AV1 Codec 2.0.7.0

Certain downloaded video files open but stutter on an otherwise capable machine.

In most cases, the cause is the same: Windows has no built-in AV1 decoder, and the AV1 Video Extension is the free, two-minute fix.

Why Windows Needs the AV1 Extension

AV1 is the royalty-free video codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media - a consortium that includes Google, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft.

It compresses video up to 30% more efficiently than VP9 and HEVC at equivalent visual quality, which is exactly why every major streaming platform has adopted it.

YouTube now encodes over 75% of its library in AV1. Netflix uses it for 30% of all its streaming traffic, with that share growing every quarter. Meta reports the same shift across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.

Windows 10 and 11 do not include AV1 decoding out of the box. Without the extension, your system either falls back to a lower-quality codec automatically or fails to play the file entirely.

Installing the AV1 Video Extension resolves this at the system level - every application that uses Windows Media Foundation, including the Photos app, Movies and TV, and DirectShow-compatible players, gains AV1 support immediately.

What the AV1 Video Extension Installs

The extension is a lightweight 5.2MB package from Microsoft, currently at version 2.0.7.0. Once installed it adds two things your system was missing:

AV1 video decoding - Hardware-accelerated playback on supported GPUs (Intel 11th gen and newer, NVIDIA RTX 30/40 series, AMD RX 6000 and above) and clean software decoding on older hardware. The extension integrates directly with Windows so you do not need to configure anything in your media player.

AVIF image support - AV1 Image Format (AVIF) is the still-image counterpart to AV1 video, delivering sharper photographs at smaller file sizes than JPEG. Once the extension is installed, Windows Explorer and the Photos app display AVIF files natively.

You can also view AVIF sample files at convertico.com/samples/avif to test your setup, or convert existing images to AVIF using the free JPG to AVIF converter if you want to start using the format yourself.

For a full walkthrough of AVIF on Windows, see the AVIF viewing guide.

Hardware Acceleration and Performance

The most important thing to verify after installing the AV1 extension is whether hardware decoding is active. Software-only AV1 decoding is functional on modern CPUs but demanding - a 4K AV1 stream will push an older processor hard. Hardware decoding offloads that work entirely to your GPU.

To check: play an AV1 video and open Task Manager. Under Performance > GPU, look for activity in the Video Decode row. If it shows load while your CPU stays relatively idle, hardware acceleration is working.

If you need more granular control over how AV1 is decoded across different media players, the AV1 decoding optimization guide covers per-player configuration for VLC, PotPlayer, and MPC-HC in detail.

AV1 in Your Media Player

The extension covers Windows-native apps automatically. For third-party players, the situation varies:

VLC Media Player has included the fast dav1d AV1 decoder since version 3.0.8 and handles AV1 without any additional codec installed - it is the simplest option if you play local files.

LAV Filters includes the dav1d decoder and provides AV1 playback for any DirectShow-based player, including MPC-HC and MPC-BE. LAV Filters reduces CPU usage significantly compared to older software decoders and supports DXVA2 and D3D11 hardware acceleration.

If you use MPC-HC regularly, installing LAV Filters is the cleanest way to ensure AV1 works correctly. See the guide to playing HEVC with LAV Filters - the same setup process applies to AV1.

If you want comprehensive format coverage beyond AV1 - HEVC, H.264, VP9, older MPEG formats - the K-Lite Codec Pack bundles LAV Filters, AV1 support, and decoders for virtually every format into a single installer. It is the practical all-in-one choice if you regularly deal with mixed codec environments.

AV1 vs HEVC vs VP9 - Which Codec to Use

If you are deciding which codec to target for your own video projects rather than just fixing playback, the comparison is straightforward. HEVC (H.265) offers excellent compression and broad hardware support but carries licensing fees that platforms must pay - which is why streaming services are moving away from it.

VP9 is Google's royalty-free predecessor to AV1 and still widely used, particularly on Android and Chrome. AV1 is the royalty-free successor to both - better compression than either, with no licensing overhead.

For uploading to YouTube specifically, AV1 gives the smallest file size and fastest YouTube-side processing, but encoding on your machine is slow without hardware support. The best video codec for YouTube guide covers the tradeoffs in detail.

For encoding AV1 content, FastFlix provides a clean GUI interface for SVT-AV1 and AOM AV1 encoding without touching a command line, and AOM AV1 Encoder is the reference implementation for users who want maximum control. Advanced encoding workflows using rav1e and FFmpeg are covered in the rav1e encoding guide.

How to Enable AV1 on YouTube

YouTube serves AV1 to browsers and devices that declare support for it. After installing the extension, most users find YouTube switches automatically. If you want to verify or force AV1 playback, the YouTube AV1 playback guide walks through browser-level settings and how to confirm which codec is actually in use during playback.

Installation

Download the AV1 Video Extension using the button on this page. The installer runs silently - no configuration required. Restart your media player after installation and open an AV1 video to confirm playback.

If you encounter issues, the AV1 decoding guide covers the most common causes including driver conflicts on older Intel integrated graphics.

For Windows N editions where media features are stripped out, the Media Foundation Codecs package restores the full codec layer before the AV1 extension can work correctly.

Browse the full video codecs collection for related downloads.