--- title: "AV1 vs HEVC: Which Codec Should Streaming Platforms Choose" description: "AV1 vs HEVC (AV1 vs H265): Compare AV1 streaming and HEVC streaming for quality, efficiency, compatibility, and cost." image: https://blog.blazingcdn.com/hubfs/Gemini-Blog/image-Oct-10-2026-07-30-18-3215-AM.jpeg --- [![BlazingCDN](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/hubfs/Logo/blog-logo-w.png)](https://blog.blazingcdn.com?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ“˜Learn โ–พ](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-learn?hsLang=en-us) [CDN Fundamentals](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-fundamentals?hsLang=en-us) [By Content Type](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/by-content-type?hsLang=en-us) [Advanced Concepts](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/advanced-concepts?hsLang=en-us) [Glossary](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/glossary?hsLang=en-us) [โšก Web Performance](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/web-performance?hsLang=en-us) [๐ŸŽฌVideo & Streaming โ–พ](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/video-streaming-cdn?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ”ด Live Streaming](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/live-streaming?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ“บ VOD & OTT](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/vod-ott?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ’ฐ Bandwidth & Costs](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/bandwidth-costs?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿญ Other Industries โ–พ](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-industry-insights?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ“บ Media & Broadcasting](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/media-broadcasting?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ’พ Software & SaaS](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/software-saas?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ—๏ธ DevOps & Cloud Infra](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/devops-cloud-infra?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ“š AdTech & Advertising](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/adtech-advertising?hsLang=en-us) [๐ŸŽฎ Gaming & Esports](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/gaming-esports?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ“ฑ Mobile Apps & Developers](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/mobile-apps-developers?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿค– AI & Machine Learning](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/ai-machine-learning?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ›๏ธ Enterprise & Corporate](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/enterprise-corporate?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ“š E-Learning & EdTech](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/e-learning-edtech?hsLang=en-us) [๐ŸŸ๏ธ Sports & Live Events](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/sports-live-events?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ’ฐ Pricing & Costs โ–พ](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-pricing-and-cdn-costs?hsLang=en-us) [Provider Pricing](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/provider-pricing?hsLang=en-us) [Cost Optimization](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cost-optimization?hsLang=en-us) [Decision Support](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/decision-support?hsLang=en-us) [โšกCompare โ–พ](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-comparison?hsLang=en-us) [Provider Comparisons](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/provider-comparisons?hsLang=en-us) [Strategy Comparisons](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/strategy-comparisons?hsLang=en-us) [Ratings & Benchmarks](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-ratings-and-benchmarks?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ“Š Benchmarks](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-ratings-and-benchmarks?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ”’ Security โ–พ](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-security?hsLang=en-us) [Attack Protection](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/attack-protection?hsLang=en-us) [Encryption & Access](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/encryption-access?hsLang=en-us) [Video & DRM Security](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/video-drm-security?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ“ Case Studies](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/case-studies?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ”Œ Integrations](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/integrations?