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Netflix — AV1: Now Powering 30% of Netflix Streaming

Netflix's Encoding Technologies team (Liwei Guo, Zhi Li, Sheldon Radford, Jeff Watts) retrospectively documents the full AV1 deployment arc on the Netflix streaming service, five months after the 2025-07 at-scale Film Grain Synthesis rollout. The headline datum: AV1 now powers ~30% of Netflix streaming, making it Netflix's second most-used codec (after H.264/AVC — the 2007 launch codec) and "on track to become number one very soon." The post walks the 2020 Android mobile launch → 2021 TVs → 2022 web browsers → 2023 Apple M3/A17 Pro → 2025 HDR10+ + FGS at scale timeline; introduces emerging non-VOD use cases (live streaming + cloud gaming); and publishes Netflix's first public quantified VOD-quality + bandwidth + rebuffering wins from AV1 streaming sessions vs AVC/HEVC.

Summary

Netflix co-founded the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) in 2015 with Google, Amazon, Meta, Mozilla, Cisco, Microsoft and Intel to develop a royalty-free next-generation video codec; AV1 was the alliance's first project and was released in 2018. This post is the first public Netflix retrospective covering the complete AV1 deployment arc on the streaming service:

  • 2020: Android mobile. Software decode via dav1d (the AOM-sponsored open-source AV1 decoder, ARM-optimised); launched to deliver "noticeably better video quality at lower bitrates" for bandwidth-constrained cellular users.
  • Late 2021: smart TVs and large-screen devices. Hardware decode required; Netflix worked with SoC vendors + device manufacturers + added AV1 to the Netflix device certification process in 2019.
  • 2022: web browsers. dav1d-powered; accounts for ~40% of Netflix browser playback today.
  • 2023: Apple M3 + A17 Pro. First Apple devices with hardware AV1 decode support.
  • March 2025: AV1 HDR10+ streams. Netflix chose HDR10+ for its dynamic per-scene metadata enabling device-specific scene- adaptive tone mapping; currently 85% of HDR catalogue (by view-hours) has AV1-HDR10+ coverage, targeting 100% within months.
  • July 2025: AV1 Film Grain Synthesis at scale. Documented separately in the [[sources/2025-07-03-netflix-av1scale-film-grain-synthesis-the-awakening|2025-07-03 post]].

Quantified wins (Nov 13, 2025 snapshot): AV1 streaming sessions achieve VMAF scores 4.3 points higher than AVC and 0.9 points higher than HEVC, at one-third less bandwidth than either, with 45% fewer rebuffering interruptions. Network-efficiency framing is first-class: with > 300 million members Netflix constitutes a "non-trivial portion of global internet traffic", so shifting to AV1 "reduce[s] overall internet bandwidth consumption, and lessen[s] system and network load for both Netflix and our partners" (i.e. the ISPs peering with Netflix's Open Connect CDN appliances).

Emerging non-VOD axes named:

  • Live streaming — debuted at Netflix in 2023 (Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson among "tens of millions" of concurrent viewers). AV1 is under active evaluation for two properties: (i) superior compression efficiency enabling hyperscale concurrent delivery without per-viewer BW blow-up; (ii) layered coding in AV1's main profile allowing graphics-overlay separation — main content in the base layer, overlays (game stats, sponsorships) in the enhancement layer, swapped independently, "greatly simplif[ying] the live streaming workflow and reduc[ing] delivery costs."
  • Cloud gaming — Netflix beta offering; game engines run on cloud servers, rendered frames streamed to the device. Unlike VOD streaming, every player action must be reflected instantly — ultra-low-latency video delivery under fluctuating network conditions is the core challenge; AV1's compression efficiency shrinks per-frame sizes so "video frames get through even when network conditions become challenging."

AV2 announced by AOMedia for end-of-2025 launch. Netflix frames AV2 as "the future", AV1 as "very much the present — serving as the backbone of our platform."

