Netflix is aggressively moving toward (AOMedia Video 1). AV1 is royalty-free and more efficient than HEVC. In 2025-2026, expect "AV1 High" profiles to replace SV1. However, because millions of PCs lack AV1 hardware decoders (only Intel Arc, RTX 30/40 series, and recent AMD GPUs support it), SV1 (HEVC) will remain the standard for high-quality 1080p streaming on PC for at least 3-5 more years.
from the Microsoft Store. Browsers like Chrome and Firefox are often limited to 720p or 1080p. Hardware Acceleration netflix sv1 pc
To get the SV1 profile on your PC, you must pass four tests. Fail any single one, and Netflix will silently downgrade you to the "VMAF" profile (1080p) or even lower. Here is the checklist. Netflix is aggressively moving toward (AOMedia Video 1)