Argon Design joins Alliance for Open Media, AOM

Argon Design joins the Alliance for Open Media to contribute to and promote the AV1 video codec standard.

June 28, 2017 – Cambridge, UK – Argon Design Ltd, known for its award-winning family of advanced video verification solutions, Argon Streams, announced today that it has joined the Alliance for Open Media, AOM.

AOM is a non-profit organization working to define and develop media technologies that address the need for an open standard for video compression and delivery over the web.

AOMedia Video is the open source project for active development of the new AV1 codec – the open and royalty-free codec for next-generation Ultra High Definition media. AV1 is under active development to deliver state-of-the-art compression efficiency that bests modern codecs. With a focus on next-generation media experiences, AV1 is designed to meet growing Internet demand for top-quality video scenarios across devices of all kinds and for users worldwide.

Gabe Frost, Executive Director, the Alliance for Open Media, states that, “Argon Design has long been a valued contributor to the project and we welcome them joining AOM as a Member”.

Argon Design has been contributing to the VP9/VP10 codebase for over 3 years, adding features, suggesting novel encoder tools, and helping with debugging and improving codec performance. “By using our depth of experience on VP9/VP10 and by closely tracking the development of AV1, Argon will be positioned to release Argon Streams AV1 immediately after the standard is completed later in 2017”, explained Alan Scott, CEO of Argon Design.

Argon Streams is a family of conformance test bit-streams providing full coverage and verification of HEVC/H.265, VP9 and (in 2017) AV1 video decoders. The bit-streams are derived directly from the specification using Argon Design’s advanced compiler technology. The process uses directed random numbers to ensure that the bit-streams provide comprehensive coverage of all functions, value ranges and cross coverage combinations in the complete specification.

Argon Streams is supported worldwide by CamverTech.

Sample video frame from an Argon Streams bit-stream, shows the directed random number based approach.

About Argon Design

Argon Design, based in Cambridge, UK, is a high technology consultancy with a successful track record in semiconductor design and embedded product development. With a history of complex IP and ASIC designs, including custom processors, video codecs and 2D/3D graphics engines, Argon Design has developed a video decoder verification solution called Argon Streams.

About AOM

Launched in 2015, the Alliance for Open Media is a Joint Development Foundation project formed to define and develop media codecs, media formats, and related technologies to address marketplace demand for an open standard for video compression and delivery over the web. Among the Alliance’s goals is the creation of a new, high-quality open video format that improves core media experiences for all.

About CamverTech

Argon360 is marketed worldwide by CamverTech. CamverTech is a Global Technical Sales Specialist. Their highly experienced sales talent is distributed across Europe (including Israel), USA, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.

See http://www.camvertech.com/digital-ip/video-stitching/