Windows 10 already supports the AV1 codec: so you can download

[Blexfraptor]

We have already spoken to you on the occasion of the AV1 codec. Its full name is AOMedia Video 1, and is developed by the Alliance for Open Media, a consortium created in 2015 and formed by companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, NVIDIA, Intel, Microsoft and Apple. This open codec wants to replace HEVC and VP9, and it is getting easier every time.

AV1: the open codec of the future can already be decoded natively in Windows 10
Both Chrome and Firefox already support AV1 natively, although for use on platforms like YouTube the resolution is currently limited to 480p. However, if you wanted to play a video on Windows, you were forced to use codecs or third-party programs. That changes from today, since Microsoft has released the codec in the Microsoft Store so you can install it on your PC.
 

In the same way that we can install the HEVC from the Store to be able to see Netflix in 4K, now we can install it in Windows. We just have to go to the AV1 codec page in the Microsoft Store, or look for AV1 in the search engine of the Windows 10 app itself, where we can download it for free. It is important to note that the codec is still in beta, so it may present some performance and stability problems.

If you have a processor capable of decoding HEVC by hardware, the playback of videos under this codec will be more fluid. If it is older, it is more likely that when you open a video with this codec you will see it jerking, or that CPU usage will be triggered when trying to decode it by software. The Alliance for Open Media said it was going to be necessary new hardware that was able to decode it natively, but no processor manufacturer has spoken about it.

VLC also supports AV1 since September
Microsoft says it will improve the codec application in the future, so it is advisable to have automatic updates enabled if we want to make sure we have the latest version with all the improvements. To make Windows 10 use the codec we will have to open the video with the Movies and TV application. Another option is to install VLC, which as of version 3.0.4 already supports AV1.

AV1 is currently around 25% more efficient than HEVC. This means that a video that occupies 10 GB compressed with HEVC, would occupy 7.5 GB compressed with AV1 offering the same quality. Seen otherwise, a 10 GB video would have 25% less compression against it with HEVC.