9 NEWSFEED Updates & upgrades
ROYALTY-FREE AV1 CODEC READY
Spring is here and with it the budding of new life – including a brand new video codec, AV1 (AOMedia Video 1) . Developed by the Alliance for Open Media, a trade organisation whose members include the major internet media giants, the AV1 codec is designed as a royalty-free successor to the HEVC. The AV1 project kicked off in September 2015 and aims to be an open format for web video. The fact that it is royalty free means that use of it won’t require payment, as with patented technologies like MPEG.
It’s hoped that the new codec will allow for much greater efficiency in delivering web video and open up possibilities for new and better types of video as well as improved video quality in markets with lower bandwidth. Christopher Mueller, CTO and co-founder of Bitmovin, a member of the Alliance for Open Media, said: “We have found that AV1 improves compression efficiency by about 35% compared to other codecs, making it perfectly suited to very high quality video applications
and delivery of video to low bandwidth environments such as mobile devices.” Bitmovin is one of the first companies to employ the AV1 codec in its products.
APPLE INTRODUCES PRORES RAW
Apple has updated its Final Cut Pro X editing software and with it introduced a new video file format, ProRes RAW. ProRes RAW aims to combine the visual and workflow benefits of RAW video with the performance of ProRes. ProRes RAW will allow editors to import, edit and grade footage with the RAW data from the camera sensor, which should work well for workflows using HDR. Optimised for macOS, full-quality ProRes RAW files can be played on MacBook Pro and iMac in real time without rendering. ProRes RAW files are smaller than ProRes 4444 files, which aids in archiving and storage. Final Cut Pro can work natively with ProRes RAW and ProRes RAW HQ files created by Atomos recorders. The format will be available as a free update for owners of Atomos Sumo 19 and Shogun Inferno devices.
RAW POWER Apple’s new format, ProRes RAW, combines the visual and workflow benefits of RAW video with the performance of ProRes
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