GoKawiilRita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR The definitive specs for the AV2 codec have been released by the Alliance for Open Media.
AV2 is a video codec and a successor to AV1, currently used by Netflix, YouTube, and others.
The new codec promises to deliver up to ~32% smaller file sizes than AV1.
The AV1 video codec has been around since 2018, and it offers better efficiency and higher quality than its predecessors. Platforms like YouTube and Netflix support AV1 playback, while the Pixel 10 phones were the first to let you record videos in the format. However, a successor codec is official, and it has just reached a key milestone.
The Alliance for Open Media recently released the definitive AV2 codec specifications (h/t: Neowin), bringing it a step closer to commercial adoption. So what should you expect from AV2 compared to AV1?
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We’ve got varying claims regarding AV2’s efficiency compared to AV1. The alliance noted late last year that it saw gains of 28.6% and 32.6% in two separate metrics. Meanwhile, VLC project lead Jean-Baptiste Kempf suggests gains of roughly 25%, with larger gains seen in a few other tests.
Either way, this is great news if you’re streaming AV2 video on a compatible device. This means you should expect the same video quality for ~25 to ~32% less bandwidth than AV1, or significantly improved video quality for the same bandwidth as the current codec.
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