Key takeaways

  1. AV1 is now 30% of Netflix streaming, second only to H.264/AVC. "Today, AV1 accounts for approximately 30% of all Netflix streaming, making it our second most-used codec — and it's on track to become number one very soon." Five years after the 2020 Android launch, four years after the 2021 TV expansion, AV1 is now the majority of Netflix's new-hardware streaming. (Source: sources/2025-12-05-netflix-av1-now-powering-30-of-netflix-streaming)

  2. Quantified operational wins vs AVC and HEVC, with specific VMAF deltas. "AV1 streaming sessions achieve VMAF scores that are 4.3 points higher than AVC and 0.9 points higher than HEVC sessions. At the same time, AV1 sessions use one-third less bandwidth than both AVC and HEVC, resulting in 45% fewer buffering interruptions." First public Netflix numerical disclosure on the AV1 quality + bandwidth + rebuffering trinity. Complements the existing VMAF framing with a concrete production-scale delta. See concepts/rebuffering-rate for the new wiki concept.

  3. Netflix co-founded AOMedia in 2015, and AV1 was the alliance's first project. "In 2015, together with a group of like-minded industry leaders, Netflix co-founded the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) to develop and promote next generation, open source media technologies. The AV1 codec became the first major project of this collaboration." Canonical wiki instance of the industry-consortium royalty-free codec pattern, a deliberate response to HEVC's multi-pool royalty mess. See systems/alliance-for-open-media for the organisation page.

  4. dav1d is Android's default software decoder and powers ~40% of Netflix browser playback. "Continuous improvements to its performance and compatibility have made dav1d the preferred choice for a wide range of platforms and practical applications. Today, it serves as Android's default software decoder. Additionally, it plays a key role in web browsers — for Netflix, it powers approximately 40% of our browser playback." First public disclosure of systems/dav1d's production share inside Netflix. Released just six months after the AV1 spec was finalised, dav1d was the bridge solution while hardware AV1 decoders were still in development.

  5. Netflix added AV1 to its device certification program in 2019, and 88% of 2021–2025 large-screen devices submitted were AV1-capable. "AV1 was added to this certification process in 2019, and since then, we have seen a steady increase in the number of devices with full AV1 decoding capabilities. Over the past five years (2021–2025), 88% of large-screen devices, including TVs, set-top boxes, and streaming sticks, submitted for Netflix certification have supported AV1, with the vast majority offering full 4K@60fps capability. Notably, since 2023, almost all devices we have received for certification are AV1-capable." First wiki disclosure of the Netflix device certification program and the 88% / almost-100%-since- 2023 datum — the structural enabler for the 30% streaming share. See patterns/codec-feature-gradual-rollout for the relationship between device-certification posture + codec-feature rollout.

  6. HDR10+ was chosen over HDR10 because of dynamic per-scene metadata. "We chose HDR10+ as the HDR format for its use of dynamic metadata, which enabled us to adapt the tone mapping per device in a scene-dependent manner." The static metadata in HDR10 means device tone-mapping is applied uniformly across a title; HDR10+ sends per-scene metadata so each scene's peak luminance and colour volume are tone-mapped appropriately. Concrete example from the post: a flashlight scene where HDR10 produces "over-exposure of the region under the flashlight" and HDR10+ "preserv[es] the flashlight detail." 85% AV1-HDR10+ catalogue coverage (by view-hours) with a 100%-in-months target. See concepts/hdr10-plus.

  7. AV1 enables graphics-overlay separation via layered coding for live streaming. "Layered coding is supported in AV1's main profile, allowing encoding the main content in the base layer, and graphics in the enhancement layer, and easily swapping out one version of the enhancement layer with another." The architectural bet for Netflix's live-sports future: encode game content once, encode per-market/per-sponsor graphics overlay layers separately, swap enhancement layers at delivery time without re-encoding the base content. "[G]reatly simplif[ies] the live streaming workflow and reduc[es] delivery costs." First wiki canonicalisation of this as patterns/layered-coding-for-graphics-overlay

  8. concepts/av1-layered-coding.

