It never hurts to be on the consortium that’s setting the standard.
Apple has joined the Alliance for Open Media, the technology consortium developing AV1 the new industry standard, high-efficiency video code.
The group includes Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Hulu, Intel, and many others. Apple was quietly added to the website’s homepage today, and is even considered a founding member.
The consortium defines its goal as follows:
The initial project – AOMedia Video – pursues a new, royalty-free video codec specification and open source implementation based on the contributions of Alliance members and the broader developer community, along with binding specifications for media format, content encryption and adaptive streaming.
Other group goals, as described, include navigating the complicated nature of royalties with HEVC Advance, the industry group behind H.265 (commonly known as HEVC) which Apple has adopted with High Sierra and iOS 11.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.