VK was the first among Russian companies to introduce the AV1 video codec for its platforms: VK Video, VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, the company told Forbes.
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The codec reduced the load on VK servers and networks by 25-45% and increased the density of content storage by 30%. The cost of the transition was 100 million rubles. The money was invested in servers, development and implementation of technologies, VK reported.
The main advantage of AV1 is lossless video compression: 4K videos take up the same amount of space as FullHD videos with the currently more common H.264 codec, but they load faster and require less Internet speed.
AV1 was developed in 2018. It compresses video three times more efficiently than H.264. For example, a 40-minute 4K video now weighs around 2GB instead of 6-8GB, making it faster to download and play on low internet speeds. This technology is already used by YouTube, Google, Netflix, Microsoft, and Apple.
Improving video quality and loading speed on VK platforms, says Vadim Vergun, a specialist in Dronshab’s video analytics department and NTI Technet market expert Vadim Vergun, can become a powerful argument for those looking for an alternative to YouTube.
He believes that within a year or two, this could well lead to a noticeable increase in viewership, especially considering that video quality and accessibility are key factors when choosing a platform to watch content.
Author:
Karina Pardaeva
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
