The company announced Tuesday that Netflix now supports the AV1 Codec for streaming to certain TVs. The AV1 codec is only available for certain devices at first. However, the list also includes all TVs connected to the PS4 Pro. If you own one of these, you can try AV1 Netflix streaming.
This lineup of supported devices was shared by Netflix and The Verge
Select Samsung 2020 UHD Smart TVs
Select Samsung 2020 UHD QLED Smart TVs
Select Samsung 2020 8K QLED Smart TVs
Samsung The Frame 2020 Smart TVs
Samsung The Serif 2020 Smart Televisions
Samsung The Terrace 2020 Smart TVs
Any TV connected with a PS4 Pro streaming Netflix using the Netflix app
Choose Amazon Fire TV devices with Fire OS 7 or higher
Android OS 10 and higher compatible with select Android TV devices
Netflix stated in its blog that it is working with "external partners to enable more devices for AV1 stream," so we can expect more compatible hardware soon. The company says that it is "exploring" the possibility for AV1 streaming with HDR.
AV1 can stream higher quality video with greater compression than other codecs thanks to modern processors. Netflix tested AV1 and found that it delivered better quality videos at the same bitrate and that there were fewer drops in quality.
Industry support is available for AV1.
This move is unlikely to be driven solely by streaming performance. AV1 is an open source codec so Netflix won't need to pay royalties for it. The Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) manages the codec and has wide industry support. It counts Apple, Amazon (now Meta), Google (now Microsoft), Microsoft, Netflix and Samsung as members.
In February 2020, Netflix supported AV1 videos for the first time in its Android app. It claimed that AV1 streaming was better than the VP9 codec, and it experienced a 20% increase in compression. Netflix announced in a blog that it was aiming to "rollout AV1 across all of its platforms." We asked Netflix Wednesday if they could share a timeline for when we might be able to stream AV1 Netflix on other devices.
Updated November 10, 2009, 09:12 ET: Samsung TVs are now on the compatible device list.
