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Google’s Duo video chat app is poised to get a huge boost in call quality, thanks to new video codec technology the company plans to launch next week. The codec, called AV1, is the product of an industry-wide consortium called the Alliance for Open Media. AV1 is the successor to VP9 and can produce significantly higher data compression rates than previous standards, making it ideal for mobile video applications such as streaming TV shows and live video calls.
Google says that all Duo calls now use AV1, making even low-bandwidth video calls much higher quality than before. Changing the codec will also help with the stability of video calls. In addition to the AV1 update, Google is also rolling out a new photo mode for Duo starting today so you can capture and then share photos of yourself and someone else on your call. The feature will be expanded to group calls “soon”. Google says it also plans to increase the size of group calls from 12 participants to make it even higher after increasing the limit of eight at the end of last month.
Google is using the new AV1 codec standard
With the rise of video calls and teleconferencing during the coronavirus pandemic, companies like Google and competitor Zoom are competing to add new features while, particularly in the case of Zoom, to ensure that security and privacy remain intact. Earlier today, Google added a Zoom-like gallery view to its business video calling app, Meet.
Google also said it is seeing a surprising increase in Duo usage, including an 800 percent increase in video messages. For that reason, Google says it is changing its policy on those video messages, which can be recorded and sent to friends for post-fact viewing, so they can be automatically saved instead of expiring after 24 hours.
