A 2026 industry survey conducted by NETINT indicates that 57% of organizations are currently using or planning to deploy AV1, significantly outpacing the 33% adoption rate for H.266/VVC. The report highlights that while AV1 is gaining traction for web delivery, H.266/VVC adoption is hindered by licensing costs and limited hardware support.
The widening gap between these two next-generation codecs suggests that the streaming industry is prioritizing ecosystem readiness and predictable cost structures over marginal gains in compression efficiency. While H.266/VVC offers technical advantages for 8K and immersive 360-degree video, the lack of transparent licensing is relegating it to controlled, high-end environments rather than the open web. This trend reinforces the dominance of the Alliance for Open Media in setting the standard for internet-facing delivery. As toolchains for AV1 mature, the focus for engineers will shift from basic compatibility to optimizing encoding compute costs. Watch for whether VVC licensing bodies simplify royalty structures in 2027 to prevent becoming a niche standard for specialized hardware only.
AV1 adoption has reached 57% combined production and planned usage for 2026, significantly outpacing H.266/VVC. This shift highlights that the streaming industry prioritizes ecosystem readiness and predictable costs over marginal compression gains. Consequently, AV1 is becoming the standard for internet-facing delivery, while VVC remains limited to specialized, high-end environments.
AV1 has reached 17% production usage, with an additional 40% of organizations planning deployments by 2026, totaling 57%.
H.266/VVC adoption is hindered by licensing complexities and royalties, which are a barrier for 44% of evaluators, alongside limited hardware support.
Hardware decode support remains the primary technical hurdle, affecting 54% of AV1 users and 59% of VVC users.
H.266/VVC offers technical advantages for 8K and immersive 360-degree video, making it suitable for controlled, high-end environments.
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