The Revolutionary AVIF Image Format: Unleashing Unmatched Quality and Unbelievable Compression
Discover the game-changing AVIF image format: bandwidth-saving, HDR-compatible, and likely supported by your preferred browser Learn its benefits, applications, and how to obtain Windows AVIF support AVIF's mixed support status is also explored
Key Takeaways
AVIF is an image file format that uses AV1 compression, offering better image quality and smaller file sizes compared to JPEG.
AVIF offers support for both still and animated images, supporting high dynamic range (HDR) and standard dynamic range (SDR) content, along with a wide range of color spaces and depths.
Although AVIF support has been seamlessly integrated into popular web browsers like Chrome and Firefox, as well as multiple software applications and operating systems, it is not yet universally embraced by all platforms and messaging apps.
What is AVIF?
AVIF: The New King of Image File FormatsAVIF, developed by the Alliance for Open Media, is an image file format accessible to all users. With the ".avif" file extension, it enables the storage of both static and dynamic images through either lossless or lossy compression.
The AVIF image format, short for AV1 Image File Format, utilizes AV1 compression and is considered a potential replacement for the HEIC (High-Efficiency Image Container) format. Unlike HEIC, which relies on the older HEVC (High-Efficiency Video Coding) standard, AVIF takes advantage of the more modern AV1 compression.
What Is AVIF Used For?
AVIF offers support for both standard dynamic range (SDR) and high dynamic range (HDR) content, encompassing widely-used color spaces such as sRGB and BT.2020. It can handle color depths of 8, 10, and 12-bits, while also preserving film grain and allowing transparency, similar to PNG images. Additionally, AVIF enables the incorporation of animations, akin to the GIF format.
The AVIF format offers superior image quality compared to JPEG, as well as smaller file sizes, resulting in fewer compression artifacts and less image blocking. This means that AVIF can potentially save data for both content consumers and web hosts. AVIF support has been implemented in Google Chrome (version 85), Mozilla Firefox (version 93), and newer versions of Safari, which utilize the WebKit engine.
How to Get AVIF Support on Windows
Many software programs have already embraced AVIF, spanning across various applications such as image viewers like XnView and media players like VLC. Additionally, AVIF is also supported by renowned tools like Paint.NET and Adobe Illustrator, as well as popular operating systems including Windows 10 and higher, Android 12 and higher, and numerous Linux distributions.
Windows 10 and Windows 11 offer support for AVIF image previews in File Explorer and viewing AVIF files with the photos app. However, in order to utilize this feature, it is necessary to download the AV1 codecs beforehand. Without these codecs, only generic placeholder icons will be displayed.
To install the AV1 codec on Windows, access the Microsoft Store, search for "av1," and select the "AV1 Video Extension" from the search results. Alternatively, you can directly visit the AV1 codec using this link.
Click "Get" in the upper-right hand corner to install the codecs. Our example image says "Open" because we'd installed them previously.
Close any active instances of the Photos app or File Explorer. Upon reopening them, you will notice that they now provide complete AVIF image compatibility. Additionally, the newly installed AV1 codec may be utilized by other applications in the background as well.
AVIF Support is Still Very Mixed
AVIF has gained popularity in recent years but is still relatively uncommon. Unlike with HEIC/HEVC, there are currently no plans to transition smartphone images to AVIF. Unfortunately, popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Discord do not yet support the AVIF format.
To try out AVIF and convert images, you can visit avif.io, but make sure you have an AV1-compatible browser. If you're interested in learning more about file formats and compressions, you can explore our comparison of common image file formats, read about Google's WebP format, and understand the significance of HEVC (H.265) for modern web video.
