When you jump into a video on YouTube or Netflix, a lot happens very quickly behind the scenes. Video data is rapidly downloaded to your device, which then has to unpack and normalize that information into a smooth, hiccup-free stream. The process of encoding and decoding video data has changed greatly over the years, with H.264 (AVC) and its successor H.265 (HEVC) remaining two of the most widely used codecs for streaming.

But in 2015, tech giants including Netflix, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta banded together to develop video compression’s latest evolution: AV1. The companies, which are part of the overarching Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), say the video codec is around 30 percent more efficient compared to other standards like HEVC and the Google-developed VP9, allowing it to deliver higher-quality video at a lower bandwidth. AOMedia also claims that it’s royalty-free, meaning streaming device makers and video providers shouldn’t have to pay patent holders for using the technology.

That all should have been enough for AV1 to take over the video landscape. But even with all these improvements and the backing of some of the biggest names in tech, the codec hasn …

Read the full story at The Verge.