How to use the AVIF Format
AV1 Image File Format also known as AVIF is a specification for storing still and animated images compressed with AV1 in the HEIF file format. It is basically a super compressed image type. AV1 is the royalty-free video coding format that is believed to be the next step in media compression.
The format was developed by the Alliance in collaboration with Google, Cisco and Xiph.org. This was created to be an open-source and royalty-free image format.
Even video-streaming giant Netflix is currently using AV1 which is superior to JPEG, PNG and even the newer Webp image formats for its image quality compressed file size ratio.
AVIF cannot be matched since it currently has many technical advantages and is seen as the next step in high-quality compression. Being a royalty-free product, adoption is much cheaper and improvements can be accomplished more quickly.
February 2019, AVIF version 1.0.0 was released and approved. Since then it has been used in production. It has support features such as “ high dynamic range” and “wide color gamut” to make it the most technically advanced form of high-quality picture compression. HDR and wide color gamut is akin to what people now call “Ultra High Definition” photos and videos
How to use the AVIF format
AVIF application has to do with producing high quality compressed photos that lose very little quality during the compression process. A compressed photo will take less time to download from the internet than a full-size photo but should maintain the same quality level.
It speeds up page loading time, increasing storage capabilities, and allows web pages to be accessed in low-speed areas.
Most web browsers do not currently support this type of image format. Its image format cannot be downloaded by Chrome, Firefox, or Explorer. But that hasn’t stopped it from being used in video decoding. It is currently still being used, worked on, and improved by Microsoft, Netflix, Google and a host of other companies.
AVIF can be used in web development. As of August 25, 2020, AVIF is supported in Chrome 85 and enabled using a feature flag in Firefox 80.
The AVIF format is very flexible in that it supports any image codec, can be lossy or lossless. It also has the ability to use an alpha channel (transparency for UI and design elements), and even has the ability to store a series of animated frames (think lightweight high-quality animated GIFs).
Even though AVIF isn’t supported everywhere yet, we can use the format in native HTML with the picture image element. If the browser doesn’t support (picture) at all, it will fall back to using the default image.
Advantages of AVIF over other formats
- It supports transparency, HDR, and wide color gamut.
- It provides the highest compression possible especially in low bit rates.
- It was created in a royalty-free format which will make adoptions and usage much easier.
- It has the backing and resources of huge technology companies like Google, Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft and many others.
How to Convert AVIF
AVIF has more potential to change the world of image compression than anything else out there but that potential is still a long way from being reached.
Filestar makes it possible to convert this new format to 100+ file formats. And before the file is adopted by all major browsers, you’ll have to rely on a file conversion tool to view the file. With Filestar, you can convert it to popular formats like WebP, GIFs, JPEG, or PNG in a snap. Here is how you can go about it.
Convert AVIF to JPEG
- Download and install the latest version of Filestar.
- Right-click on one or more Avif file(s) on your desktop and select Convert with Filestar.
- Type convert to jpeg in the search box.
- Press Convert.
And you can follow these steps to convert AVIF to any format.