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AV1 Video Extension is the Microsoft-published package that adds AV1 video decoding and AVIF photo support to Windows 10 and 11, arriving as a signed app bundle rather than a setup program, and free with no paid tier behind it.
The AV1 Video Extension is Microsoft's own AV1 decoder for Windows 10 and 11, and it is free.
It arrives as a Windows app package rather than a setup program, which is the part that catches people out.
This page covers getting that package installed, including the error message that stops most people.
What You Are Downloading
The file is named something like Microsoft.AV1VideoExtension_2.0.30.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe.AppxBundle. The tilde and the long string of letters look wrong and are not - that is simply how Microsoft names packages published through the Store.
Installed, it teaches Media Foundation to decode AV1, which is the layer Windows itself uses for media. Movies and TV, Windows Media Player, the Photos app and File Explorer thumbnails all hand their decoding to that layer, so all four start working at once.
It does nothing for players that carry their own decoder. VLC Media Player has shipped the dav1d decoder since version 3.0.8 and never needed this.
| File | Take it when |
|---|---|
| AV1 Video Extension 2.0.30.0 | Default choice on Windows 10 and 11 |
| AV1 Video Extension 2.0.24.0 | The current build installs but misbehaves |
| AV1 Video Extension 2.0.7.0 | Only on an out-of-date Windows build that refuses the newer packages |
The Two Ways to Install It
If you would rather Windows handled this for you, open the Microsoft Store, search for AV1 Video Extension and press Get. The Store keeps it updated afterwards, and our AV1 Codec page carries a direct link to that listing.
To install the package you have already downloaded, work through these in order:
- Right-click the file, choose Open with, and pick App Installer. Press Install when the panel appears.
- If nothing happens or an error appears, press the Windows key, type PowerShell and open it.
- Type Add-AppxPackage -Path " then drag the downloaded file into the PowerShell window, type a closing quotation mark and press Enter. Dragging it in saves typing that filename by hand.
- Wait for the progress bar to finish, then close PowerShell. There is no confirmation dialog and no restart.
It installs for the account you are signed in as. Anyone else using the same PC installs it under their own account, and an administrator account does not cover the others.
If You See "Invalid Value for Registry"
This is the failure that stops most people, and it looks far worse than it is: nothing is wrong with the file, and nothing is wrong with your registry.
The message comes from App Installer, the small Windows component that opens app packages when you double-click them. When App Installer is damaged, missing or out of date it refuses the package and reports that line with the file path above it.
The fix. Install it from PowerShell instead. Add-AppxPackage hands the package straight to Windows and never touches App Installer, so a broken App Installer stops mattering.
Two smaller causes are worth ruling out first. An interrupted download fails validation, so fetch the file again if it looks short against the stated size. And if Windows is opening the file with the wrong program entirely, use the right-click Open with route rather than a plain double-click.
When Windows Refuses to Sideload It
If PowerShell also refuses, the machine is blocking packages that did not come from the Store. Open Settings, go to System then For developers, and check that installing apps from outside the Store is allowed.
On work and school laptops it usually is not, and only an administrator can change it. Microsoft PC Manager will tell you whether your device is centrally managed, which saves arguing with a setting you cannot win.
There is one other blocker worth knowing about. If Settings, System, About shows an N or KN edition of Windows, the media layer this extension plugs into was stripped out at the factory - install Media Foundation Codecs first, or there is nothing for it to attach to.
Checking It Installed
Open an AV1 file in Movies and TV. If nothing has changed, restart the app first - Media Foundation caches its list of decoders and does not always notice a new one straight away.
To confirm the package is really there, open PowerShell and run Get-AppxPackage *AV1VideoExtension*. It prints the package name and the version number, which is also how you check whether you ended up with 2.0.30.0 or an older build.
Before going further, make sure the file is AV1 at all. Plenty of files people assume are AV1 turn out to be HEVC, which needs a different extension entirely.
Open the file in MediaInfo and read the video format line, or run it through the Codec Finder.
Removing and Reinstalling It Cleanly
If the file plays in VLC but still will not play in Movies and TV, the package did not install cleanly and reinstalling it is usually quicker than diagnosing it.
Open Settings, go to Apps then Installed apps, find AV1 Video Extension and uninstall it. Restart the machine, then install it again by either route above.
Doing it from PowerShell is faster if you are already there: Get-AppxPackage *AV1VideoExtension* | Remove-AppxPackage removes it for the current account.
What Else Comes With It
The same package adds AVIF, the still-image format built on AV1, so File Explorer starts showing AVIF thumbnails and the Photos app opens those files. There is more on that in our guide to viewing AVIF images on Windows.
It does not cover other formats. Photos off an iPhone want HEIF Image Extensions, and VP9 video has its own extension again.
If You Would Rather Not Install It
Nothing here is compulsory. A player that carries its own decoder plays AV1 whatever Windows thinks, and on a locked-down machine that is the only route left.
MPC-HC and PotPlayer both handle AV1 on their own, as VLC does.
LAV Filters extends the same coverage to any DirectShow player, and the K-Lite Codec Pack bundles a player and the decoders into one installer.
Weighing those routes against each other, including what AV1 is and how it compares with the older formats, is the job of the AV1 Codec page. For symptom-by-symptom troubleshooting there is our full guide to playing AV1 on Windows 11.
Quick questions
I opened the file and got "Invalid value for registry". What now?
That error comes from App Installer rather than from the package itself. Install it from PowerShell with Add-AppxPackage instead, which skips App Installer entirely.
Why is it an AppxBundle instead of an .exe?
Because Microsoft publishes it through the Microsoft Store, and Store apps come as app packages rather than traditional installers. It is the genuine Microsoft file, not a repackaged one.
Do I need to be an administrator to install it?
Not on a normal home PC, because it installs into your own account rather than system-wide. On a managed work or school machine an administrator usually has to allow it first.
Does installing it cover everyone who uses this PC?
No. Each Windows account installs it separately, so a second user on the same machine has to add it under their own sign-in.
How do I tell whether it is already installed?
Open PowerShell and run Get-AppxPackage *AV1VideoExtension*. If it prints a package name and version, it is installed; if it prints nothing, it is not.
Will it keep itself up to date?
Only if you installed it from the Microsoft Store, which updates it in the background. A package installed from a downloaded file stays on that version until you install a newer one yourself.
Browse the full video codecs collection for related downloads.
Download AV1 Video Extension 2.0.30.0 and see whether that file finally plays, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before.
