AOMedia AV1 open, royalty-free video codec has come a long way since it was first introduced in 2016, and we’ve recently seen AV1 hardware video decoding integrated into higher-end STB SoCs such as Broadcom BCM7218X or Realtek RTD1311/RTD1319 processors.

But AV1 codec is also coming to lower-cost media processors as shown by Amlogic 2020 roadmap below.

We should expect at least three new AV1 capable processors in 2020.

Amlogic S905X4

Specifications:

CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor

GPU Arm Mali-G31MP2

Video 4Kp75 H.265, VP9, AVS2 4Kp120 AV1 HDR support

Smart Audio Voice Activity Detector (VAD) Asynchronous Sample Rate conversion (ASRC) Equalizer (EQ) Dynamic Range Compression (DRC) 2x DSP for audio front end (AFE) and wake word engine (WWE)



Amlogic S905X4 looks like an update to Amlogic S905X3 with AV1 codec support, and maybe extra audio features.

Amlogic S908X

We’ve previously seen Rockchip RK3588 with Cortex-A76 / A55 cores, 8K video output and decoding support, as well as 4K encoding, is coming in 2020. Amlogic S908X should compete directly with the Rockchip, as will we only know it will be equipped with “next-generation CPU & GPU” it will support 8Kp60 AV1 and AVS 3.0 Chinese video codec decoding, and 8Kp60 video output via HDMI 2.1 video interface. The processor will also support 64-bit DDR RAM.

Amlogic S805X2

We have pretty limited information about this part, as it will feature next-generation CPU and GPU cores as well as a Full HD AV1 video decoder. That should be the cheaper option to get an AV1 capable TV box or board, but you won’t get 4K, only up to 1080p.

Thanks to Anonymous for the tip.