Katarzyna Petru
Netflix officially confirms: the transition to the AV1 codec is accelerating, and new data shows that the change of standard is practically a foregone conclusion. The platform revealed the current status of implementation and plans for the future of video encoding.
AV1 is growing faster than expected
Since entering streaming in 2007, Netflix has primarily relied on H.264/AVC, and later gradually transitioned to HEVC. However, AV1 has now become a key element of the company's strategy. According to the latest report, AV1 is already responsible for around 30 percent of all plays on the platform.
“AV1 is our second most used codec and will soon become number one” – states Netflix. This is the result of years of investment in open and efficient encoding standards.
Better quality, less buffering
On AV1 televisions, it wins over AVC and HEVC both in terms of image quality and transmission efficiency:
average 33 percent lower data usage,
45 percent fewer buffering interruptions,
better rendering of detail and film grain thanks to Film Grain Synthesis, where grain is removed during compression, and the player adds it back without loss of quality.
This is crucial for HDR quality, especially in film content.
Where does AV1 work? Practically on all new televisions
Netflix reminds us that since 2021, 88 percent of large screens reported for certification on the platform offer hardware support for AV1 — mainly Smart TVs, set-top boxes, and streaming devices. As of 2023, nearly every new device model reported supports AV1 in 4K@60 fps. Key deployment points:
2021 – launch of AV1 on TVs,
2022 – support in browsers,
2023 – Apple adds hardware decoder in M3 and A17 Pro,
2025 – Netflix launches HDR10+ in AV1 on Samsung televisions.
The latest Google TV Streamer has supported AV1 since its release, and Apple TV 4K will start, provided it gets a chipset of at least A17 Pro. Nvidia Shield — still no announcements regarding an update.
AV1 will be introduced to live sports and cloud gaming
Netflix has officially confirmed that it is testing AV1 in live broadcasts — including sports. This is intended to reduce the risk of buffering during dynamic scenes. The second important announcement: AV1 will be used in Netflix's cloud gaming. Better compression is expected to shorten latency and enhance quality in games streamed to televisions and mobile devices.
What about the remaining 70 percent of streams?
The reasons are mainly:
lack of hardware support on older devices,
limitations in HDR10 and Dolby Vision streams, which are just starting to gain momentum in AV1.
Netflix does not plan to implement VVC (H.266), even though it is the official successor to HEVC.
Netflix confirms interest in AV2
The statement also confirmed that AV2 is approaching its premiere. Although the company does not provide a launch date, it clearly suggests that this will be the next step after AV1:
“AV2 is the future of streaming, but AV1 is the present.”
The first devices supporting AV2 have not yet been announced.
