MainConcept SDK 16.1 Introduces Constant Target Quality Encoding, Expanded VMAF Support, and Broader GPU Acceleration

Aachen, Germany; San Diego, CA – January 28, 2026 – MainConcept, a leading provider of codecs, transcoders, and software development kits for the production, streaming, and broadcast industries, today announced the release of MainConcept SDK 16.1. This update introduces major advancements in video quality, perceptual encoding intelligence, and cross-platform GPU acceleration. These enhancements enable developers to deliver higher quality video experiences with improved performance and efficiency.

With this release, MainConcept continues its commitment to providing tools for building next-generation media workflows across broadcast, streaming, production, medical, automotive, and other professional markets.

Introducing Constant Target Quality (CTQ)

MainConcept SDK 16.1 debuts Constant Target Quality (CTQ), a new rate control mode for the HEVC/H.265 encoder that brings content-aware, perceptually optimized encoding to professional workflows. CTQ dynamically analyzes scene complexity and adjusts bitrate in real time to maintain a consistent, user-defined visual quality level.

CTQ enables:

• Delivery of predictable, perceptually consistent quality across diverse content types and viewing conditions. 

• Reduced overprovisioning of bitrate and compute, particularly in bandwidth-constrained or large-scale broadcast environments. 

• Minimized manual ladder tuning and trial-and-error workflows, enabling more automated and scalable pipelines.

By prioritizing perceptual outcomes over rigid bitrate targets, CTQ provides a foundation for more intelligent encoding workflows and complements metric-driven optimization strategies such as VMAF-E and vScore. This approach is especially valuable for cloud-based services, adaptive streaming workflows, and next-generation media platforms where efficiency, consistency, and scale are critical.

Learn more about CTQ: mainconcept.com/constant-target-quality

VMAF-E Support Added for AVC/H.264

MainConcept expands its quality-driven encoding capabilities with the addition of the VMAF-E and VMAF video quality metrics for AVC/H.264. Originally introduced as part of the MainConcept vScore Suite to support HEVC/H.265, this metric provides deeper insight into perceptual output quality and enables more informed decisions during optimization, encoder tuning, and automated quality control workflows.

By integrating both VMAF and VMAF-E into the AVC and HEVC encoders, we enable accurate quality measurement during encoding, with VMAF targeting VOD scenarios and VMAF-E delivering real-time, zero-latency scoring for live scenarios and beyond.

More on VMAF-E: mainconcept.com/vmaf-e

Expanded GPU Acceleration via MainConcept EVA (Easy Video API)

The capabilities of MainConcept EVA have been further extended, enabling high-performance, GPU-accelerated video processing across a broader range of platforms and devices:

• GPU-based AVC/H.264 and HEVC/H.265 encoding and decoding on Arm systems using NVIDIA GPUs
  Developers targeting Arm-based edge devices, embedded platforms, and cloud-native infrastructure can now leverage NVIDIA GPUs for hardware-accelerated processing through EVA’s unified API layer. This enables scalable, high-throughput processing while preserving portability across heterogeneous environments.

• GPU-accelerated AVC/H.264 and HEVC/H.265 encoding on Qualcomm Snapdragon Windows on Arm systems
  EVA now enables efficient hardware encoding using Qualcomm Adreno GPUs on Windows on Arm laptops and developer platforms. This expands access to mobile, low-power, and edge-focused workflows, supporting use cases ranging from field production and contribution to device-side processing and preview.

By extending EVA across Arm, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm ecosystems, MainConcept enables developers to build once and deploy across a wide range of hardware targets while maintaining consistent quality, performance, and control. This approach reduces integration complexity, shortens development cycles, and future-proofs applications as GPU architectures and deployment models continue to evolve.

Learn more about EVA: mainconcept.com/easy-video-api

“With SDK 16.1, we are bringing perceptual intelligence, GPU acceleration, and cross-platform efficiency to the forefront of video technology,” said Deacon Johnson, CEO of MainConcept. “Content creators, streaming services, and device manufacturers are all looking for ways to deliver better video quality while optimizing performance and cost efficiency. This release gives them powerful new tools, whether they are targeting the cloud, the edge, or emerging Arm-based ecosystems.”

MainConcept SDK 16.1 is available today. Developers and media solution providers can explore the new features, including CTQ, VMAF-E, and EVA, by downloading the free trial software at mainconcept.com/free-trial.