⚙️ A Third of Netflix Viewing Now Runs on the AV1 Codec

The company expects it will soon overtake H.264/AVC to become number one.

Switching to AV1 has enabled Netflix to deliver noticeably better video quality at lower bitrates.

On average, AV1 sessions achieve VMAF (quality metric) scores 4.3 points higher than AVC. At the same time, the codec uses about one-third less bandwidth than AVC or HEVC, reducing buffering by 45%.

Netflix first introduced AV1 on Android in 2020, and has now expanded support to Smart TVs.

Earlier this year, Netflix rolled out AV1 HDR. Today, 85% of its HDR catalog is already encoded in AV1-HDR10+, and this number is expected to reach 100% soon. The implementation of AV1 Film Grain Synthesis (FGS) has delivered “stunning results,” allowing cinematic grain to be preserved at low bitrates.

The company sees major potential for AV1 beyond VoD services.