VideoLAN Publishes Dav2d For Open-Source AV2 Decoder
VideoLAN has released dav2d, an open-source CPU-based AV2 video decoder, despite the AV2 specification still being in draft status. The decoder is based on dav1d, VideoLAN's previous AV1 decoder, and is designed to be fast and accurate across platforms. The code is now publicly available and described as production-ready, with ongoing work to improve performance and expand platform support.
- ▪The AV2 video specification remains in draft status as of May 2026.
- ▪VideoLAN has published dav2d, an open-source AV2 decoder, on its GitLab repository.
- ▪Dav2d is based on dav1d, VideoLAN's AV1 decoder, and is designed to be cross-platform and production-ready.
- ▪The dav2d decoder currently lacks a complete C implementation and API but is already considered battle-tested.
- ▪Performance optimizations for AVX2, ARM, and RISC-V architectures are still underway.
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VideoLAN Publishes Dav2d For Open-Source AV2 Decoder Written by Michael Larabel in Multimedia on 2 May 2026 at 07:03 AM EDT. 5 Comments While the Alliance For Open Media had been aiming for the AV2 release by the end of 2025, as of right now the AV2 specification remains in a draft status. VideoLAN developers though for months have already been working on dav2d as an open-source AV2 decoder and that code was published this weekend. VideoLAN developers have been working on dav2d as an open-source, CPU-based AV2 video decoder. Dav2d is based off dav1d as their AV1 decoder. The Dav2d decoder is cross-platform and aims to be fast yet focused on correctness as well. After months of work, the dav2d code is now public via the VideoLAN GitLab repository.
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