The AV1 codec was introduced to improve coding efficiency and has gained prominence recently due to its adoption in browsers, mobile devices, smart TVs, OTTs, etc. The AV1 codec helps viewers stream YouTube, Netflix, and other popular streaming platforms to get UHD 4K AV1 videos. If you are seeking a reliable AV1 converter, check out these top 5 picks for free AV1 converters.

Depending on your preferences, you can easily convert AV1 videos to other formats or vice versa with the help of the top 5 free AV1 converters.

Contents

• What is the AV1 Codec?
• Top 5 Free AV1 Converters
• Additional Tip: Record gameplay/video/screen in AV1

What is the AV1 Codec?

The AV1 codec, also known as AV1 or AOMedia Video 1, was developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia). It is an open-source video codec that was developed to achieve efficient compression with lossless, high-quality video encoding. AV1 codec was developed for better compressions at lossless video quality. As a versatile codec, AV1 is gaining widespread popularity for video streaming, video conferencing, and virtual reality.

• Compatible Web Browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge
• OTT Platforms and Streaming Services: YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Twitch, etc.

Top 5 Free AV1 Converters

Here’s a list of the top 5 free AV1 converters to help you make a well-informed decision based on their output quality, main features, and hardware acceleration.

Note: Hardware acceleration with an internal GPU (of the CPU or a graphics card) can reduce the system load and enable quick video editing.

#1. Bandicut

Bandicut is a video editor and AV1 converter specially developed for beginners. It is simple to install, quite easy to learn, and quick to work with. If you have an AMD or Intel graphic card that supports AV1 codec, you can convert videos to AV1 in Bandicut to reduce size while enhancing quality. After opening a video file in Bandicut, select AV1 or another codec of your choice in the ‘Encoding Mode Settings.’

Bandicut helps cut specific video parts or merge multiple clips. Because it cuts videos without re-encoding, it is easy to quickly clip/trim video parts while keeping the original video quality. Furthermore, you can extract audio from video to MP3, create video clips, and even upload them to social media sites.

Key Features

• Fast video cutter and easy video merger
• Splits large video into smaller video clips
• Supports multiple file formats like MOV, MP4, M4V
• Cuts videos at lossless quality
• Supports hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, and AV1 video encoders 

Operating system: Windows PC only

#2. Shutter Encoder

Shutter Encoder is a powerful, cross-platform, and free AV1 converter developed based on FFmpeg but designed to be more intuitive. Users can import videos encoded with both old and recent codecs and export in AV1, VP9, VP8, H.265, and H.264. You can also fine-tune and cut videos before converting.

Key Features

• Simple and easy-to-use interface
• Gives control over encoding
• Trims/cuts videos and helps add logos/watermarks
• Fine-tunes images with powerful cropping support
• Generates and burns in clip information

Operating system: Windows PC and macOS

#3. HandBrake

Handbrake is an open-source, free, cross-platform AV1 converter that rolled out support for AV1 codec in v1.3.0 by adding libdav1d, an AV1 decoder from VideoLan. This allows HandBrake only to read but not encode AV1 videos. While HandBrake is a popular video transcoding program with rich and powerful features, its user interface may appear complicated to beginners. Ensure that you update Handbrake to the latest version, or else you may not be able to convert AV1 videos.

Key Features

• Offers built-in device presets
• Supports common multimedia files, DVD, and Blu-ray sources
• Supports many output formats like file containers, video/audio encoders, audio Pass-thru, etc.
• Allows batch scan and encoding queues
• Support for VFR and CFR

Operating system: Windows PC, macOS, and Linux

#4. Convertio

Convertio is an online and free AV1 converter that can efficiently decode and transcode AOM AV1 to HEVC or H.264. However, compared to desktop converter software, Convertio is less capable of using your GPU, resulting in slower speeds. While its intuitive browser-based interface makes converting AV1 videos a breeze, the generated output quality is a bit lossy. It cannot convert AVI in bulk and requires stable and fast networks.

Key Features

• Supports multiple formats like MP4, WMV, MOV, AV1, HEVC, H.264
• The files are encrypted in transit and stored on Amazon S3 servers
• Allows easy conversion of AV1 video files to other formats and vice versa
• Supports encoding/decoding in more than 200 formats
• Runs in the cloud, so there is no formal download and installation

Operating system: Windows PC, macOS, and Linux

#5. Office-Converter

Office File Converter is another free AV1 converter that supports converting AV1 codec in over 400 formats. Unfortunately, it does not have hardware-accelerated technology, so the conversion speed is quite slow. Though the software’s user interface is quite simple, it does not perform any video editing function other than conversion. Moreover, the generated video output is lossy.

Key Features

• Supports over 400 file conversion formats
• Supports almost all audio, video, document, ebook, image, spreadsheet, presentation, and archive formats
• Ensures data safety and security
• Provides high-quality conversions
• The conversions can be adjusted to users’ needs, such as quality settings

Operating system: Web-based software

Additional Tip: Record gameplay/video/screen in AV1

Bandicam supports a hardware-accelerated H.264/HEVC/AV1 (NVIDIA, Intel, AMD) codec. You can record gameplay, videos, and anything on your computer screen with a high compression ratio using the AV1 codec.

Summary

We have discussed the top 5 free AV1 converters in detail, covering their features, pros, and cons. You can choose the one that best matches your needs, or give Bandicut a try, as its user-friendly interface also offers amazing video editing features.

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