AV1

Pros

• If needed, reencode the remuxes to something like av1 with constant quality (instead of constant bitrate).
• I have the AV 10/AMP 10 and the DAC in the AV 10 is a real step up from the x4800.
• I think A+ and Security+ are easy to justify the "add value" of, but YMMV.
• we're finally starting to get mainstream adoption of built-in decoding hardware for H.265 let alone for AV1, which further reduces bandwidth demand.
• Also looking at doing AV1 as opposed to h265.

Cons

• At least for a 5-night trek which without via ferrata, probably means AV1, which is very popular.
• x265 and AV1 are much better but slower, especially AV1. Less than half the size file than X264 with similar quality. But also perhaps 10-20 times slower compression.
• I like the AV1 format, but it not being mainstream is a problem both currently and moving forward. Whatever advantages you may have by encoding to AV1 today with an off-site encoder will be dwarfed by the disadvantages.
• I like AV1, but my devices don't. I watch my media on a range of devices, and their compatibility differs... If they don't support AV1, the media server will transcode. Even if you have an onboard GPU that can do this (QSV), the transcod...
• If you select a popular route (eg. AV1) you will need to book many months (6+) in advance to get private rooms where available. AV1 you can find private rooms in many huts but it won’t be easy to book them all for the dates you want.