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Tools](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-tools?hsLang=en-us) [Get Started](https://blazingcdn.com/sign-up-contact-form/) [Video - Video & Streaming](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/tag/video-video-streaming) [Compare](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/tag/compare) [Compare - Strategy Comparisons](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/tag/compare-strategy-comparisons) # AV1 vs HEVC: Which Codec Should Streaming Platforms Choose Vadym Borovskyi Oct 10, 2026, 9:32:42โ€ฏAM ![](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/hubfs/Gemini-Blog/image-Oct-10-2026-07-30-18-3215-AM.jpeg) For most streaming platforms in 2026 the answer to AV1 vs HEVC is both: HEVC as the broad-reach premium codec, AV1 layered on top for the titles and devices where it pays back. AV1 typically needs 20 to 30 percent less bitrate than HEVC (H.265) at matching visual quality, but it costs several times more compute to encode and only devices from roughly 2020 onward decode it in hardware. Evaluated October 2026, with CDN list prices as checked August 2026. AV1 typically delivers 20 to 30 percent lower bitrate than HEVC at equal perceptual quality in published encoder comparisons from 2023 to 2025. As of 2026, the bandwidth saving only turns into money on sessions that play on AV1-capable hardware and on titles watched enough to repay the extra encoding compute. ## **How AV1 vs HEVC compares on compression, cost, royalties and reach** Codec choice for a streaming platform is a portfolio decision, not a format war. The five criteria below decide it, and they pull in different directions: AV1 wins on bitrate and licensing clarity, HEVC wins on encode cost and installed base. | Criterion | AV1 | HEVC (H.265) | | --- | --- | --- | | Bitrate at equal quality | Typically 20 to 30 percent below HEVC; largest gains on grainy and high-resolution content | Baseline; roughly 40 to 50 percent below H.264 | | Software encode cost | Estimate: 2 to 5 times x265 CPU time with SVT-AV1 at mid presets, far more with libaom at slow settings | Mature, well-understood x265 cost curve | | Licensing | Royalty-free license from the Alliance for Open Media; residual third-party patent assertions exist | Several patent pools plus independent licensors; terms vary by product and distribution model | | Hardware decode reach | Most TVs, GPUs and Android flagships from about 2020 to 2021; Apple from A17 Pro and M3 (2023) | Near-universal on TVs and Apple devices since about 2016 to 2017 | | Browser playback | Chromium and Firefox, with software fallback; Safari only on AV1 hardware | Safari; Chromium browsers when the platform has HEVC hardware; patchy elsewhere | AV1 wins on bytes and licensing, HEVC wins on encode cost and reach, so the decision depends on how concentrated your viewing is and what you pay per TB delivered. ## **Compression benchmarks: AV1 vs H.265 bitrate savings in practice** Public encoder comparisons through 2025 consistently put AV1 about 20 to 30 percent below HEVC at matched VMAF or PSNR. The spread depends on content and encoder settings, so treat 30 percent as the optimistic case for an AV1 vs H265 decision, not the planning number. Three factors move the number on your catalog. Film grain synthesis in AV1 strips grain before encoding and re-synthesizes it on decode, which saves a large share of bits on grainy film content and very little on clean animation or screen content. Gains grow with resolution, so 4K rungs save more than 540p rungs. And comparing a tuned x265 ladder against a hastily configured AV1 ladder routinely erases half the expected saving. Plan with 20 to 25 percent at the top rungs and verify on your own titles with per-title convex-hull encoding before committing budget. VVC (H.266) compresses further still, but as of 2026 its consumer decode base is too thin to plan a ladder around. ## **Encoding cost: why AV1 compute changes the math** AV1 shifts cost from egress to compute. The encode is a one-time expense per title and rendition; the egress saving recurs on every view. That asymmetry is the whole economic case. In software, SVT-AV1 has made AV1 production-viable: at mid presets it reaches quality near libaom's slow settings at a fraction of the time, though still several times x265's CPU budget for comparable quality (our estimate from public encoder tests, 2024 to 2025). Hardware AV1 encoders on recent GPUs and accelerator cards are fast enough for live, but they trade away a meaningful part of the compression advantage compared with slow software presets. For VOD, a reasonable pattern is slow software AV1 for the head of the catalog, hardware or fast presets for live and long-tail titles. Storage grows too. Every extra codec ladder adds renditions to the origin and to any replicated cache, so a three-codec catalog (H.264, HEVC, AV1) costs noticeably more to hold than a single-codec one. ## **Royalties and licensing risk for HEVC streaming and AV1** AV1 is distributed under a royalty-free patent license from the Alliance for Open Media, which is the main reason browsers and large platforms adopted it. HEVC licensing is split across several patent pools and independent patent holders, which is why browser support for HEVC lagged for nearly a decade. Neither side is risk-free. A third-party pool has offered AV1 patent licenses aimed mainly at device makers, so the residual exposure sits more with hardware vendors than with