Intel is the first GPU manufacturer to offer AV1 encoding capabilities Arc Graphics Sequence. We were lucky enough to see the encryption in action thanks to YouTuber Eposvox, who tested the technology on an Arch A380 graphics card. YouTuber found that AV1 is more efficient for low bit rate producing video streams. It outperforms all H.264 hardware encoders, such as the NVENC encoder from competitor NVIDIA.
Intel AV1 encoder outperforms rival Nvidia’s NVENC H.264 video codec
Many videos viewed daily on YouTube have adopted the new AV1 encoding, Especially in the growth of the last few years. Intel’s AV1 video encoding It was initially developed by the Alliance for Open Media in 2015 as a royalty-free open source video encoding format. The format is revolutionary in theory and free, allowing users greater access to use via the Internet. AV1 produces smaller file sizes than the H.264 format, offering much greater compression capabilities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctbTTroqZsM
Over the past several years, AV1 has seen increased adoption in video streaming platforms and has seen more extensive use in graphics card architectures such as the NVIDIA RTX 30 series, AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture, and more recently Intel’s iGPUs. Sony also integrated the technology into the PlayStation 4 Pro console gaming system.
AV1 doesn’t see full use in content creation, especially streaming, even with video encoding available. Current graphics engines do not support AV1 encoders. With the help of software, a computer’s processor can use the AV1 codec. However, apart from Intel’s latest Arc graphics cards, no hardware has been developed that can properly accelerate AV1 encoding.
In the video above, EposVox puts Intel’s AV1 encoder to the test against several H.264 encoders. The test included software options available in streaming suites such as AMD’s AMF, Intel’s Quick Sync, NVIDIA NVENC, and streaming software OBS.
The YouTuber used Netflix’s VMAF benchmark tool, which allows the user to analyze video quality with a score of 0 (considered unwatchable) to 100 (best video quality imaginable). The benchmark tool compares video quality to uncompressed video and tests speeds of 3.5MBps, 6MBps and 8MBps.
Used Video Battlefield 2042 gameplay footage. At 3.5MBps, Intel’s AV1 video encoder scored 83 points, and at 6MBps, it reached 90 points out of 100. On the other hand, the NVIDIA NVENC scored 71 at 3.5MBps, but scored 85 at 8MBps. AMD and its AMF encoders were similar to NVIDIA, and Intel’s Quick Sync encoder reached 76 and 87, respectively. Intel currently uses a fast synchronization encoder on the Alder Lake platform.
A benchmark test prepared by EposVox shows that the Intel AV1 video codec has sixteen percent better performance than NVIDIA and AMD.
OBS delivered surprising results with its H.264 software-based encoder preset x264 VerySlow. Combined software delivered 78 points at 3.5 MBps and 88 points at 6MBps. However, for streaming, this is not a usable format, so streamers are better off avoiding the system altogether.
As EposVox has trained users on streaming in general, it’s worth noting that 3.5 MBps is a more accessible and pleasant setting for viewers when using Intel and AV1 encoding. It produces an attainable stream quality while using fewer resources than competing companies.
News Sources: Tom’, s hardware
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