- AV1 offers the highest compression without loss of quality and without paying licenses.
- HEVC still dominates for compatibility with hardware, but it involves high licensing costs.
- VP9 is free and widely adopted, but outperformed in efficiency by AV1.
- The encoding speed of AV1 is its main disadvantage compared to VP9 and HEVC.
The evolution of video codecs is a topic that has gained special relevance in recent years, especially due to the rise of content in streaming on platforms like YouTube, Netflix or Twitch. As image quality improves, the technical and network requirements become more demanding. Three major contenders come into play here: AV1, HEVC (H.265) y VP9. Each one has his and advantages, limitations y recommended use cases.
In this article, we'll analyze all the differences, performance, efficiency, compatibility, licensing, and future prospects of these three codecs. If you're wondering which format is best for your video projects or simply interested in understanding how high-quality video is transmitted over the internet, stay tuned until the end.
What is AV1 and why is it so promising?
the codec AV1 (AOMedia Video 1) is a video compression standard open and free developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), a consortium composed of big names such as Google, Netflix, Amazon, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla, and Apple. It was publicly launched in 2018 with a very clear objective: surpass HEVC and VP9 in both efficiency and accessibility, eliminating the licensing costs that make adoption more expensive.
One of the key points of AV1 is that does not require the payment of royalties for use, which is a great incentive, especially for free software developers and small creators. In addition, AV1 is designed to offer a higher compression without loss of quality, which means the same video can take up less space without sacrificing clarity.
In tests carried out by Facebook (today Meta), AV1 was able to overcome the compression of VP34 by 9%., and up to 50% compared to H.264 (x264). It has also been shown that AV1 is 20-30% more efficient than HEVC at similar bitrates.
Furthermore, compared to other codecs, AV1 is very flexible and scalable, making it an ideal choice for playing content in high resolutions such as 4K, 8K and even 360º video with HDRIf you want to learn more about the best cameras for recording in 4K, you can check out this article on 4K webcams.
However, not everything is positive. AV1's biggest obstacle so far has been its slowness in codingThe complexity of its algorithm makes it There processing power is considerably higher than VP9 or HEVC, making it difficult to use for live streaming or on systems with limited hardware.
The veteran HEVC (H.265): quality at a price
HEVC, also known as H.265, is the direct successor to H.264/AVC. It was created by MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) with the purpose of offering more efficient compression, and in fact, it is capable of reducing the size of videos by approximately one 50% compared to H.264, while maintaining similar quality.
This codec was released in 2013 y has a good installed base both mobile devices as in televisions, media players, professional cameras, and editing software. In fact, many current devices include hardware acceleration for HEVC, allowing video encoding and decoding very quickly and efficiently.
Despite its benefits, HEVC has a very big problem that affects its adoption: usage licenses and royaltiesThere are multiple patent holders (MPEG LA, HEVC Advance, Technicolor, etc.), each with their own rates and conditions. This has led companies like Google and Mozilla to not openly support it, pushing alternatives like VP9 and AV1.
Royalties don't just affect manufacturers. They also impact software and platforms: For example, some applications and OS require paying extra to enable HEVC playback, as is the case with Windows which charges a small fee to download support from its official store. For more information on how stream videos in high quality, visit this article about image drivers.
VP9: The Google veteran still fighting
VP9 It is another open codec, developed by Google in 2013 as the successor to VP8, and has been widely used in YouTube Android and browsers like Chrome or FirefoxIts main advantage is that it is also royalty-free, like its successor, AV1.
In terms of performance, VP9 represents a major step forward from H.264, with compression between 30% and 50% higherHowever, it has lagged somewhat behind in efficiency compared to HEVC and especially AV1, which surpasses it on almost every front.
Still, VP9 remains a very valid option when you need good compression, broad compatibility and reasonable encoding speed. Additionally, its compatibility with older devices is slightly better than AV1, which can be an advantage.
Netflix, for example, has shown that AV1 reduces data usage by up to 20% compared to VP9., maintaining the same image quality. Despite this, VP9 is faster to encode and requires fewer computational resources, making it ideal for situations where efficiency is required without waiting for long processing times.
Technical comparison between AV1, HEVC and VP9
To better understand the differences, let's look at some key aspects:
- Compression: AV1 achieves the best compression of the three, followed by HEVC and then VP9.
- Quality: AV1 offers better quality at the same bit rate compared to HEVC and VP9.
- Compatibility: HEVC is the most widely supported today, although AV1 is rapidly gaining ground.
- Licenses: AV1 and VP9 are royalty-free; HEVC is paid and complex to license.
- Encoding speed: HEVC and VP9 are faster than AV1, although that is changing with new GPUs.
In addition, coding tests performed by WinXDVD y MSU have reflected that AV1 requires three times the processing time than HEVC. This is because it is not yet as optimized for hardware encoding, although the situation is improving with newer graphics cards, such as Intel Arc, NVIDIA RTX 40 and AMD Radeon RX 7000.
Hardware and software support
As for reproduction and editing, HEVC is clearly the most supported, given that it's been around longer. Many mobile devices, cameras, TVs, and programs like Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro offer native support.
AV1 still has a long way to goAlthough it's already available in browsers like Chrome and Firefox, it's not yet supported in Safari or many professional editors. Windows offers AV1 support via a free extension, and media players like VLC require recent versions to properly decode it. If you'd like to learn more about streaming videos over the internet using VLC, read this article. video streams with VLC.
The good news is that The industry is betting heavily on AV1: Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, and many streaming platforms are starting to use it. In addition, Android 14 requires AV1 support for new devices, which will accelerate global adoption.
And let's not forget that Apple is part of the Alliance for Open Media, although it has been reluctant to incorporate it into its devices. Everything indicates that, sooner or later, it will eventually give in.
Practical Applications: Which Codec Should You Use?
It depends on your specific situation:
- If you are a content creator for YouTube or streaming: AV1 is the codec of the future. YouTube already supports it, offering lighter, faster-loading videos with better quality.
- If you need compatibility with older hardware or are working live: HEVC or VP9 are faster and less demanding on resources.
- If you develop applications or software: AV1 is an attractive option due to its royalty-free nature, although you'll need to consider the hardware requirements.
Additionally, if you use programs like Filmora, OBS Studio, or Adobe Media Encoder, you can now start exporting in AV1 format if your hardware supports it. If you'd like tips on how to convert a presentation to video without losing quality, visit this article on convert presentations to video.
In terms of images, AV1 has also brought the new format to life. AVIF, which seeks to replace JPG and PNG thanks to its great compression capacity without visible loss of quality. It is a direct rival of WebP and HEIC, although it is still in the phase of progressive adoption.
While AV1 leads in compression, scalability and future proof, it still needs time and hardware support to fully displace HEVC and VP9. Recent improvements in GPU acceleration are paving the way, so it's only a matter of time before it becomes the dominant standard, especially for streaming and high-resolution content.
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