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Blue_MiSfit · 19th September 2022, 18:12

One key point -- service providers almost never "switch" formats.

They add an additional format.

This is because they always have a large pool of "legacy" devices (relative to whatever cool new compression format we're talking about). It's very rare to actually turn off an old format. I imagine at this point Netflix has stopped encoding H.263 for their most primitive devices (original Nintendo Wii IIRC) but I'd be surprised if they no longer encode VC-1 for legacy Smooth Streaming endpoints.

For reference, VC-1 has been a legacy codec since probably ~2010.

A service like Netflix with a huge legacy device footprint and cutting edge support for modern formats would have to encode the following:

VC-1
H.264 Baseline, Main, and High profiles
HEVC
VP9
AV1

All of the above would be in many bitrates and resolutions. The "modern" codecs e.g. VP9, HEVC, AV1 would also have separate ladders in SDR, HDR10, and Dolby Vision.

19th September 2022, 18:12	#27 \| Link
Blue_MiSfit Derek Prestegard IRL Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 5,989	One key point -- service providers almost never "switch" formats. They add an additional format. This is because they always have a large pool of "legacy" devices (relative to whatever cool new compression format we're talking about). It's very rare to actually turn off an old format. I imagine at this point Netflix has stopped encoding H.263 for their most primitive devices (original Nintendo Wii IIRC) but I'd be surprised if they no longer encode VC-1 for legacy Smooth Streaming endpoints. For reference, VC-1 has been a legacy codec since probably ~2010. A service like Netflix with a huge legacy device footprint and cutting edge support for modern formats would have to encode the following: VC-1 H.264 Baseline, Main, and High profiles HEVC VP9 AV1 All of the above would be in many bitrates and resolutions. The "modern" codecs e.g. VP9, HEVC, AV1 would also have separate ladders in SDR, HDR10, and Dolby Vision. __________________ These are all my personal statements, not those of my employer :)