As a modern codec with more advanced coding tools at its disposal, VP9 is a huge step-up in compression efficiency, generally outperforming H.264 by 20~30% on the BD-rate scale. However, the Android fragmentation problem is preventing more widespread adoption on mobile. To improve VP9 playback coverage, we propose a hybrid approach utilizing both system hardware decoders where available, and optimized in-app software VP9 decoders assisted by GPU-based color space conversion. In addition, a device capability framework collects and aggregates device VP9 playback capability and performance data by device model and OS version to help select the optimal playback path.
Presented at Demuxed 2019 in San Francisco.
