AV2: a new video codec 30% more efficient than AV1. Netflix reveals details!

Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) has confirmed that the development of the AV2 codec is coming to an end after nearly five years of work. The team creating the standard — including engineers from Netflix, Apple, Google, Meta, and Tencent — plans to release it by the end of 2025.

AV, or AOMedia Video, is a family of modern video codecs developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) — a consortium of technology giants, including Netflix, Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Tencent.

The AV1 codecs (and now the successor AV2) were created as an open and free video compression standard, serving as an alternative to paid formats such as HEVC (H.265) and VVC (H.266), which require licenses and patent fees.

What's new in AV2?

According to data presented by Andrei Norkin from Netflix, AV2 provides approximately 30% higher compression efficiency compared to AV1.

In practice, this means:

• up to 28.6% lower bitrate while maintaining the same quality (YUV-PSNR 14:1:1),

• up to 32.6% better score in VMAF tests.

As a result, streaming services like Netflix will be able to offer the same picture with lower bandwidth usage or better quality at the same bitrate — which is particularly significant for 4K and 8K content.

Performance and Innovations

The research team emphasises that the superiority of AV2 does not stem from a single "revolutionary" feature, but from a series of minor optimisations: larger blocks (superblocks), more accurate image partitioning, and enhanced motion prediction.

At this stage, artificial intelligence is not a key component of compression, although AOMedia is considering AI/ML-extension in future versions of the codec.

Support for 3D and multiple streams

AV2 naturally supports multi-stream video, that is, multi-layered formats — from classic 3D stereo to picture in picture (PiP) and multi-angle shots of sporting events.

This could pave the way for new ways of watching films and broadcasts, such as multiple cameras from F1 races simultaneously.

What next?

According to the slide from the presentation:

• all tools in version AVM-11.0 have already been tested for the hardware complexity of the decoder,

• verification tests for AV2 are underway,

• work is ongoing on reducing the complexity of the encoder/decoder and on 12-bit and higher profiles.

The royalty-free specification is expected to be ready by the end of 2025, but hardware support in televisions and players will appear only in a few years.

AV2 in brief

AV2 is an evolution, not a revolution — but one that can realistically lower streaming costs and improve image quality in 4K and 8K films.

If all goes according to plan, we will see the first implementations around 2026–2027 in televisions and streaming platforms.