# AV1 for Dummies Canonical URL: https://encode.wiki/articles/av1-for-dummies/ Content version: ca42e61ede0a24f789d7287a0001244ad22f4abf Status: current License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Checksum (SHA-256): cea45ba42665ef0c17e4b4610b58b9f95a1ecab1e23761fcad81d5a16fe4fa19 > **Note — Editorial correction — 7 September 2026.** > > This guide originated in June 2024. The historical tool-rating tables and credited authorship are retained, but the prose below corrects bit-depth guarantees, encoder capabilities, and project status. The tables record the authors' opinions at publication and are not current compatibility tests or product rankings. Use the linked canonical guides for new encodes. This article introduces AV1 encoding and preserves the authors' 2024 view of the tooling landscape. For a maintained starting workflow, use [AV1 with SVT-AV1](/guides/av1-with-svt-av1/) and [choosing a codec](/guides/choose-a-codec/). ![Compare](/img/av1_for_dummies_guide.avif) ## Introduction [AV1](/codecs/video/av1/) is a royalty-free video codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media. It is designed to replace [VP9](/codecs/video/vp9/) and presently competes with [H.266](/codecs/video/vvc/). AV1 is known for its high compression efficiency, which the marketing will have you believe reduces file sizes by up to 50% compared to [H.264](/codecs/video/avc/) and up to 30% compared to [H.265](/codecs/video/hevc/) across the board. It is supported by several major browsers and is widely used across many streaming services and video platforms. ### Why AV1? Before we dive in, it is important to understand *why* you may want to use AV1 instead of other codecs. The reality is that AV1 is *not* better than H.264/5 in every single scenario; video encoding is a complicated field, and the best codec for you will depend on your specific needs. AV1 excels in: - Low to medium-high fidelity encoding - Higher resolution encoding - Encoding content with very little grain or noise - Slow, non-realtime contexts (e.g. offline encoding) The enumeration above still consists of broad strokes, but the point is to understand that AV1 is not a silver bullet. It will not automatically make your videos smaller while preserving your desired quality. To make things more difficult, the [x264](/tools/software-encoders/x264/) & [x265](/tools/software-encoders/x265/) encoders are very mature, while encoder implementations continue to evolve. Relative performance must be measured with named versions and workloads. This guide focuses almost entirely on tools great for offline, non-realtime encoding for various kinds of content. Streaming is an altogether different application of AV1, and is only covered sparsely here. ### Do's & Don'ts Due to a lot of misunderstandings about codecs and compression, there are a lot of common misconceptions that are held regarding video encoding. We'll start by outlining some bad practices: - **Don't** encode the same video multiple times. This is a common mistake made by people new to video encoding. Repeated **lossy** transcoding can introduce generation loss. Lossless encoding and stream copying are different operations and do not inherently discard decoded sample information. This is why it is important to keep the original video file if you frequently re-encode it. - **Don't** blindly copy settings from others without understanding them. What works for one person's content and workflow may not work for yours. Treat defaults as a starting point to test against your requirements. - **Don't** assume that higher bitrate equates to better quality. Inefficient encoding can waste bits without improving visual quality, and efficient encoding can make lower bitrate video look drastically better than higher bitrate video using the same codec. - **Don't** assume all encoders/presets/settings/implementations are created equal. Even given two encoding frameworks that use the same underlying encoder, you may achieve different results given encoder version mismatches or subtly different settings used under the hood. - **Don't** use unnecessarily slow presets/speeds unless you have a specific need and ample time. While slower presets improve encoding efficiency most of the time, the quality gains reach a point of diminishing returns beyond a certain point. Use the slowest preset you can tolerate, not the slowest preset available. - **Don't** blindly trust metric scores. [VMAF](/reference/metrics/vmaf/) depends on the selected model, viewing assumptions, and preprocessing; this