by Martin Brinkmann on December 28, 2018 in Windows – No comments
Windows 10 version 1903, the next feature update release for Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system, will support the AVIF format.
AVIF, or AV1 Image File Format, is a new image format based on AV1; it uses HEIF as the container and AV1 frames.
Microsoft introduced support for AV1 video in Windows 10 version 1809; administrators had to install the AV1 Video Extension to add support for Av1 video to Windows 10 devices. The extension is still listed as beta at the time of writing.
While video support is added to Windows 10 version 1809 or later when the codec is installed, support for the AVIF file format is not available in the October 2018 Update. Files cannot be opened in Microsoft Paint or other Microsoft programs, and File Explorer does not display thumbnails if a thumbnail view mode is selected.
Recent Insider Builds of Windows 10 version 1903 offer enhanced support for AV1. Users who store AVIF images on the device will notice that these display as thumbnails in File Explorer, provided that the AV1 Video Extension is installed on the Insider PC.
The images can be loaded into Microsoft Paint as it supports the new image format as well in Windows 10 version 1903.
Microsoft Edge does not support the new image format at the time of writing; the browser refuses to render AVIF images. Other browsers, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, don’t display the images either at this point in time. All browsers display options to save the images when they are opened directly.
Windows developers may use APIs to add support for AV1 and AVIF to their programs; this requires Windows 10 version 1903 at the time of writing.
Microsoft is not the only company that is working on AV1 support; all major browser makers plan to add AV1 support to their browsers or have done so already. Interested users may enable experimental AV1 support on YouTube to watch AV1F videos on the video streaming site. Programs like VLC Media Player, FFmpeg, or MPC-HC support the new format as well.
Closing Words
AV1 is supported by all major browser developers and other major technology companies. While it is unclear at this point if that is enough to make the new format the de-facto standard for video and images, it is off to a better start than previous attempts.
Now You: Do you have any expectations in regards to AV1 and AVIF? (via Deskmodder)