The period of filmmaking with a cell phone has arrived. As anybody can now shoot, edit and share high-quality video, customers more and more count on better colour accuracy, finer element and extra post-production flexibility. In response, Samsung Electronics has developed the Superior Skilled Video (APV) codec and is working to ascertain it as a worldwide open commonplace.
Why APV
Codecs could also be unfamiliar to many customers, however they act as invisible engines shaping the person expertise. Consider a suitcase — the way you pack it determines how a lot it holds and the way simply you will discover what you want. Likewise, an environment friendly codec permits a person to retailer extra high-quality video whereas enhancing playback and enhancing.
Video falls into two classes — informal video, on a regular basis clips we seize and share, {and professional} video for cinema-grade enhancing. Whereas informal codecs prioritize compression effectivity, skilled codecs should protect picture high quality and reproduce colours with precision. Simply as overpacking a suitcase can harm or distort its contents, skilled video requires a sturdy codec that preserves each element.
Standard compression makes it troublesome to totally allow cellular post-production — together with colour grading, the place creators apply exact tones to match their creative imaginative and prescient, and visible results (VFX). APV was designed to assist all the workflow from seize to closing edit whereas preserving element even after a number of rounds of recompression.
Lowering Complexity With out Compromise
The most important technical problem was decreasing complexity. Standard skilled codecs concentrate on picture high quality, making them computationally demanding and limiting use to high-end {hardware}. The objective was to realize a low-complexity design that cellular processors may deal with in actual time with out compromising high quality.
To handle this, Samsung launched light-weight entropy coding1 to scale back computational load and body tiling2 that permits parallel encoding and decoding throughout a number of cores. In consequence, APV helps real-time processing of as much as 8K video on cellphones whereas sustaining picture high quality with minimal loss, even after a number of edits.
| Class | Standard Video Codec | APV Codec |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Viewing and sharing | Skilled enhancing and high-quality preservation |
| Key Focus | Lowering file measurement (compression effectivity) | Preserving unique colour and element at 100% |
| Processing Velocity | Customary processing | Actual-time 8K processing on cellphones |
| Use Circumstances | Social media uploads | Movie manufacturing, skilled promoting, superior enhancing |
Constructing an Open Ecosystem for All
The worth of expertise lies in how extensively it’s used. Samsung selected to construct an open ecosystem the place anybody can undertake and advance the expertise. It’s like sharing an amazing recipe — resulting in even higher outcomes.
In February 2026, Samsung revealed APV by the Web Engineering Process Power (IETF) as RFC 9924, establishing it as a de facto world commonplace. The corporate additionally launched the total supply code on GitHub underneath the title “OpenAPV,” enabling builders worldwide to take part and contribute.
This openness is driving ecosystem development and accelerating adoption. The APV codec is supported in Android 16, whereas the open-source software FFmpeg and post-production software program DaVinci Resolve have additionally added assist.
Collaborating Throughout International Groups
This progress was pushed by Samsung’s world analysis collaboration. After Samsung Analysis (SR) led early improvement, groups throughout Samsung Analysis America (SRA), Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore (SRI-B), Samsung R&D Institute Poland (SRPOL) and Samsung R&D Institute Japan (SRJ) labored intently collectively. Their efforts led to a key milestone in October 2023, when APV was unveiled on the Samsung Developer Convention (SDC). In August 2024, Samsung joined the Academy Software program Basis (ASWF) to assist the open-source video ecosystem.
To carry the expertise to cellphones, the Cellular eXperience (MX) Enterprise spearheaded product integration. Shut collaboration between MX and SR optimized efficiency for cellular. In February 2026, Samsung outfitted Galaxy S26 Extremely with APV — the primary Android telephone to assist the codec.
Increasing Artistic Prospects for All
Our objective is obvious. We goal to make professional-grade video manufacturing accessible to everybody by APV. Know-how delivers its best worth when it’s open, and APV will form a extra inventive future for video content material.
