LCEVC: Ready for Primetime

V-Nova是低复杂度增强视频编解码器(LCEVC)编解码器的主要开发者， announced its royalty terms last month. 我们与V-Nova首席执行官兼联合创始人Guido Meardi进行了交谈，以更好地了解LCEVC在部署方面的情况, as well as to get more insight into the licensing structure.

流媒体: Give us the elevator pitch on LCEVC.

圭多Meardi: For anyone looking for the best end-consumer video experience right now, LCEVC enhances any codec producing higher resolutions, 更详细的, 减少缓冲. With only a software upgrade, you can enhance any video delivery without waiting for new hardware in devices. LCEVC提供了一种提高用户粘性和留存率的直接方法，同时大大减少了计算量并节省了运营成本. 重要的是，减少计算对降低排放有相当大的贡献. V-Nova致力于通过最大限度地减少编码服务器的碳影响，使视频流媒体的“抛物线”增长长期可持续.

So, where is LCEVC right now in terms of release?

Our SDK already supports a very wide range of encoding and device environments. 对于编码，我们有针对cpu (Intel和ARM)、gpu甚至FPGA优化的库. 对于解码，我们已经优化了库，以覆盖最流行的平台，包括Android, iOS, 窗户, Mac, 和脚本解码HTML5支持的浏览器部署LCEVC，避免需要任何插件.

促进领养, 我们已经为广泛的编码器和解码器提供了多个参考集成，包括FFmpeg(支持超过20个基本编码器), Android的ExoPlayer, AVPlayer for iOS, Microsoft UWP for 窗户, 以及像HLS这样的网络玩家.Shaka Player，视频.js. We also have integrations at OS level, 比如针对AOSP (Android Open Source Project)的补丁，它可以让LCEVC在所有基于AOSP的系统中轻松实现. 对于编码和解码，我们一直在增加更多的选择——包括专业供应商——与积极部署项目的合作伙伴一起.

What is the licensing structure?

的许可条款 were recently announced (20 May) and they aim to be simple and fair. 的 terms ensure that it is as easy as possible to deploy in the ecosystem, 与那些使技术能够集成它没有授权费用. In particular, there are two licenses available:

How is this different from existing licensing structures?

传统上, video codecs have been deployed in silicon on devices, 而设备则是那些被收取许可证或版税的设备，而这些功能本身并没有从中受益. LCEVC是 an enhancement that can be deployed today in software, directly by a service provider, also on devices that are already out there in the market. 这些平台可以是通用的计算平台(比如移动电话)，也可以是专用的视频流媒体, 但是，如果他们对功能进行了额外的改造，就向他们收费，这将是不公平的，而且会适得其反. In modern software-as-a-service (SaaS) models, functionality is made available to the users, and they pay for it only when using and thus benefitting from it, immediately making money. 的 LCEVC model is simply a modern software model.

有什么回应，你们有客户接受这些条款吗?

这些条款是在与服务和行业合作伙伴广泛磋商后制定的. 的 feedback we received highlighted that it strikes the right balance, with business benefits far outweighing the small per-active-user costs. 我们还被告知，在这个过程中如此早地获得如此清晰和透明是令人放心的.

What does this mean for developers? 如果我想在Chrome浏览器上播放你的LCEVC，谷歌需要部署LCEVC吗? What about on a Samsung Smart TV?

LCEVC可以部署在软件栈的不同层次上——在浏览器和操作系统中，也可以直接部署在服务提供商的播放器和应用程序中.

今天已经, 服务可以将lcevc增强部署到浏览器中，作为基于html5的视频播放器的软件更新，而不需要插件. 你可以检查一下 http://player.v-nova.com to enjoy LCEVC-enhanced streams on your browser right now. 这同样适用于应用程序. 在Android/iOS/微软商店中搜索“LCEVC”，您将能够在您的设备上安装播放LCEVC的应用程序. 重要的是, those are not tech demos: they are deployable implementations, and while working on actual deployments with our Early Adopter Program, 我们还与专业的测试公司合作，对设备进行浸泡测试和认证.

Whilst not a requirement, 一些进一步的效率效益最终将从生态系统的推动者(如设备)中获得, browser and operating system companies integrating the technology at lower level, especially for devices such as Smart TVs. 许可条款和易于集成的设计就是为了促进这一过程.

So, if I decide to deploy LCEVC next month, how soon can I get full playback support on browsers, 移动设备, 以及OTT/智能电视?

的 quick answer is right away for a broad percentage of the audience. 由于低复杂性，回放支持可以发生在软件堆栈的不同级别. Service providers can deploy LCEVC right away on mobiles, 平板电脑, Android飘带, 苹果电视, 便携电脑, 和浏览器作为其应用程序的一部分，甚至在HTML5播放器中编写脚本. LCEVC变成了另一个可以在下次更新时下载的“应用功能”.

With the V-Nova LCEVC fee structure, 我们希望生态系统提供商采用我们优化的本地库，并开始在操作系统中提供LCEVC, browser and chipset drivers.

公平地说，开放媒体联盟的公司对MPEG编解码器一直持中立或消极态度. Given that AOMedia members control so many critical platforms, what role will they play in LCEVC's acceptance?

LCEVC是, 通过设计, a codec agnostic enhancer, 它与amedia的许多主要贡献者建立了良好的关系. LCEVC的作用是提高其他编解码器的效率，优化消费者的视频体验. This applies to AV1 as well. 实际上, 我们认为，将LCEVC增强功能添加到AV1中可以显著加快其采用速度，因为它可以在许多设备中实现高分辨率播放，而无需长周期的专用硬件可用, whilst also reducing transcoding power requirements by >70% and decoding battery drain by up to 50%.