Recap: Help for the AV1 codec has grown significantly since its launch in 2018. Massive and small platforms shortly adopted the format to attenuate bandwidth consumption whereas preserving picture high quality. Netflix, a major backer of AV1, plans to proceed increasing the codec throughout its purposes whereas additionally using it and its upcoming successor for brand new ventures.
Netflix not too long ago confirmed that the AV1 codec is chargeable for practically one-third of its streaming content material. In a prolonged Medium publish, the corporate defined the way it helped foster the codec’s creation and regularly adopted it throughout varied units.
The Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), a consortium that features Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla, Nvidia, and different firms, launched AV1 in 2018 as a successor to Google’s VP9 format. The codec compresses information extra effectively than the favored H.264 format and is royalty-free, in contrast to H.265/HEVC.
Decoding and encoding assist for AV1 has quickly unfold to trendy cellular units, PC graphics chips, and different {hardware} over the previous a number of years. Throughout that point, customers starting from giant firms to impartial content material creators have applauded its efficiency enhancements.
Netflix started adopting AV1 software program decoding on Android units in 2020 as a result of platform’s flexibility and the prominence of cellular units amongst streaming audiences. Utilizing the dav1d library, which builders had already optimized for cellular Arm chipsets, the corporate improved video playback high quality for customers on mobile networks.
Nonetheless, bringing AV1 to good TVs and different house units required hardware-based decoding, which Netflix regularly licensed in collaboration with SoC distributors. The corporate rolled out the codec on TVs in late 2021, added assist for internet browsers in 2022, and prolonged it to Apple’s M3 and A17 Professional chips in 2023.
Earlier this yr, Netflix rolled out AV1 HDR streaming utilizing HDR10+. The format now covers 85 % of the corporate’s HDR catalog, and the corporate plans to transition all its HDR content material to AV1 throughout the subsequent few months.
Netflix defined how AV1 allows smarter movie grain integration by means of Movie Grain Synthesis, which strips grain from content material earlier than encoding and resynthesizes it within the decoder, decreasing bandwidth utilization whereas sustaining high quality. The corporate additionally hopes the codec will improve reside streaming with customizable graphics overlays and enhance cloud gaming efficiency.
AOMedia not too long ago introduced plans to launch AV2 earlier than the tip of this yr. The brand new codec will ship extra environment friendly compression than AV1, supporting applied sciences reminiscent of augmented and digital actuality, split-screen streaming, and extra.
The up to date codec will come in useful when Netflix begins churning out new and previous content material from Warner Bros. The streaming titan not too long ago agreed to buy the manufacturing firm for a historic $82.7 billion. The acquisition will give Netflix management over fashionable properties, together with Sport of Thrones, DC Comics, HBO, and a number of online game studios.
