Netflix has announced that it has started supporting the new AV1 video codec on select smart TVs from Samsung and other brands. AV1 is a modern royalty-free video codec that offers higher compression and better performance compared to conventional codecs.
AV1 was developed by AOMedia (Alliance for Open Media), and its founding members include Amazon, Apple, ARM, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Huawei, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla, Netflix, Nvidia, Samsung, and Tencent. Various other chipset, device, smartphone, and TV manufacturers are its promoters.
The AV1 video codec is now supported on the following smart TVs from Samsung.
- Select Samsung UHD Smart TVs (2020 or later)
- Select Samsung UHD QLED Smart TVs (2020 or later)
- Select Samsung 8K QLED Smart TVs (2020 or later)
- Samsung The Frame 2020 (and later)
- Samsung The Serif 2020 (and later)
- Samsung The Terrace 2020 (and later)
The media streaming giant said that it observed higher quality videos and fewer frame drops at the same bitrate while using the AV1 codec. The company is working with all its partners (device manufacturers) to roll out AV1 compatibility to more devices. It is also exploring the possibility of streaming HDR videos in AV1.
Netflix first started supporting the AV1 codec on Android smartphones early last year. Back then, the company said that it saw 20% better compression while using AV1 compared to the VP9 codec. It had also said that it wants to roll out AV1 on all the platforms. However, the company isn't committing to any strict timeline.
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