Thor (video codec)

Last updated
Thor
Developed by Cisco Systems
Type of format Video codec
Extended to NETVC, AV1
Open format?Yes
Free format?Yes
Website https://github.com/cisco/thor

Thor is a royalty-free video codec under development by Cisco Systems. The specifications of Thor were available in various Internet Drafts. [1]

On July 22, 2015, Thor was presented to the IETF as a candidate for their NETVC video standard. [2] Thor uses some Cisco elements that are also used by HEVC. [3] As part of the NETVC work, the Constrained Low-Pass Filter (CLPF) and motion compensation techniques used in Thor were tested in conjunction with the lapped transform coding techniques from the Daala codec. [4]

On September 1, 2015, Cisco announced that the Alliance for Open Media would use elements of Thor to develop a royalty free video format, AOMedia Video 1. [5] [6] [7]

According to Steinar Midtskogen, a principal Thor developer and AV1 contributor, Thor is in good shape for real-time CPU encoding (as of NETVC meeting 101, March 19, 2018), in strong contrast to AV1 at the same time. [8] Thor development had stalled for the finalization of AV1, but Midtskogen envisaged further Thor development by merging the Daala entropy coder and adding more tools for screen content. [9]

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References

  1. A. Fuldseth; G. Bjontegaard; S. Midtskogen; T. Davies; M. Zanaty (2016-03-18). "Thor Video Codec". IETF . Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  2. "NETVC IETF 93". Internet Engineering Task Force. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  3. "Thor: High Efficiency, Moderate Complexity Video Codec using only RF IPR" (PDF). Internet Engineering Task Force. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  4. NETVC Hackathon Results IETF 93 (Prague) (PDF)
  5. "New open standard for Ultra High Definition video will enable enhanced video playback". Alliance for Open Media. 2015-09-01. Archived from the original on 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  6. Stephen Shankland (2015-09-01). "Tech giants join forces to hasten high-quality online video". CNET . Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  7. Zimmerman, Steven (15 May 2017). "Google's Royalty-Free Answer to HEVC: A Look at AV1 and the Future of Video Codecs". XDA Developers. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  8. IETF101-NETVC-20180319-1550. IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018 via YouTube. It's certainly possible to get real-time encoding with Thor, that we know, but for AV1, it's not proven yet.
  9. "Thor update and AV1 comparisons". IETF. Retrieved 23 May 2018.