  9. Open Connect as a network-efficiency lever, not just a CDN. "Netflix streams are delivered through our own content delivery network (Open Connect), in partnership with local ISPs around the globe. With more than 300 million members, Netflix streaming constitutes a non-trivial portion of global internet traffic. Because AV1 is a more efficient codec, its streams are smaller in size (while providing even better visual quality). By shifting a substantial share of our streaming to AV1, we reduce overall internet bandwidth consumption, and lessen system and network load for both Netflix and our partners." Frames codec adoption not just as a member-experience lever but as a bilateral operational lever — smaller AV1 streams reduce the fill + serve burden on Open Connect appliances and the ISP infrastructure peering with them. Second wiki datum on systems/netflix-open-connect (first was the 2025-04-01 MPS production-ingest-backbone role); this post restores the canonical streaming-CDN framing.

  10. AV1 device-availability bootstrap: dav1d software decoder in Jun 2018 (6 months after spec finalised), AV1 certification for Netflix devices added in 2019, TVs launched late 2021, almost all new devices AV1-capable since 2023. This timeline is the operational reality behind AV1's 30% share: "Just six months after the AV1 specification was finalized, the open-source AV1 decoder library sponsored by AOM, dav1d, was released. Small, performant, and highly resource-efficient, dav1d bridged the gap for early adopters like Netflix while hardware solutions were still in development." Canonical data point for why software decoder availability at spec finalisation was load-bearing for Netflix's AV1 rollout curve.

  11. AV2 is coming; AV1 is the present. "AV2 is poised to set a new benchmark for compression efficiency and streaming capabilities, building on the solid foundation laid by AV1." AOMedia announced AV2's end-of-2025 launch. Netflix's framing is continuity: the 2015-AOM

    • 2018-AV1 + 2025-AV1@30% + 2025-AV2 arc is one ten-year industry bet, not a sequence of independent launches.

Architecture at a glance

                ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
                │  2015 Alliance for Open Media       │
                │  Netflix + Google + Amazon + Meta + │
                │  Mozilla + Cisco + Microsoft + Intel│
                └──────────────────┬──────────────────┘
                                   │
                                   ▼
                ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
                │  2018 AV1 spec published            │
                │  2018 Jun 2018 dav1d released       │
                └──────────────────┬──────────────────┘
                                   │
   ┌───────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────┐
   │                               │                                 │
   ▼                               ▼                                 ▼
2019 Netflix adds AV1 to     2020 Android launch            2021 late TVs launch
device cert process          (dav1d software decode)        (hw decoders via SoC
                                                             vendor partnerships)
                                   │                                 │
                                   ▼                                 ▼
                          2022 browsers (dav1d              2023 Apple M3, A17 Pro
                          → ~40% Netflix browser            2023 "almost all" cert-
                          playback)                          submitted devices
                                   │                         AV1-capable
                                   ▼                                 │
                          2025-03 AV1 HDR10+ streams                 │
                          2025-07 FGS at scale                       │
                                   │                                 │
                                   └──────────────┬──────────────────┘
                                                  │
                                                  ▼
                                    2025-11-13: AV1 = ~30% of
                                    Netflix streaming fleet-wide
                                    (second most-used codec)
                                                  │
                                                  ▼
                                    Measured: +4.3 VMAF vs AVC
                                              +0.9 VMAF vs HEVC
                                             −1/3 bandwidth
                                             −45% rebuffering

Emerging (2025+) axes:
 ┌─ Live streaming: AV1 base layer + graphics-overlay enhancement layer
 └─ Cloud gaming: AV1 low-latency with small frame sizes for network resilience

