Bitmovin has released the latest version of its Encoder, with new HEVC and AV1 codecs, Media over QUIC (MOQ) and integration with AI agents.
Bitmovin Encoder Version 3 introduces new codecs tuned for its content-aware per-title encoding. In tests across animation, sports, TV and cinematic content, the HEVC codec matched the current codec’s quality at 15.5 per cent lower bitrate with per-title encoding and 17.6 per cent lower on static ladders. At the same bitrate it delivers up to 4 VMAF points more quality, said the company, with 25 per cent less compute time on average.
A leading public cloud encoder needed 58 per cent more bitrate to match the quality of Bitmovin’s new HEVC with per-title encoding, with the gap compounded through origin storage, CDN egress, and every viewer’s connection.
The AV1 codec is 66 per cent quicker at equal quality, delivering three times the current codec’s output. Additionally, version 3 adds AV1-based Dolby Vision Profile 10 and HDR10 for VP9 and AV1 as well as Real-Time VMAF (RT-VMAF) quality scoring for H.264, HEVC, and AV1.
Stefan Lederer, co-CEO and co-founder of Bitmovin, said, “Version 3 is our biggest leap yet: better codecs, more HDR formats, lower latency, and AI-native tooling built directly into the encoding pipeline. We were first to show viable cloud-based encoding with AV1. In Version 3 we are pushing the bounds of encoding on the quality and cost vectors simultaneously.”
Through the Bitmovin MCP server, Version 3 provides AI such as Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot with read-only, plain-language access to users’ VoD and Live encodings to: list and filter recent jobs, inspect encoding parameters, explain failures, and summarise activity with no custom API integration required.
Designed for live sports and interactive formats, Version 3 features ultra-low-latency live streaming over MOQ. General availability is planned for VoD production deployments later in the year, with with additional features, performance, and quality improvements for live to follow closely.
