MediaTek-powered 5G smartphones and 8K TVs are ready for Netflix AV1 streams

Netflix recently announced it is now streaming its vast catalogue of movie and TV content using the latest AV1 codec on Android. Currently this means Android phones can take advantage of the latest video codec that can compress more detail into less data, but Netflix states its goal is to roll it into all of its supported platforms.

The AV1 video codec is a landmark change in the video streaming industry. First released in 2018 by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), AV1 is royalty-free, crafted to replace the VP9 codec and become the IETF Internet Video Codec (NETVC) standard. AV1 is an ultra-high-performance video codec technology that delivers 20% more compression efficiency over existing VP9+.

From the device-side, as you'd expect from a company with 'media' in the name, MediaTek is leading industries with SoC's that have hardware-based AV1 decoding built-in. This is considerably more power efficient than software-based alternatives, meaning users can enjoy longer battery life while still streaming at the best quality settings.

Video streaming is the number one activity in smartphone use, so watching high quality streams while maximizing battery life is a key advantage to many users. The MediaTek Dimensity 1000 series is the world's first smartphone SoC family featuring a hardware-based AV1 video decoder, enabling maximum quality with minimum power use at up to 4K resolution. Combined with its ultra-fast 5G connectivity in a single chip, it's yet another way the Dimensity 1000 leads the industry in smartphone chip design and capability.

Ready for AV1 streaming to Smart TVs, the MediaTek S900 8KTV SoC features an even higher performance, hardware-based AV1 decoder that is capable of AV1 content playback at up to 8K resolution.