AV1 VR videos

18 days ago

The AV1 video format is now the default codec at DeoVR. This state-of-the-art codec provides improved visual quality and streaming efficiency, meaning a dramatic increase in quality. Download samples below and see the first AV1 scene from VRO FILMS at DeoVR.

AV1: Better quality & more reliable VR Streaming

A few months ago, we rolled out the AV1 codec, and the results are in - streaming has never been smoother. Compared to HEVC (h265), AV1 delivers major performance boosts:

Faster loading – Videos now open ~25% quicker
Improved seeking – Scrubbing through videos is 2-5% faster
Fewer interruptions – High-res videos experience 2.5x fewer stalls, while low-res playback sees up to 4x fewer⚡
Reduced end-of-video freezes – If a video stalls at the end, the delay is three times shorter ⚡

AV1 is proving to be a solid step forward, enhancing both quality and reliability for VR streaming.

Examine the data: AV1 VS HEVC:

* Data taken from DeoVR app

VRO FILMS in AV1

The first VRO FILMS AV1 scene is now live:

AV1 at DeoVR

DeoVR fully supports the new AV1 codec and our video library is currently being converted to AV1 - this means better quality, with around 30% lower bitrate than the HEVC codec. More efficient streaming and lower memory costs.

The Quest 3 and Quest 3S headsets fully support AV1. DeoVR will automatically detect if your headset can support AV1 and apply it. Support for the Apple Vision Pro is coming soon.

What is AV1 and why is it better?

AV1 provides equal video quality at a lower bit rate. This means a smaller filesize, which in turn means greatly improved streaming properties for high-quality video, reduced bandwidth costs and a major boost for those users with less-than-ideal internet connections.

As well as this vastly improved efficiency, it is open source with a royalty-free algorithm, making it free-to-use for everyone, worldwide.

Creators: uploading AV1

If you're a creator, using AV1 is easy.

Simply export your master file in AV1 at the highest original quality and up to 200Mbps CBR
Then upload to DeoVR as normal
That's it! We do all the HEVC transcodings to make them play on every headset

Creators: exporting AV1 video from your VR editing software

We've created a tutorial explaining how to export VR content in AV1 using popular tools like DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, FFmpeg, and CapCut.

AV1 video samples at DeoVR

Want to see the quality of AV1 and streaming efficiency for yourself?

Download or stream this short video: AV1 2900p (2m06s).
Lower resolution version: AV1 1920p

Play in your VR headset and let us know your thoughts at the DeoVR forum.

Playing AV1 video with PCVR

To play AV1 videos in DeoVR using PCVR, you'll need to install the AV1 Video Extension from the Microsoft app store. It's completely free and this will enable AV1 video playback support for the DeoVR Steam app. Windows 10 and above.

Future plans

We will also perform comparisons looking at the performance, quality and device support of the VP9 codec vs h265. There is more information about the differences between the AV1 and VP9 codecs at this blog.

Join in the conversation over on Facebook!