Video Codec Libraries
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The libraries below fall into several patent pools.
| Codec | License | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| h264 | AVC/H.264 License Fees - ViaLa (via-la.com) | Mentions first 100000 units per year being free. |
| h265 | HEVC License Fees - ViaLa (via-la.com) | Mentions first 100000 units per year being free. |
| DNxHD | https://www.avid.com/ja/legal/avid-dnxhd-list-of-patent-rights | This is a list of patent's. I have not found anywhere with information about licensing those patents. |
| ProRes | https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT200321 |
| Priority | Source | Codecs | Encoder | Decoder | Patent Group | Description | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-video-codec-sdk | h264 (See patent licenses) | x | x | H264 | Hardware see Video Encode and Decode GPU Support Matrix | NVIDIA Developer | DesignWorks_SDKs_Samples_Tools_License_distrib_use_rights_2017_06_13.pdf |
| 4 | https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-video-codec-sdk | h265 (See patent licenses) | x | x | H265 | Hardware see Video Encode and Decode GPU Support Matrix | NVIDIA Developer | |
| 1 | x264, the best H.264/AVC encoder - VideoLAN | h264 (See patent licenses) | x | x | H264 | software | GPL - |
| 4 | x265, the free H.265/HEVC encoder - VideoLAN | h265 (See patent licenses) | x | x | H265 | software | GPL - |
| 1 | https://developer.apple.com/documentation/videotoolbox | h264/h265/Prores (See patent licenses) | x | x | H264 / H265 (Prores | Hardware support Mac only | ? |
| 4 | Intel® Media SDK | h264, h265 | x | x | hardware windows and linux libraries. | End User License Agreements (intel.com) - note this still may not cover the licensing. | |
| 2 | ffmpeg DNxHD encoder/decoder | DNxHD DNxHR | x | x | DNxHD | This seems to be the only open-source library for DNxHD. | lgpl - FFmpeg/dnxhdenc.c at master · FFmpeg/FFmpeg (github.com) - this was developed as part of ffmpeg, with sponsorship by BBC Research. See also: ⚓ T91 Help evaluate/understand Avid DNxHD codec situation (apertus.org) |
| 3 | ffmpeg Prores_ks | Part of ffmpeg - |
Open Source Libraries
Note, there is a patent pool for vp9 and av1 - although it seems like they were not involved with the development of those codecs.
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