YouTube has revealed a plan to begin web video streaming with AV2, a next-generation video compression format, as early as early 2027. The disclosure comes from remarks by Des Keane, YouTube's head of engineering, published by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) on October 22, 2026. AV2 has already progressed through specification work and playback demonstrations, but this is the first time a major video streaming service has given a concrete outlook for its adoption.
According to the developers' assessment, AV2 improves compression efficiency by about 30% over the current AV1. It also includes a mechanism for handling multiple synchronized video streams, extending its capabilities beyond simply better data compression. However, YouTube's streaming plan, the playback demonstration in Chrome, and semiconductor makers' adoption of circuit IP each represent a different stage on the road to practical use. When and on which devices ordinary users will benefit from AV2 will depend on how support develops from here.
About 30% better compression efficiency than AV1, plus support for synchronizing multiple videos
The technology that compresses video data for delivery and restores it for playback is called a codec. According to AOMedia's guide for implementers, published on July 27, AV2 improves compression efficiency by about 30% over the existing AV1. This means it can reduce the data size of video while maintaining comparable quality, or deliver higher-quality video at the same bitrate.
The roughly 30% improvement is based on the developers' own evaluation, which compared the codecs across a variety of video content and resolutions using objective quality metrics such as VMAF and PSNR. It has not been confirmed that data usage will fall uniformly by 30% in YouTube's actual streaming environment. How much data is actually saved will vary with the content of the video, encoding settings, the quality levels the service chooses, and other factors. The performance gain of the compression technology itself should be considered separate from the effect realized in an actual service.
Another major advance in AV2 is its ability to handle multiple synchronized videos. With AV2, multiple video streams can be combined into a single synchronized bitstream. A bitstream is the series of data obtained by encoding video. Previously, combining footage of the same scene shot from different viewpoints, for example, required applications to perform complex synchronization. With AV2, the codec itself provides a mechanism for handling such configurations.
As specific use cases, AOMedia cites combining texture, which makes up the appearance of the image, with depth information representing distance. It also says AV2 supports configurations that separate foreground from background and pair them with alpha information indicating transparency. These features are intended for applications involving video from multiple viewpoints and video compositing. However, YouTube's announcement did not introduce any specific new viewing features that use this technology.
In short, AV2 has two sides: improvements that raise compression efficiency, and feature extensions for handling multiple videos in sync. The former improves the relationship between video quality and data usage, while the latter opens the way to new uses that combine multiple videos. However, YouTube's aim of starting delivery in early 2027 does not mean that all of these features will become available to viewers.
YouTube's streaming plan, Chrome's playback demo and chip implementation are separate stages
Efforts toward practical use of AV2 are under way across video streaming services, web browsers and semiconductor makers. As of October 22, 2026, however, the confirmed developments are that YouTube has outlined a plan for web delivery, that a playback demonstration was held in Chrome, and that Chips&Media has signed a license agreement for circuit IP for an AV2 decoder. All are important steps, but none means that ordinary users can immediately use AV2 on consumer devices.
Organizing AOMedia's October 22 announcement and Chips&Media's June 17 announcement, each company's efforts break down as follows.
| Party | Progress confirmed in official announcements | What is still unknown |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Plan to begin web AV2 streaming as early as early 2027 | Official start date, supported devices, actual data reduction in live streaming |
| Chrome | Demonstrated video playback with AV2 | Which release version will support it, supported operating systems, when it will become available |
| Chips&Media | Signed a license agreement for AV2 decoder circuit IP | Name of the licensee, consumer devices that will include it, product launch date |
YouTube's Keane said that video streams encoded with AV2 could be available on the web as early as early 2027. This is only a plan, and a launch date has not been fixed. Meanwhile, what Chrome's Jim Bankoski described was a playback demonstration of AV2; it did not make clear when or in what form it will be included in the consumer version of Chrome.
In semiconductors, too, adoption of the technology and productization need to be considered separately. What Chips&Media concluded with a major North American company is a license agreement for circuit IP for a decoder that restores video compressed with AV2. Circuit IP refers to circuit design assets for incorporation into semiconductor chips. The company expects to expand into flagship devices in the future, but has not disclosed the licensee's name, specific devices or launch timing.
Even when a circuit IP license agreement is concluded, multiple steps remain before a semiconductor incorporating it is manufactured and installed in consumer devices. For that reason, the agreement cannot be said to confirm the launch of AV2-compatible devices. At the same time, the announcement alone is not grounds for concluding that no AV2-compatible consumer device exists anywhere in the world. What matters is that efforts toward implementing AV2 are advancing across streaming, browsers and semiconductors.
AV2 adoption is expected to proceed alongside AV1 for a long time
YouTube already has an environment in which AV1 video streaming is widely available. According to AOMedia's October 22 announcement, as of March 19, 2026, more than 90% of YouTube's video catalog, weighted by watch time, was available in AV1. This does not mean that more than 90% of the total number of videos support AV1; it is a metric that gives more weight to videos with longer watch time. Nor does it indicate that more than 90% of actual video playback takes place in AV1.
Because of this existing delivery infrastructure, the arrival of AV2 will not immediately replace AV1. AOMedia also expects the two formats to coexist for a long period, with AV2 introduced in stages as software optimization and compatible hardware spread. Even if web AV2 streaming begins on YouTube, not every viewing environment, including smartphones and smart TVs, will necessarily support it at the same time.
On the technical specification side, preparations for implementation are already under way. The official AV2 specification site publishes version 1.0.0 of the specification along with the corresponding AVM reference software. According to AOMedia, the preview stage included the features needed for encoding so that semiconductor makers could begin hardware design before the final specification was settled. The final specification fixes the core coding tools while allowing for the future addition of profiles and metadata.
However, a completed specification alone does not drive adoption by streaming services or consumer devices. Actual deployment requires implementing both encoders, which compress video, and decoders, which restore it during playback, and verifying performance and compatibility. In AOMedia's guide for IBC 2026, published in September, it was announced that Intel would demonstrate SVT-AV2, an open-source software encoder. Allegro DVT was to address synchronization, multi-layer rendering and conformance testing, while Ittiam planned to introduce an environment for evaluation on many mobile devices.
In the October announcement, too, Intel indicated that it is working on developing SVT-AV2. Netflix and Prime Video, meanwhile, are at the stage of considering adopting AV2, and have not stated that they will begin streaming at the same time as YouTube. Development status differs from company to company, so it would be premature to assume AV2 adoption will advance everywhere at once.
By giving a concrete outlook of early 2027, YouTube has put AV2 on the path from technical development to actual video streaming. However, how much the improved compression efficiency will benefit viewers will depend on supported browsers and devices and on actual delivery settings. Whether the emphasis falls on reducing data usage or on improving quality at the same data usage will also be up to each service. Going forward, clarification of the playback environments that can use AV2, along with verification results on quality and data usage in real streaming, will be key factors in judging how far adoption progresses.