If it was clearly superior, but I can't see the difference in image quality between H264 and H265 video when they are using the same bitrates. There should be an image quality improvement when parked, given that the same bitrates are used, but since we use fixed bitrates, it is only ever going to be noticeable when there is a lot of movement in the image, and as far as I can see, the fixed bitrates we use actually allow for using some extra bitrate for a short time when there is movement, it is a fixed average bitrate, so can increase temporarily and make up for it later, so I've never seen a visible improvement from using H265 when using the same bitrates. I do see lower image quality on some cameras, because most dashcam manufacturers use lower bitrates when using H265. There are one or two dashcams that use higher bitrate for their H265 video, and then you do get higher image quality, but that is not because you are using H265, it is because of the higher bitrates.
The same argument will go for AV1, however AV1 does appear to be able to achieve the same licence plate readability as H264 while using significantly less bitrate, it also appears to achieve less pixelation than H265, and I don't like the H265 pixelation.
There is also the possibility that AV1 will bring us 10 bit video, with a genuine improvement in image quality. We have never seen a 10 bit dashcam so far, although it is available on some phones and action cameras that use H265. Not sure how useful that will be for a dashcam, but when a license plate is hidden in the shadows, being able to turn up the brightness and contrast without just seeing noise, could help with license plate reading.
Would you pay $5 for downloadable licence for AV1 on your dashcam?
I guess most people will expect it to be license free, since an AV1 license is free; however the dashcam will need an AV1 encoder, and there will be a license for the encoder design.
