Earlier last year, Netflix started using a new codec called AV1 to display some content on the Android platform. Netflix has now also enabled AV1 support on PS4 Pro and a limited number of smart TV models. Netflix was one of the companies involved in the development of AV1, which is available royalty-free under the Alliance of Open Media. Here is the list of supported TVs:
- Some Samsung 2020 UHD Smart TVs
- Some Samsung 2020 UHD QLED Smart TVs
- Some Samsung 2020 8K QLED Smart TVs
- Samsung The Frame 2020 Smart TVs
- Samsung The Serif 2020 Smart TVs
- Samsung The Terrace 2020 Smart TVs
- Any TV connected to PS4 Pro watching video with Netflix app
- Some Amazon Fire TV device (Fire OS 7 and above)
- Some Android TV devices (Android OS 10 and above)
The company says it takes some time to deploy on TVs because playback on TV platforms is hardware dependent. The industry released models capable of streaming AV1 only last year. Before making it available, Netflix did a benchmark test and found that AV1 offers better quality videos than other codecs. Especially when it comes to network congestion. Because AV1 has higher compression efficiency than the codecs Netflix currently uses, it needs less bandwidth. This could lead to longer streaming sessions in 4K resolution.
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