[Implemented] Add support for av1 coding standard

Feature Suggestions
42

+1 for AV1 support!

2 Likes
43

I’m getting the error Implementation for video decoder 'av1' not found. while using Firefox. Firefox has native support for AV1 and my guess is the transcoder is trying to transcode the video.

Since the transcoder is basically a custom packaged version of FFMPEG it shouldn’t be too bad to add AV1 support with the correct compilation flags, this would have to be done on Plex’s end. I bet there is also some configuration wiring that needs to happen so players can report that they support AV1 so it can be remuxed for direct play.

+1 for AV1 Support!

6 Likes
44

+1 for AV1 support.

Emby already has it.

2 Likes
45

This should already be implemented. +1.

2 Likes
46

AV1 is a must have for PLEX. +1

3 Likes
47

Agreed - AV1 is a must have for PLEX +1

What I can’t believe is that this request was opened in MARCH
and I don’t see A SINGLE comment from PLEX

How is that possible?

Very disappointing!!
:hotsprings:

6 Likes
48

Is anyone from Plex reading this forum? We haven’t seen any response other than requests for AV1 decoding support for Plex. Let’s hope Plex put this feature in their product roadmap soon.

1 Like
49

Plex needs av1 support ASAP!

  1. Higher fidelity at smaller sizes
  2. Royalty free!

I will buy a lifetime pass when this is added

7 Likes
50

bump +1

2 Likes
51

+AV1 support please

3 Likes
52

+1 for how no one from Plex has responded to this thread. I’ve been on the fence about getting plex pass and this isn’t helping things.

+1 for AV1 support

1 Like
53

Not sure if you’re surprised the feature hasn’t been implemented, or that no one from Plex has replied, but your expectations are pretty unrealistic.

The request for two-factor authentication was opened in 2015. It wasn’t until 2019 that anyone from Plex replied. It only got implemented yesterday.

Show Names of Audio Tracks & Subtitles was requested in 2016 and still is not fully implemented on all clients at this time.

Generally the turnaround on feature suggestions is measured in years, not months.

2 Likes
54

Some things are more or less important to be sure. I would think that to “play anything” would be closer to their core mission, that being an experience similar to Netflix with the home network. This would need to include wide decoding compatibility and meta data fetching. I get the motivation to monetize with the Plex offered channels, but in my mind, the standout feature of Plex are those things described above. There are already a ton of streaming services, but few do as good a job as Netflix does (generally speaking). I think going down a rabbit hole to replicate a streaming service, isn’t going to do Plex as many favors as their dominance with effortlessly streaming private collections.

55

I guess the issue is there really isn’t much money to be made from the business of helping people stream private collections. Logically that might be because they don’t contribute much to that in the consumer’s eye.

  • They don’t supply the hardware.
  • They don’t support the customer’s own LAN.
  • They don’t provide the internet service the content streams remotely on.
  • They don’t supply the content itself.

They only supply the software client/server, but you can roll your own version of this stuff and there are other software solutions for a lot of the pieces that make up the whole “Plex” thing. At the end of the day I can just hook a HTPC to my TV and play stuff back like that, so it’s going to be hard to get many people to pay a regular ongoing subscription fee for the basic functionality of Plex (the free Non-Plex-Pass) part.

My point was if you look over the open Feature Suggestions there are many that should be very easy to implement, easier than AV1 support, and they are also not-done after years of posts. How many people do you think are encoding their media to AV1? Not many.

56

Several players that support AV1 are mentioned throughout the thread. YouTube is doing it, which is what started the whole thread begin with. Take that for what it’s worth.

57

Google also thought they could make VP9 the standard for video on the entire web simply because they own YouTube. Take that for what it (wasn’t) worth. :smirk:

1 Like
58

Bottom line


I get what Plex is doing. They’re adding mainline streaming support to make things more convenient (a one stop shop) but more importantly, they are adding streaming services to have a mainstream legitimate use for Plex before the MPAA comes in and shuts them down with the usual “facilitating infringement” claim. From that perspective, the priority makes sense.

In regards to format adoption, user numbers usually rule, but not always. Sony Beta videotape was seen as the superior standard, but VHS won the battle. This in large part was due to the porn industry adapting VHS. Sure, YouTube may be the ones using a standard that Plex doesn’t have, and that’s not their fault. But to Joe Blow consumer it’s a matter of, “why doesn’t this just work” and Plex is going to get the [unjustified] heat for it, regardless of who does what.

It was your opinion that somebody could make a Plex clone that does what Plex does, with AV1 support. Eventually, someone will and people will switch. There are probably those that would already switch to a Plex clone, without all the streaming and the need for Plex server support. But right now Plex has the upper hand. That will change if Plex doesn’t keep up.

59

Actually the whole “You couldn’t get porn on Beta” thing is a myth. There was porn on Beta just as there was on VHS, and Sony didn’t exert control over what could come out on Beta. Beta lost due to capacity. You could fit more video onto a VHS than you could on a Beta and by the time Beta was able to match VHS in terms of recording times VHS already had that momentum behind it.
Another issue was in the UK at least VHS had the huge advantage of rentals, not of tapes but of players. You could rent a VHS player for fairly cheap and I think some stores even offered rent-to-own. You couldn’t do the same with Beta players because Sony typically required that you carry other Sony products if you wanted to offer Beta players which took up floor space. This of course goes back into the momentum argument in favor of VHS.

2 Likes
61

It’s pointless debating obsolete technology.

The issue behind the discussion was that sometimes factors beyond an entities control, end up determining what wins in a format war. The same was also true for Blu-ray versus high-def DVD. Personally I think the determining factor there was that blu-rays could change their encryption algorithm getting greater support from the content industries. Thanks for participating.

1 Like
62

+1 for AV1 support. Use case is downloaded YouTube videos which I want to have in the most efficient format as possible without having to re-download in the near future.

1 Like