Netflix Begins AV1 Streaming on Capable TVs and PS4 Pro

Netflix has begun to roll out the AV1 codec for streaming on compatible TVs and the PS4 Pro, which should improve overall quality while reducing bandwidth.

While AV1 has been available in Netflix's streaming mobile apps since 2020, TV users have not had the option. Well, until now, because Netflix recently announced that AV1 has started streaming to compatible TVs (along with the PS4 Pro). So if your TV is AV1 ready, or if you're running Netflix on a PS4 Pro, you might start to notice some improvements in streaming speed and quality.

There's a lot of nuance to what AV1 does and how it works, but the takeaway is that Netflix believes it will improve several aspects of streaming quality for its users. This includes better performance even during network congestion, as well as fewer dips in quality during playback.

And because AV1 requires less bandwidth, users with slower connection speeds should be able to stream in higher resolutions than before.

Not everything in Netflix's catalog will use AV1 streaming right away, however. According to Netflix, encoding for AV1 takes a fair bit of time, and its catalog is massive. So it's had to prioritize some titles over others based on popularity and other factors that it didn't explain.

It does seem as though the plan is to have everything encoded for AV1 eventually, but it's still an ongoing process.

For now, Netflix AV1 streaming is only available on AV1 compatible TVs and TVs hooked up to a PS4 Pro.

Netflix says that it's "working with external partners" to bring AV1 to more devices but has not given specifics on when or which devices those might be yet.