From Theora to AV1: Transforming Video Workflows in Godot 4 (godotfest2025)

Godot’s video playback remains constrained by the outdated Ogg/Theora codec, limiting quality and integration. My talk introduces “Video Toolkit for Godot” (VTG), an open source extension proposing modern AV1 software decoding with cross-platform support. I’ll discuss VTG’s approach to future hardware acceleration, key design choices, and practical challenges. Attendees will see early results, with an open discussion welcomed to gather thoughts and suggestions. The built-in video playback in Godot 4 is still based on the legacy Ogg/Theora codec, and faces a few major constraints: 1. video quality and compression ratio are limited by an outdated compression algorithm 2. there’s no hardware decoding or zero-copy support 3. video streams can’t be directly accessed as textures for advanced use cases With the increasing demand for high-performance media integration in interactive projects, these limitations have become a bottleneck for creators. In this talk, I’ll introduce my open source GDExtension “Video Toolkit for Godot” (VTG) and demonstrate how it tries to overcome these roadblocks. The extension aims to establish AV1 as the new baseline for software decoding—offering improved quality-to-size ratios and maintaining cross-platform compatibility, even in environments lacking hardware support. As GPU vendors keep adding support for AV1 through the Vulkan API, I’ll show how VTG can be designed to embrace upcoming hardware decoding for seamless, resource-efficient playback. However, it’s not without its challenges. I’ll also address the hurdles that come with using AV1 today, especially the lack of performant hardware encoders, and outline how VTG’s architecture can support alternative codecs for platform-dependent scenarios during the transition period. Importantly, I’ll explain strategic design decisions—such as why VTG should avoid a dependency on libffmpeg—in favor of maintainability and licensing simplicity. VTG is still in its early stages of development; however, a functional prototype already illustrates its potential. I welcome the opportunity to share my insights and engage with the community to gather valuable feedback. Addressing practical challenges collaboratively will help develop a robust and future-proof video solution for the Godot platform. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ about this event: https://pretalx.godotfest.com/godotfest-25/talk/8J88XN/