Netflix rolls out high-efficiency AV1 streaming to more devices

Netflix’s Android app has supported the company’s new AV1 codec streams since last year but now the streaming giant is rolling out support for more devices.

The AV1 codec compresses video more judiciously without sacrificing picture quality. It allows high-quality streams on mobile devices without you having to eat a massive data cost. The streams can handle 10-bit colour depths and are available in high resolution.

AV1 also carries a royalty-free licence and was made in collaboration with Alliance of Open Media (AOMedia) consisting of expertise and resources industry wide. Netflix was one of the founding members of the coalition.

Netflix says that so far only some streams have seen peak bitrates (30Mbps for Av1 5.0 and 40Mbps for AV1 5.1), and this allows for a 2 percent reduction in play delay and up to 38 percent reduction in quality drops while streaming. The company has already begun conversion of its titles to the new codec.

Currently, AV1 does not support HDR but Netflix has said it is exploring ways to enable support for the feature.

The current rollout includes select Samsung TVs from the company’s UHD, QLED and 8K range, Samsung’s Frame televisions along with Serif and Terrace models from Samsung that were released in 2020.

Any TV connected to a PlayStation 4 Pro (PS4 Pro) can utilise the codec, as can select Amazon Fire TV devices with Fire OS 7 or above. Select Android TV units with OS 10 and above are also supported.

“Our initial launch includes a number of AV1 capable TVs as well as TVs connected with PS4 Pro,” said the company in a blog post.

“We are working with external partners to enable more and more devices for AV1 streaming. Another exciting direction we are exploring is AV1 with HDR. Again, the teams at Netflix are committed to delivering the best picture quality possible to our members.” Money Control