services. For HEVC streaming, check whether your distribution model (free, ad-supported, subscription, transactional) triggers content-side fees under current pool terms. Terms change, so this is a question for counsel, not a blog post. ## **Device reach for AV1 streaming and HEVC streaming in 2026** As of 2026, HEVC hardware decode is close to universal on smart TVs, streaming sticks, set-top boxes and Apple devices sold since about 2016 to 2017. AV1 hardware decode covers most TVs and streaming devices from 2020 to 2021 onward, Android flagships since about 2021, Intel, Nvidia and AMD GPUs from 2020, and Apple only from the A17 Pro and M3 generation in 2023. Software decode exists for AV1 through dav1d and works on modern laptops, but on phones it costs battery and on older TV chipsets it simply drops frames. Gate AV1 renditions on hardware capability through the player's media capability checks, not on browser name. On Apple, HEVC must be signaled with the hvc1 sample entry rather than hev1, a packaging detail that silently breaks playback when missed. Both codecs ship cleanly in CMAF fragmented MP4, so one packaging pipeline can serve HLS and DASH manifests that list multiple codecs and let each device pick. ## **Worked math: when does an AV1 rendition pay for itself?** An AV1 rendition breaks even when the egress saved across its views exceeds its extra encoding cost. The break-even point depends far more on your price per TB delivered than on the codec itself, which is why the same AV1 ladder is an easy win on one CDN contract and marginal on another. Assumptions (estimates, stated so you can swap in your own): a 1080p top rung at 4 Mb/s in HEVC, AV1 at 25 percent less (3 Mb/s), and an extra AV1 encode cost of $20 per content-hour for the full ladder. The saving is 1 Mb/s, which over one viewing hour is 3,600 Mb, or 0.45 GB per view-hour. - At $0.06 per GB (a typical mid-tier hyperscaler rate): 0.45 GB saves $0.027 per view-hour, so break-even is about 740 view-hours per content-hour. - At $4 per TB ($0.004 per GB): 0.45 GB saves $0.0018 per view-hour, so break-even is about 11,100 view-hours per content-hour. Scale it to a whole platform. At 200 TB a month, Amazon CloudFront pay-as-you-go costs $11,965 for transfer alone (published price lists, checked August 2026). Cutting that volume by 30 percent removes about 60 TB, worth roughly $2,600 a month at its upper-volume tiers (our estimate from the published tiers). On a low flat rate the same cut is worth a few hundred dollars. As of October 2026, BlazingCDN charges from $5 per TB down to $2.50 per TB at volume, one rate for the US, Europe and Asia with no request fees, so 200 TB a month costs $765 and 140 TB costs $555 ($415 for the first 100 TB plus 40 TB at $3.50). Current rates are on the [**BlazingCDN pricing page for video delivery**](https://blazingcdn.com/pricing/). The contrarian conclusion: on cheap egress, AV1 is mostly a quality-of-experience play (more sessions at the top rung on constrained networks), not a cost play. Justify it by rebuffering ratio and average delivered resolution, and keep the cost case for platforms still paying hyperscaler egress. Note that BlazingCDN delivers pre-encoded HLS, LL-HLS and DASH segments and does not transcode, so encoding stays in your pipeline either way. ## **Recommendation matrix: which codec fits which streaming workload** | Workload | Best fit | Why | | --- | --- | --- | | Subscription VOD, concentrated head catalog | HEVC plus AV1 on top titles | High views per title clear break-even fast | | Living-room and Apple-heavy audience | HEVC first | Installed base of older TVs and iPhones lacks AV1 hardware | | Browser-first, Android-heavy audience | AV1 first | Chromium support plus no HEVC licensing questions | | Live sports and events | HEVC, AV1 only with hardware encoders | Real-time encode budget dominates | | Long-tail UGC or e-learning library | H.264 or HEVC, AV1 on promotion | Most titles never reach break-even views | View concentration is the single best predictor of whether AV1 earns its encode cost on your platform. ## **A practical AV1 rollout path for streaming platforms** 1. Measure capability: log the share of sessions whose devices report AV1 hardware decode. Below about 30 percent, AV1 savings stay small regardless of bitrate gains. 2. Rank titles by monthly view-hours and compute break-even with your real per-GB egress rate and encode cost. 3. Encode AV1 only for titles above break-even, top three or four rungs first, keeping HEVC and H.264 ladders intact. 4. Package everything in CMAF and list codecs in the manifest so players choose by capability. 5. A/B by session: compare rebuffering ratio, startup time, delivered resolution and bytes per view-hour between AV1 and HEVC cohorts. 