Netflix improves the streaming experience on Android devices
Netflix announced important changes to the way it streams on Android devices. Starting today, the streaming service will use the AV1 codec on its Android mobile app. The new codec is said to offer better performance and no less than 20% improved compression efficiency over the previous encodes.
It's also worth mentioning that AV1 is a royalty-free codec, which means Netflix only paid once to be able to use it. Although the new codec is only available on Android devices, Netflix confirmed plans to bring it to all its platforms.
However, the company decided to prioritize mobile platforms because it's where the AV1's compression efficiency fits better. Keep in mind that not all Netflix content is streamable using AV1, but you can enable it by turning on the “Save Data” feature. This way, all compatible titles will be streamed using the AV1 codec, thus reducing your cellular data usage.
As codec performance improves over time, we plan to expand our AV1 usage to more use cases and are now also working with device and chipset partners to extend this into hardware.
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