Recap: Assist for the AV1 codec has grown significantly since its launch in 2018. Giant and small platforms rapidly adopted the format to reduce bandwidth consumption whereas preserving picture high quality. Netflix, a main backer of AV1, plans to proceed increasing the codec throughout its purposes whereas additionally using it and its upcoming successor for brand spanking new ventures.
Netflix lately confirmed that the AV1 codec is liable for almost one-third of its streaming content material. In a prolonged Medium submit, the corporate defined the way it helped foster the codec’s creation and step by step adopted it throughout numerous gadgets.
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 knowledge 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 cell gadgets, PC graphics chips, and different {hardware} over the previous a number of years. Throughout that point, customers starting from massive firms to unbiased content material creators have applauded its efficiency enhancements.
Netflix started adopting AV1 software program decoding on Android gadgets in 2020 as a result of platform’s flexibility and the prominence of cell gadgets amongst streaming audiences. Utilizing the dav1d library, which builders had already optimized for cell Arm chipsets, the corporate improved video playback high quality for customers on mobile networks.
Nonetheless, bringing AV1 to good TVs and different house gadgets required hardware-based decoding, which Netflix step by step 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 via 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 stay streaming with customizable graphics overlays and enhance cloud gaming efficiency.
AOMedia lately 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 corresponding to augmented and digital actuality, split-screen streaming, and extra.
The up to date codec will turn out to be useful when Netflix begins churning out new and outdated content material from Warner Bros. The streaming titan lately agreed to buy the manufacturing firm for a historic $82.7 billion. The acquisition will give Netflix management over well-liked properties, together with Recreation of Thrones, DC Comics, HBO, and a number of online game studios.