6. Promote titles into AV1 automatically when view-hours cross the threshold, and retire renditions that never earn it back. ## **FAQ: AV1 vs HEVC for streaming platforms** ### Is AV1 better than H265 for streaming? AV1 compresses better than H265, typically 20 to 30 percent lower bitrate at equal quality in published comparisons through 2025. It is not automatically better for a platform, because it costs several times more compute to encode and lacks hardware decode on many TVs and Apple devices sold before 2023. Most platforms run both codecs in parallel. ### Do streaming platforms pay royalties for HEVC? Possibly, depending on the distribution model and current patent pool terms. HEVC patents are licensed through several pools and independent holders, and content-side fees vary by whether distribution is free, subscription or per-title. Device makers carry most HEVC royalties, but a streaming service should have counsel review its specific exposure before scaling HEVC delivery. ### Which devices can play AV1 streaming in hardware in 2026? Most smart TVs and streaming devices from 2020 to 2021 onward, Android flagships since about 2021, recent Intel, Nvidia and AMD GPUs, and Apple devices from the A17 Pro and M3 generation. Older devices may decode AV1 in software, which drains battery on phones and often drops frames on older TV chipsets. ### How many views does an AV1 rendition need to pay for itself? It depends mostly on egress price. With an estimated $20 per content-hour of extra AV1 encoding and 0.45 GB saved per view-hour, break-even is about 740 view-hours at $0.06 per GB but about 11,100 view-hours at $4 per TB. Cheap egress makes AV1 primarily a quality-of-experience investment rather than a cost saving. ## **Run the AV1 vs HEVC break-even on your own catalog** This week, export view-hours per title for the last 90 days and the share of sessions with AV1 hardware decode. Encode your ten most-watched titles in SVT-AV1 and x265 at matched VMAF, record CPU hours and top-rung bitrates, then plug both into the break-even formula above with your actual per-GB egress rate. The output is a ranked list of titles that justify AV1 today, and a clear answer on whether your case is cost or quality of experience. If your packaged HLS or DASH ladders, in whichever codecs you choose, need a delivery layer priced from $5 per TB down to $2.50 per TB, the [**BlazingCDN HLS and DASH streaming CDN**](https://blazingcdn.com/streaming-cdn/) serves pre-encoded segments with a 14-day testing period on real production traffic. Share: [f](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/av1-vs-hevc-which-codec-should-streaming-platforms-choose) [in](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/av1-vs-hevc-which-codec-should-streaming-platforms-choose) [๐•](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/av1-vs-hevc-which-codec-should-streaming-platforms-choose&text=) [โœ‰](mailto:?subject=%3Cspan%20id="hs_cos_wrapper_name"%20class="hs_cos_wrapper%20hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field%20hs_cos_wrapper_type_text"%20style=""%20data-hs-cos-general-type="meta_field"%20data-hs-cos-type="text"%20%3EAV1%20vs%20HEVC:%20Which%20Codec%20Should%20Streaming%20Platforms%20Choose%3C/span%3E&body=https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/av1-vs-hevc-which-codec-should-streaming-platforms-choose) ![BlazingCDN](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo/blog-logo-w.png?height=24&name=blog-logo-w.png) *Heavy traffic.* Light bill. The CDN for video and large traffic Their monthly bill vs ours - 20 TBFastly $2,087**$92.50** - 50 TBCDN77 $990**$215** - 200 TBCloudFront $11,965**$765** Published list prices, Aug 2026 [Calculate your cost](https://blazingcdn.com/cdn-cost-calculator/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=blog_sidebar&utm_content=compare_calc) ## Related posts [![](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/hubfs/Gemini-Blog/image-Oct-10-2026-07-00-45-3145-AM.jpeg)](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/vercel-cdn-internals-how-edge-network-boosts-nextjs-apps?hsLang=en-us) Learn ### [Vercel Edge Network Explained: How Vercel's CDN Works](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/vercel-cdn-internals-how-edge-network-boosts-nextjs-apps?hsLang=en-us) The Vercel CDN puts edge points of presence (PoPs) in front of 20 compute regions, as listed in Vercel documentation in ... Oct 10, 2026, 9:03:30โ€ฏAM [Read more](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/vercel-cdn-internals-how-edge-network-boosts-nextjs-apps?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/hubfs/Gemini-Blog/image-Oct-09-2026-07-30-19-6786-AM.jpeg)](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/what-is-h-264-avc-the-codec-behind-most-online-video?hsLang=en-us) Learn ### [What Is H.264 (AVC)? The Codec Behind Most Online Video](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/what-is-h-264-avc-the-codec-behind-most-online-video?hsLang=en-us) H.264, also called Advanced Video Coding (AVC) or MPEG-4 Part 10, is a block-based video compression standard published ... Oct 9, 2026, 9:32:23โ€ฏAM [Read more](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/what-is-h-264-avc-the-codec-behind-most-online-video?hsLang=en-us) [![BlazingCDN](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/hubfs/Logo/blog-logo-w.png)](https://blog.blazingcdn.com?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ“˜ Learn](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-learn?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ“Š Benchmarks](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-ratings-and-benchmarks?hsLang=en-us) [๐ŸŽฌ Video & Streaming](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/video-streaming-cdn?