December 9, 2025
Red carpet, zero royalties
When a video codec wins an Emmy
AV1 nabs an Emmy while the internet asks: so when’s AVIF on Wikipedia
TLDR: AV1, a free video technology, just won a Technology & Engineering Emmy. Commenters cheered its mainstream impact (hello, Netflix) while arguing over slow adoption—especially AVIF images on Wikipedia—and why paid codecs still linger. The hype now shifts to AV2, the promised faster, freer sequel.
A video codec just won an Emmy and the comments did not hold back. AV1—the open, royalty‑free recipe that shrinks videos so they stream faster—got the trophy, and one user dropped the mic with: “AV1 powers approximately 30% of Netflix viewing,” reminding everyone this isn’t niche. Fans cheered the win for the open web, but the party stopped at the buffet: “When will Wikipedia support AVIF?” AVIF is the photo format born from AV1, and people want the world’s biggest encyclopedia to get with the program already.
Then came the spicy debate: “Why aren’t video codecs winner‑take‑all?” Translation for non‑nerds: if AV1 is free and great, why do paid, patent‑heavy codecs still exist? The crowd’s answer: old contracts, hardware stuck in the past, and corporate caution keep the closed stuff lingering. A veteran engineer even posted a throwback Emmy photo, proving codecs have been winning trophies since the ‘90s—welcome to the nerd Oscars. Meanwhile, the memes flew: “when is C going to win a Pulitzer?” And just as the popcorn cooled, the sequel was teased—AV2—promising even smaller files and better graphics. The vibe: celebrate AV1, demand wider adoption, and make the next one faster, freer, everywhere.
Key Points
- •The Television Academy awarded a Technology & Engineering Emmy to the AV1 video codec specification.
- •AV1 was created to address licensing and fragmentation issues in web video, prevalent during the H.264 era.
- •Formed in 2015, the Alliance for Open Media built AV1 from Google’s VP9, Mozilla’s Daala, and Cisco’s Thor.
- •Released in 2018, AV1 offers top-tier compression under a royalty-free patent policy and is widely deployed, including in hardware and software decoders.
- •AOMedia is developing AV2 to deliver better compression, improved efficiency for screen content, and alpha channel support; AV1 also underpins the AVIF image format.