The codec’s ability to use larger block sizes (up to 64x64) for the sky and sand dunes was revolutionary. Where an older codec would chop a sunset sky into thousands of tiny blocks, each prone to slight error, libvpx could encode the entire horizon as a few large blocks with a smooth gradient. This dramatically reduced the "banding" effect that plagues streaming deserts.
As streaming moves to AV1 (the successor to libvpx’s VP9), the Dune case study remains definitive: the future of cinema is not just in the theater, but in the open-source algorithms that carry the spice to every screen on Earth. The codec must not be feared. It must be understood. And libvpx understood Arrakis. dune 2021 libvpx
According to various sources, including an interview with the film's cinematographer, Greig Fraser, and technical analysis by industry experts, the 2021 film "Dune" was encoded using the Libvpx codec. Specifically, the film was mastered in 4K (4096 × 1716) at 24 frames per second (fps) using the VP9 codec, which is a part of the Libvpx library. The codec’s ability to use larger block sizes