guide does not establish its frequency of agreement with viewers. Even the beloved [SSIMULACRA2](/reference/metrics/ssimulacra2/) is not a perfect one-to-one with the human eye. Now, let's move on to some **good** practices: - Experiment with different settings and compare the results. - Consider your content type when choosing encoding settings. Film, animation, and sports all have different characteristics that benefit from distinct approaches. - Try to use CRF for offline encoding, as opposed to CBR or VBR. While the latter two are effective for precisely targeting a particular bitrate, CRF is more effective at targeting a specific quality level efficiently. - Test 10-bit encoding when the target supports it. It can improve precision and reduce banding, including for some 8-bit sources, but it cannot recover missing source precision or guarantee a smaller or better-looking encode. AV1 Main profile includes 8- and 10-bit coding; profile membership alone does not guarantee that a particular device, browser, container, or playback path supports it. [AV1 specification](https://aomediacodec.github.io/av1-spec/av1-spec.pdf). - Consider using grain synthesis for grainy content, as AV1 can struggle with preserving film grain efficiently. - Keep your encoding software up-to-date; the encoding world moves quickly. ## Tools The following tables preserve the authors' June 2024 tool survey. Platform and bundled-encoder entries describe that historical survey; verify current releases before installation. Dot ratings are editorial opinions without a controlled comparison. ### GUI Here's the key: - **Encoder(s)**: The AV1 encoder(s) the software uses or is able to use. This is between [SVT-AV1](/tools/software-encoders/svt-av1/), [aomenc](/tools/software-encoders/aomenc/), [rav1e](/tools/software-encoders/rav1e/), [SVT-AV1-PSY](/tools/software-encoders/svt-av1-psy/), and various aomenc forks. We'll get into this more later. - **Ease of Use**: How intuitive the software is, especially for beginners. - **Complexity**: How flexible the software can be for advanced users. - **Efficiency**: How "good" the underlying encoder(s) are. This is more subjective, but tools with bad defaults, misleading options, or slow release cycles won't score well here. | Name | Platform(s) | Encoder(s) | Ease of Use | Complexity | Efficiency | |---------|-------------|:----------:|:-----------:|:-----------:|------------| | [Aviator](/tools/utilities/aviator/) | Linux | SVT-AV1-PSY| ●●●●● | ●○○○○ | ●●●●● | | [NMKODER](/tools/utilities/nmkoder/) | Windows | Any | ●●●○○ | ●●●●○ | ●●○○○ | | [Av1ation Station](https://github.com/Av1ation-Association/Av1ation-Creations/releases/) | Any | Any | ●●●○○ | ●●●●● | ●●●●○ | | [StaxRip](https://github.com/staxrip/staxrip) | Windows | Any | ●●○○○ | ●●●●● | ●●●●○ | | [NEAV1E](https://github.com/Alkl58/NotEnoughAV1Encodes) | Windows | Any | ●●●○○ | ●●●○○ | ●●○○○ | | [Handbrake](https://handbrake.fr/) | Any | SVT-AV1 | ●●●●○ | ●●○○○ | ●●○○○ | | [FastFlix](https://github.com/cdgriffith/FastFlix) | Any | Any | ●●●●○ | ●●●○○ | ●●○○○ | | [rAV1ator](/tools/utilities/rav1ator/) | Linux | rav1e | ●●●●○ | ●●●○○ | ●○○○○ | | [Autocompressor](https://autocompressor.net/) | Web | SVT-AV1 | ●●●●● | ●○○○○ | ●●●○○ | For a new GUI workflow, check the tool's current platform support, bundled encoder version, subtitle handling, and color/HDR behavior. The original rankings do not establish current suitability. Consult the [tools index](/tools/) and test a short representative encode before committing to a workflow. ### CLI In the terminal, advanced encoders can explore a much greater degree of complexity than many GUIs allow. That being said, ease of use is still a consideration when managing complex command-line encoding workflows. Let's begin with the key: - We're omitting the "Platform(s)" column here, as this section targets Linux users. As a Windows user, WSL has you covered - as a Mac user, you're likely to experience parity with Linux (most of the time). | Name | Framework(s) | Ease of Use | Complexity | Features | Scene Detection | |------|--------------|:-----------:|:----------:|:--------:|:---------------:| | SvtAv1EncApp | None | ●○○○○ | ●●○○○ | ●○○○○ | No | | [FFmpeg](/tools/utilities/ffmpeg/) | Itself | ●●○○○ | ●●●●● | ●●●●○ | No | | [Av1an](/tools/utilities/av1an/) | FFmpeg | ●○○○○ | ●●●●● | ●●●○○ | Yes | | [rAV1ator CLI](/tools/utilities/rav1ator-cli/) | Av1an | ●●●●○ | ●●●●○ | ●●●●○ | Yes | | [alabamaEncoder](https://github.com/kingstefan26/alabamaEncoder) | FFmpeg | ●●○○○ | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | Yes | For a new CLI workflow, begin with [FFmpeg](/tools/utilities/ffmpeg/) or the [SVT-AV1 guide](/guides/av1-with-svt-av1/). Use [Av1an's current documentation](https://github.com/rust-av/Av1an) when you need scene-based orchestration, and verify its encoder/backend dependencies. The historical table is not an installation matrix. ### Conclusion Choose tooling by supported inputs, target playback, automation needs, and available resources. A GUI and a CLI using the same encoder can still differ through version, settings, stream handling, or preprocessing. ## Encoders **Editorial update:** these descriptions replace the original unconditional rankings and obsolete capability lists. An encoder's speed preset is not a quality guarantee, and lossy AV1 is not an archival substitute for retaining a master. ### SVT-AV1 [SVT-AV1](/tools/software-encoders/svt-av1/) provides a library and `SvtAv1EncApp`, with parallelism aimed at practical throughput. Threads, tiling, preset, and rate control are different controls; “parallel processing is lossless” is not a guarantee that all parallel configurations produce identical bitstreams or quality. Preset ranges and mappings have changed since 2024. Inspect `SvtAv1EncApp --help` and the documentation for the installed release instead of copying the old 0–13 list. Compare speed and size at your desired quality. [Official parameters](https://gitlab.com/AOMediaCodec/SVT-AV1/-/blob/master/Docs/Parameters.md). ### rav1e [rav1e](/tools/software-encoders/rav1e/) is an AV1 encoder written in Rust and assembly. Its design emphasizes safety, but language choice alone does not prove crash freedom or superior bitstream correctness. Check supported pixel formats, speed settings, and current release behavior in the [upstream repository](https://github.com/xiph/rav1e). This article supplies no controlled evidence that it universally preserves more detail or is more reliable than other encoders. ### aomenc / libaom [aomenc](/tools/software-encoders/aomenc/) is the command-line encoder from AOMedia's reference implementation. It supports multiple usage modes and many coding controls; valid `--cpu-used` ranges depend on mode and version. Reference-software status does not make it universally slowest, highest quality, or exempt from validation. Its pixel-format support extends beyond common delivery profiles, so verify the intended decoder as well. [Upstream source and documentation](https://aomedia.googlesource.com/aom/). ### SVT-AV1-PSY and successors The original [SVT-AV1-PSY](/tools/software-encoders/svt-av1-psy/) fork announced its end on 20 April 2025. Its repository now points readers toward successor work and upstream integration. The original article's claim that it is an actively maintained universal best choice is no longer applicable. [Project status](https://github.com/psy-ex/svt-av1-psy). Names, tunes, ranges, and defaults differ between upstream SVT-AV1 and forks; a tune number is not portable between them. Variance boost allocates additional precision to low-contrast regions and is not exclusively a PSY feature. HDR metadata handling also requires compatible input, transformation, muxing, and playback: an encoder option alone cannot guarantee Dolby Vision or HDR10+ preservation. See [color and HDR guidance](/guides/preserve-color-and-hdr/). ### Choosing among them Measure named versions on representative content, keep output sizes comparable, and inspect difficult scenes. No evidence in this introductory guide establishes a universal speed/quality winner. Use [quality controls](/guides/quality-controls/) to separate bitrate targets, quality targets, and encoding effort. ## Final Conclusion The AV1 ecosystem has grown to the point where a single comprehensive guide cannot effectively cover the entire extent of the available tools and techniques for AV1 encoding across *every* use case. If you want more detail about a particular tool, where to acquire it, or how to compile an encoder, you can find that information throughout the various wiki entries linked on this page. Reading can get you far, but it is natural to have questions. Please don't hesitate to connect with the team behind the Codec Wiki and many of these tools via our [AV1 for Dummies Discord server](https://discord.gg/bbQD5MjDr3). We're happy to help you with anything you need, and your questions and feedback help the wiki grow and improve. We hope you enjoy your journey into AV1 encoding, and we wish you the best of luck in your encoding endeavors!