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2025 is the year AV1 went mainstream.
It’s now baked into Chrome, Firefox, Android 14, and even iOS hardware. That codec you were “waiting to adopt later”? It’s already in your users’ pockets.
Meanwhile, H.264 still dominates for compatibility. H.265 delivers solid compression, but at the cost of licensing headaches. and there is also a new codec in the industry.
In this guide, we’re cutting through the codec chaos. You’ll get real performance comparisons, fresh hardware support updates, and developer-first advice on when to use AV1, H.264, or H.265 based on actual streaming needs.
Codecs are the backbone of video streaming. They compress video files so they can actually move across the internet without crushing quality or overwhelming bandwidth.
For developers, choosing a codec isn’t just about smaller file sizes. It directly affects latency, playback stability, server load, and user experience especially when dealing with unpredictable network conditions or streaming to a wide range of devices.
Here’s a quick refresher on the three main codecs you’ll encounter today:
Each codec brings trade-offs, performance, support, cost, or quality. So let’s dig into what makes AV1, H.264, and H.265 different, and where each one makes sense in a 2025 production environment.
AV1 (AO media video 1) is a modern video codec developed by the Alliance for open media, a consortium of major tech companies including Google, Apple, and Microsoft. AV1 is designed to offer superior compression efficiency and high video quality while being open-source and royalty-free. This codec supports high-definition (HD) and ultra-high-definition (UHD) video, making it a great choice for high-quality streaming.
Key features:
H.265 (High-efficiency video coding, HEVC is the successor to H.264, developed by ISO/MPEG and ITU-T video coding experts group. H.265 enhances video quality and compression efficiency, supporting higher resolutions like 4K and HDR. Although it delivers better performance compared to H.264, it comes with complex licensing fees and variable support across different platforms.
Key features:
H.264, also known as Advanced video coding (AVC), is a widely used codec that compresses and transmits video efficiently across various platforms. As a predecessor to H.265, H.264 is known for its broad compatibility and efficient performance. It remains a popular choice due to its extensive device support and lower encoding costs.
Key features:
For a clear and concise comparison of AV1, H.265, and H.264, you can check the table below. It highlights the key features and differences between these codecs to help you make an informed choice:
AV1 is no longer just a “future” codec, it's showing up in actual production pipelines. Hardware-accelerated decoding is now supported across:
This closes the compatibility gap that previously made AV1 risky for streaming platforms. Services like YouTube, Netflix, and Facebook Watch are now encoding large portions of their 4K and mobile content in AV1 to save bandwidth without sacrificing quality. In real-world conditions, developers are seeing up to 50% smaller file sizes compared to H.264, with better visual fidelity at low bitrates than H.265.
If you're building a video stack today, AV1 is no longer experimental. It’s practical, supported, and performance-ready for modern apps.
H.266 also known as Versatile Video Coding (VVC) is the next-gen codec standard developed to replace H.265. It promises 30–50% better compression at the same visual quality, making it highly attractive for 8K video, HDR, and immersive formats like VR and AR.
On paper, VVC is the most efficient codec available today. But in practice:
Some broadcasters and OTT providers are experimenting with VVC in controlled environments, but it’s not production-ready for most developers yet.
If your goal is to optimize video delivery for modern devices without paying licensing fees, AV1 is the codec to implement right now. It offers real savings on bandwidth and storage, especially for 4K+ content, and works across a growing number of platforms.
If you're targeting legacy hardware or need ultra-low latency, H.264 still makes sense. And if you're planning for next-gen content delivery at extreme resolutions, VVC is worth monitoring but not yet ready for wide deployment.
To provide a comprehensive understanding of how AV1, H.264, and H.265 (HEVC) handle video quality, we conducted a series of tests encoding and recording with each codec with OBS. The test aimed to observe how well each codec manages visual quality under, Below are the results of our tests:
Test setup:
Resolutions: 1080p and 4K
Video encoders:
Bitrate: 4000 kbps (1080p) and 15,000 kbps (4K)
Rate control: CBR (Constant bitrate)
Keyframe interval: 2 seconds
Test results:
Codec is evolving rapidly, with AV1 emerging as a promising standard for high-quality streaming. Its superior compression efficiency and royalty-free status make it an attractive option for future-proofing streaming services. Meanwhile, H.266 (VVC) is on the horizon, promising even greater efficiency and reduced data consumption.
Understanding the performance trade-offs of these codecs is important when integrating them into your video streaming pipeline:
Each codec has its use cases and considerations for developers:
When it comes to OTT (Over-the-Top) and streaming services, codec selection plays a vital role in delivering high-quality content to users across a wide variety of devices. H.264 is often the go-to choice for most IPTV/OTT providers due to its broad compatibility, making it easier to stream across smart TVs, mobile devices, browsers, and set-top boxes. This codec remains cost-effective, especially for live broadcasts, where minimizing bandwidth while maintaining quality.
On the other hand, H.265 (HEVC) offers better video compression and quality at the same bitrate as H.264, but it comes with higher licensing fees. This codec is favoured for 4K and HDR streaming, but its cost makes it less accessible for smaller platforms.
As the future of streaming evolves, AV1 is gaining momentum due to its royalty-free nature, especially in UGC and online-event broadcasting. Platforms are leaning towards AV1 because of its improved compression and the fact that it reduces bandwidth usage without sacrificing video quality.
Codecs are just one part of the stack. The real pain is everything around them, transcoding, playback issues, edge delivery, and trying to debug why things break only on certain devices.
That’s where FastPix comes in.
Whether you're working with AV1, H.264, or H.265, FastPix gives you a full video pipeline that just works, no patching together separate tools or reinventing workflows.
If you're building a video product in, FastPix gives you the flexibility to use the best codec for each device and the infrastructure to deliver it without the usual headaches. Sign up to get $25 free credits.
Yes, AV1 now offers better compression efficiency than H.265 for 4K content with fewer licensing headaches. Most major platforms including YouTube and Netflix have increased AV1 usage for ultra-HD video delivery, though hardware support still plays a role in performance.
As of 2025, Apple has rolled out partial AV1 hardware decode support across its newer M-series chips and iOS devices. Safari still lags behind in full AV1 playback, which affects adoption in certain ecosystems.
For maximum compatibility, H.264 remains the safest choice. But for modern browsers and newer devices, AV1 is preferred due to its lower bandwidth usage and royalty-free licensing. VP9 is still relevant for Google-owned services, but its future is less certain.
Not anytime soon. H.264 continues to dominate due to its compatibility with legacy hardware and streaming stacks. AV1 adoption is growing, but a full replacement will take years as hardware decoding support matures and real-time encoding becomes faster.
Support varies. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge have AV1 playback support, but your device also needs compatible hardware decoding for efficient performance. You can test AV1 playback using public demo videos on sites like Netflix, Vimeo, or YouTube.
AV1 is more computationally intensive. While newer encoders like SVT-AV1 and hardware acceleration are improving speed, real-time encoding still favors H.264 or H.265, especially in live streaming setups or edge-based delivery.
AV2 is currently under development and promises better compression, higher quality, and improved real-time performance. It’s designed to match or outperform VVC (H.266) with lower complexity, but a stable release is likely post-2026.
Not officially. Both platforms still recommend H.264 for uploads to ensure widest compatibility across devices and ad delivery systems. However, backend processing may use newer codecs internally to optimize storage.
AV1 for live streaming is emerging but not yet mainstream. Real-time AV1 encoding still faces performance challenges, though platforms like OBS and some CDN services are beginning to experiment with it for high-efficiency broadcasts.
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