AMD is unveiled Alveo MA35D media accelerator with two 5nm, ASIC-based video processing units (VPUs) that it expects to power live interactive streaming services at scale. It said the new product supports the AV1 compression standard and provides four times higher channel density, four times lower latency in 4K, and 1.8 times higher compression efficiency.
Commenting on the Alveo MA35D, Dan Gibbons, General Manager, AECG Data Center Group at AMD said:
“We worked closely with our customers and partners to understand not only their technical needs, but their infrastructure challenges in profitably deploying high-volume, interactive streaming services. We developed the Alveo MA35D with an ASIC architecture designed to meet the specific needs of these providers to deliver immersive experiences at scale to their users and content creators. Both capital and operating costs can be reduced.
According to AMD, the Alveo MA35D uses its VPU to perform all video processing functions. This helps reduce latency and maximize channel density with up to 32x 1080p60, 8x 4Kp60, or 4x 8Kp30 streams per card. In addition to support for AV1, the Alveo MA35D also provides ultra-low latency for H.264 and H.265 codecs.
On the AV1-front, next-generation transcoder engines reduce bitrates by up to 52% to help save bandwidth, compared to comparable software implementations. AMD said the Alveo MA35D media accelerators are sampling now with production shipments expected to be ready in the third quarter.