Chips&Media Brings AV1 to Market with Hardware-Ready IP

Chips&Media, a semiconductor intellectual property (IP) provider based in Seoul, South Korea, has been delivering video codec solutions for over two decades. With a portfolio that includes IPs for video codecs, image processing neural processing units (NPUs), and frame buffer compression, the company enables a diverse range of consumer applications for over 150 customers worldwide.

Steve Kim, CEO of Chips&Media, kindly made time to speak with us about the company’s AV1 innovations in video technology.

Early Adoption of AV1

Recognizing the potential of the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) and its AV1 codec, Chips&Media became an early adopter and contributor. "We see AOMedia as a strong driving force in the video codec industry, both technologically and in terms of ecosystem development," Kim explains. "Joining AOMedia allowed us to start contributing our expertise and aligning with the vision of advancing open, efficient video standards."

AV1 Integration in Latest IPs

“We believe that Chips&Media is the first company to use AV1 as part of a multi-codec product,” says Kim. Their commitment to AV1 is evident in its WAVE6 and new WAVE6 Gen2+ series of video codec IPs, which utilize AV1 encoding and decoding capabilities.

Notably, the AV1-enabled WAVE6 Gen2+ series offers enhanced performance and efficiency. For instance, the WAVE6331 codec supports 8K video at 60 frames per second, catering to applications in autonomous vehicles, drones, surveillance cameras, augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), virtual reality (VR), mobile devices, and home entertainment. The professional-grade WAVE6331X extends support to YUV422 and YUV444 color formats, addressing the needs of high-end cameras, PC servers, and automotive systems.

Advantages of AV1

AV1, as an open-source video codec, offers significant advantages in compression efficiency. "Higher compression means better quality within the same memory or network bandwidth budget," Kim notes. “This efficiency is particularly beneficial for over-the-top (OTT) platforms and social networking services (SNS), which are always looking for greater compression to optimize bandwidth.”

The adoption of AV1 by major industry players like Netflix, YouTube, and Disney underscores its relevance. "These companies have committed to AV1, recognizing its potential to modernize video streaming," Kim adds.

Collaborative Efforts and Ecosystem Development

Chips&Media values the collaborative environment provided by AOMedia. " We want to emphasize AOMedia's commitment to building valuable partnerships and nurturing the overall ecosystem," Kim says. "AOMedia has been successful in making AV1 popular, and many IP and system-on-chip (SoC) vendors are enthusiastic about it. We're motivated to deliver quality hardware IP products that contribute to the AOMedia family."

Looking Ahead

With AV1 integration in its IP offerings, Chips&Media is poised to support the growing demand for efficient video codecs across various industries. As AV1 continues to gain traction, Chips&Media's contributions are set to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of video technology.