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿญ Industries](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-industry-insights?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ’ฐ Pricing & Costs](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-pricing-and-cdn-costs?hsLang=en-us) [โšก Compare](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-comparison?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ”’ Security](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-security?hsLang=en-us) [๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Tools](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/cdn-tools?hsLang=en-us) [โœ๏ธ Publish with us](https://blog.blazingcdn.com/publish-with-us?hsLang=en-us) in f ๐• โœ‰ Copyright ยฉ BlazingCDN |. All rights reserved. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://blazingcdn.com/#organization", "@type" : "Organization", "description" : "High-volume CDN for video, live streaming, OTT/IPTV, software, games, SaaS and large-file delivery.", "logo" : { "@id" : "https://blazingcdn.com/#logo", "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 560, "url" : "https://blazingcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/logo-560-560.png", "width" : 560 }, "name" : "BlazingCDN", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/blazingcdn", "https://x.com/BlazingCdn", "https://www.reddit.com/r/BlazingCDN/" ], "url" : "https://blazingcdn.com/" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://blog.blazingcdn.com/#website", "@type" : "WebSite", "inLanguage" : "en-US", "name" : "BlazingCDN Blog", "publisher" : { "@id" : "https://blazingcdn.com/#organization" }, "url" : "https://blog.blazingcdn.com/" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/av1-vs-hevc-which-codec-should-streaming-platforms-choose#article", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Vadym Borovskyi" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-10T07:32:42Z", "datePublished" : "2026-10-10T07:32:42Z", "description" : "AV1 vs HEVC (AV1 vs H265): Compare AV1 streaming and HEVC streaming for quality, efficiency, compatibility, and cost.", "headline" : "AV1 vs HEVC: Which Codec Should Streaming Platforms Choose", "image" : "https://143144902.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/143144902/Gemini-Blog/image-Oct-10-2026-07-30-18-3215-AM.jpeg", "inLanguage" : "en-us", "isPartOf" : { "@id" : "https://blog.blazingcdn.com/#website" }, "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/av1-vs-hevc-which-codec-should-streaming-platforms-choose", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@id" : "https://blazingcdn.com/#organization" }, "wordCount" : 2064 } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/av1-vs-hevc-which-codec-should-streaming-platforms-choose#breadcrumb", "@type" : "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us", "name" : "Blog", "position" : 1 }, { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/av1-vs-hevc-which-codec-should-streaming-platforms-choose", "name" : "AV1 vs HEVC: Which Codec Should Streaming Platforms Choose", "position" : 2 } ] } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/av1-vs-hevc-which-codec-should-streaming-platforms-choose#faq", "@type" : "FAQPage", "mainEntity" : [ { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "AV1 compresses better than H265, typically 20 to 30 percent lower bitrate at equal quality in published comparisons through 2025. It is not automatically better for a platform, because it costs several times more compute to encode and lacks hardware decode on many TVs and Apple devices sold before 2023. Most platforms run both codecs in parallel." }, "name" : "Is AV1 better than H265 for streaming?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Possibly, depending on the distribution model and current patent pool terms. HEVC patents are licensed through several pools and independent holders, and content-side fees vary by whether distribution is free, subscription or per-title. Device makers carry most HEVC royalties, but a streaming service should have counsel review its specific exposure before scaling HEVC delivery." }, "name" : "Do streaming platforms pay royalties for HEVC?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Most smart TVs and streaming devices from 2020 to 2021 onward, Android flagships since about 2021, recent Intel, Nvidia and AMD GPUs, and Apple devices from the A17 Pro and M3 generation. Older devices may decode AV1 in software, which drains battery on phones and often drops frames on older TV chipsets." }, "name" : "Which devices can play AV1 streaming in hardware in 2026?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "It depends mostly on egress price. With an estimated $20 per content-hour of extra AV1 encoding and 0.45 GB saved per view-hour, break-even is about 740 view-hours at $0.06 per GB but about 11,100 view-hours at $4 per TB. Cheap egress makes AV1 primarily a quality-of-experience investment rather than a cost saving." }, "name" : "How many views does an AV1 rendition need to pay for itself?" } ] } ```