-->
Save your FREE seat for Streaming Media Connect this August. Register Now!

Vimeo Announces Support for AV1 Codec, Starts With Staff Picks

Article Featured Image

Video sharing site Vimeo announced today that it now supports the AV1 codec, which it believes will let it deliver videos at a reduced bitrate but the same high visual quality. It's starting small, encoding its Staff Picks selections in AV1 and streaming them to supporting platforms, which include Chrome and Firefox. The company didn't announce when or if it will expand AV1 encoding to additional videos.

News 2Vimeo joined the Alliance for Open Media—which created AV1—last year, and worked with Mozilla on rav1e, Mozilla's open source encoder. For Vimeo, AV1 support seems to be just as much about improving video efficiency as boosting open collaboration and development.

"AV1 is ripe with new and innovative video technologies, and is the first royalty-free video codec to see widespread adoption," says Vittorio Giovara, lead engineer of encoding at Vimeo. "In the continued quest to democratize high-quality video, this levels the playing field by letting everybody implement AV1 without unforeseen costs. Moreover, video creators will now benefit from the ability to stream exceptional videos all over the world with better playback and while using less bandwidth."

Perhaps Vimeo's support will help jumpstart the fledgling codec. Encoding.com's latest Global Media Format report, released in April, knocked it by saying, "AV1 remains a codec waiting for a major hardware, browser, or media ecosystem company to give the next generation codec a day job.”

Streaming Covers
Free
for qualified subscribers
Subscribe Now Current Issue Past Issues
Related Articles

Vimeo Creates a Job Marketplace to Help Companies Tap Top Talent

Rather than relying on word-of-mouth, Vimeo members have a new way of finding paying gigs. Best of all, Vimeo doesn't want a cut.

IBC '19: Facebook, Netflix, Google Talk AV1, HEVC, and Support

The world's biggest video streamers have been slow to adopt next-generation codecs like AV1. At an IBC panel, they explained why HEVC is still the most widely supported.

iSize Claims Massive Performance Savings for its Debut AI Codec

BitSave promises 70% bitrate savings via machine learning, and currently works with H.264, with H.264, H.265, and VP9 on the way

Indie Darling Vimeo Goes Corporate, Introduces Vimeo Enterprise

Large organizations can create sites exclusively for internal teams or selected customers, and hold live events for audiences of any size.

Vimeo Buys Video Creation Company Magisto for an Undisclosed Sum

Using Magisto's AI-powered video editing tools, Vimeo aims to help small businesses turn out professional-looking videos for less time and money.

H.264 Continues to Dominate, and AV1 Is Looking for a Day Job

The annual Global Media Format Report is out from Encoding.com, and it's essential reading for streaming produceres looking for hard data on the state of video formats, codecs, and DRM.

What Vimeo Learned From Amazon: Be Obsessed With the Customer

While their business models are different, one strategy works for both companies. Here's how Vimeo found focus thanks to a stop in Amazon's marketing department.