FFmpeg 6.0 is coming

[JeGX]

FFmpeg 6.0 (winter 2023?)

Ongoing
- 191 contributors, ~3.5k files changed, ~220kLoC touched
- Numerous API changes (and break)

Current Changes
- FFmpeg CLI multithreading (WIP), muxers
- RISC-V optimizations
- AV1 hw decoding for Intel, nVidia & AMD
- New highly-optimized FFT code with SIMD for x86 and ARM
- new API for output of reconstructed frames from encoders (currently implemented
for x264 and libaom)
- API breaks for deprecations, numerous YUV pix_fmt changes, AVFrame,
opacification, channel layouts, H.274

Current Hardware Changes
- AV1 hw decoding for Intel, nVidia & AMD
- Hardware-friendly high bit-depth and chroma-resolution pixel formats
- Android MediaCodec though NDKMediaCodec
- Android MediaCodec encoders
- Intel 10/12 4:2:2 & 4:4:4 with VAAPI and QSV + Filters

Codecs
- New Decoders: Bonk, APAC, APAC, Mi-SC4, 100i, VQC, FTR, PHM, WBMP, XMD ADPCM, WADY DPCM, CBD2 DPCM
- New Filters: adrc, afdelaysr, showcwt, a3dscope, Ssim360, corr, backgroundkey
- dts2pts bitstream filter: generate timestamps for raw H.264 (extensible to HEVC and other codecs)

FFmpeg CLI multithreading
- FFmpeg CLI is used everywhere
  . very flexible
  . architecture still based on the original code from 2000
- Major architectural changes needed
  . code maintainable
  . efficient one-to-many transcoding
  . gathering metrics
- Every component in the transcoding pipeline (demuxing, decoding, filtering, encoding, muxing) will run in its own thread
- Improves latency and new use cases


FFmpeg releases

Concept
- One major per year ABI/API breakage
- One or two minor per year, with no API changes
- Small security releases regularly
- One LTS every 2 year

Plan
- FFmpeg 5.0 January 2022 January 2023
- FFmpeg 5.1 LTS July 2022 July 2024
- FFmpeg 6.0 January 2023 January 2024
- FFmpeg 6.1 July 2023 July 2024
- FFmpeg 7.0 January 2024
- FFmpeg 7.1 LTS July 2024

Source: https://fosdem.org/2023/schedule/event/om_vlc/attachments/slides/5695/export/events/attachments/om_vlc/slides/5695/FFmpeg_VLC_js.pdf