AV1 is touted to be the new video format for the Internet and is supposed to replace the well-known and proven MPEG format. AV1 codec is a performance-strong and license-free video codec and the brainchild of an alliance between Google’s VP10, Mozilla’s Daala and Cisco’s Thor.
Over the last few years, MPEG codes including MPEG1, MPEG2, and MPEG4 variants ASP (DivX/XviD), AVC (H.264) and HEVC (H.265) were the measure of all things when it came to video streaming online. Streaming providers preferred HEVC for their 4K content. But MPEG formats have become the standard for highly compressed video files on DVDs, Blu-rays, and digital television as well.
The lack of competition for MPEG formats is not only due to their technological superiority. Many of the algorithms are patented, which has always made it difficult for third-party providers to launch a comparable codec. This affects commercial use of HEVC since streaming providers require a license from MPEG as well as other licensing partners, including individual patent holders. AV1 hopes to avoid these difficulties and, at the same time, provide a technically advanced solution over previous formats.