The Mozilla Firefox browser is finally equipped with the latest video codec on the market: AV1. This comes nearly four years after being implemented by the competition, notably in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
Mozilla Firefox will soon upgrade to version 100, scheduled for May 3, 2022, and the update should be an opportunity for the browser to finally be compatible with the AV1 video codec. Mozilla will have taken its time to make its browser compatible, since Google and Microsoft had already adopted AV1 there almost 4 years on Chrome and Edge.
Indeed, Microsoft had implemented AV1 on Edge in 2018, while Chrome had also been able to decode AV1 from version 70 in 2018, before receiving an encoder with version Chrome 90 in 2021.
What is the AV1 codec?
As a reminder, AV1 is a royalty-free, open-source video codec that is widely regarded as a replacement for the H.264/AVC codec currently used by most streaming services. It is much more efficient than previous codecs, since it offers better compression efficiency (up to 50%) and better visual quality than its predecessor VP9 and H.264 and H.265 codecs. Netflix, for example, offers better image quality on TVs or consoles thanks to the AV1 codec.
Additionally, the AV1 codec processes video by shifting the load from software to your computer’s hardware, allowing it to save significant power for extend the battery life of a tablet or PC.
To take advantage of the new AV1 codec, you will of course need to be equipped with a compatible device. According to Microsoft, the AV1 codec works on Windows 10 and 11 PCs if the following requirements are met:
- CPU: 11th Generation Intel Core with Intel Iris Xe Graphics or newer.
- GPUs: NVIDIA RTX 30 Series or AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series with necessary drivers.
- Operating system : Windows 10 1909 or newer.
In addition to computers, Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip in 2023 is also expected to support the AV1 codec. In particular, this will allow Android smartphones to be able to enjoy better video quality on streaming apps.
Source: Bugzilla
