If we assume that to be true (VMAF and SSIM aren’t the whole picture), just keep in mind that’s only true at particular speeds, bitrates, and types of content.
What I should say is, please show me an AV1 encoder that can beat x264 in quality at a source-transparent encode of a 4K or 1080p Blu-ray film, if given ~3GB per hour of content and the encode had to run in at least 3x the runtime. I’d start using it! It may be there as of recently, it’s been a year or two since I looked.
This is a usecase where AV1 encoders and even x265 have had trouble.
What I should say is, please show me an AV1 encoder that can beat x264 in quality at a source-transparent encode of a 4K or 1080p Blu-ray film, if given ~3GB per hour of content and the encode had to run in at least 3x the runtime. I’d start using it! It may be there as of recently, it’s been a year or two since I looked.
This is a usecase where AV1 encoders and even x265 have had trouble.