.AV1 File Extension

In 2015, several high-profile tech companies, including Amazon, Cisco, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla, and Netflix, formed the Alliance for Open Media. This non-profit workgroup began developing a number of open-source media technologies and standards, including the AV1 video codec.

The AV1 codec was designed as a freely-available alternative to the widely-used yet royalty-incurring H.264 and HEVC/H.265 codecs developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and International Telegraph Union (ITU). AV1's creation allowed the Alliance for Open Media and other entities to create and share high-quality videos without paying royalties to MPEG. Notably, in 2020, Netflix began streaming AV1 videos to some Android users, and Google announced that Google Duo will soon begin using AV1 video.

While AV1 is used to create video files, it is not a file format. Rather, it is a compression format that any program that saves video files can use to compress videos. AV1 videos are most commonly saved using one of several more common video container formats, such as MP4, MKV, and WEBM. However, in rare circumstances, you may encounter an AV1 video saved with the .av1 extension.

Because AV1 files are uncommon, most popular media players cannot play them. However, you can open and play AV1 videos in VLC media player, and you can convert them to a more usable video format using FFmpeg.