Operational numbers

Quantity Value
AV1 share of Netflix streaming ~30% (2025-11-13 snapshot)
AV1 rank among Netflix codecs 2nd (after H.264/AVC)
Netflix members > 300 million
VMAF delta vs AVC +4.3 points
VMAF delta vs HEVC +0.9 points
Bandwidth reduction vs AVC and HEVC ~1/3 (33%)
Rebuffering-interruption reduction 45% fewer
AV1 HDR10+ catalogue coverage (view-hours) 85% (targeting 100% within months)
dav1d share of Netflix browser playback ~40%
dav1d release Jun 2018 (6 months after spec finalisation)
Netflix AV1 device-certification added 2019
Devices submitted for Netflix certification 2021–2025, AV1-capable 88% (vast majority full 4K@60fps)
Devices submitted since 2023, AV1-capable "almost all"
AV1 Android launch 2020
AV1 TV launch late 2021
AV1 web browser launch 2022
AV1 Apple launch (M3 + A17 Pro) 2023
AV1 HDR10+ launch 2025-03
AV1 FGS at-scale launch 2025-07
AV2 announced launch end of 2025
HN attention 558 points (news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46155135)

The post is the first public Netflix disclosure of a coherent quantitative picture across the AV1 rollout. Earlier Netflix AV1 posts (2020 Android, 2021 TVs, 2025-07 FGS) each disclosed their own micro-datum but none connected the dots across the full fleet.

Caveats

  • Snapshot-date caveat explicitly flagged by the authors. Footnote 1: "These numbers represent a snapshot of data from November 13, 2025. Actual values may vary slightly from day to day and across different regions, depending on the mix of content, devices, and internet connectivity." The 30%, the +4.3/+0.9 VMAF deltas, the 1/3 bandwidth, the 45% rebuffering reduction, and the 85% HDR10+ coverage are all point-in-time; Netflix does not publish the trendlines.
  • "Per-content-type" aggregation. "Netflix's diverse content catalog benefits universally from AV1, with improvements across all content types." No per-genre / per-resolution / per-HDR-format breakdown of the VMAF delta or bandwidth reduction — this is the fleet-weighted aggregate; a genre-by-genre disclosure is not provided.
  • No per-region breakdown of the ISP-side benefit. The "reduce overall internet bandwidth consumption" framing is fleet-wide; the post does not disclose per-region or per-ISP savings, which plausibly differ substantially for bandwidth-constrained markets.
  • VMAF numbers are session-weighted, not title-weighted. Since VMAF depends on content type, a session-weighted average is dominated by high-consumption titles and devices — the "+4.3 vs AVC" is not a claim about any single title or encoding ladder.
  • No Netflix-specific encoder disclosure beyond dav1d as the decoder. The post names dav1d on the decode side (Android default; 40% of Netflix browsers) but does not name Netflix's AV1 encoder — proprietary or libaom or SVT-AV1 based. AV1 encode cost has historically been a deployment friction, but the post does not discuss Netflix's encode-side economics.
  • Live streaming and cloud gaming are roadmap, not shipped. "We are actively evaluating the use of AV1 in live streaming" + "Our team is actively working on productizing AV1 for cloud gaming." No launch timeline, no pilot results, no beta numbers. Layered-coding + graphics-overlay architecture is described as a future direction, not a current deployment.
  • No comparison to peer streaming services' AV1 adoption. YouTube, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Hulu, Disney+ also ship AV1; the post does not compare Netflix's 30% against peer shares.
  • No AV1 encode cost disclosed. The post attributes progress to the device ecosystem (88% cert-submission AV1 capable since 2021) and mentions "Netflix's investment in adding AV1 streams across the entire catalog" but does not disclose the per-title encoding cost or the ladder-coverage percentage.
  • Catalogue-coverage percentages absent for non-HDR AV1. "85% of our HDR catalog (from the perspective of view-hours) has AV1-HDR10+ coverage" is disclosed; the equivalent number for plain AV1 (SDR) is not — presumably higher, but not stated.
  • No FGS uptake number in this post. The 2025-07 post introduced FGS at scale; this 2025-12 post references it but doesn't disclose how much of the catalogue now uses FGS.
  • Cloud gaming is beta. "Cloud gaming is a new Netflix offering that is currently in the beta phase and is available to members in select countries." No disclosure of scale, latency budget, frame rate targets, or whether AV1 is live in the cloud-gaming path yet.

Source

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