To learn more about SVT-AV1 visit www.01.org/svt.