What are AVIF images?

Where AVIF images originate, and when they are used.

What is AVIF?

AV1 Image File Format (AVIF) is an open, royalty-free image file format for storing images or image sequences compressed with AV1 in the HEIF container format. It was developed as a part of the AV1 video coding format by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia). It offers improved compression efficiency with better image quality than existing formats and there is a growing number of programs that support it natively.

What are AVIF images and what do we use it for

The features of AVIF

AVIF has been supported in ISO Base Media Format File Format and defines the maximum image quality with the selected profile:

  • AVIF Baseline profile for images with up to 8K resolution (when used in AV1 this corresponds to the level 5.1 or lower).
  • AVIF Advanced profile for images with up to 16K resolution (when used in AV1 this corresponds to the level 6.0 or higher).

AVIF has the following features:

  • Multiple color spaces, including HDR (High dynamic range), SDR (Standard dynamic range) and color space signalling via CICP (Coding-independent code points) or ICC profiles (International Color Consortium).
  • Lossless and lossy compression.
  • 8-, 10- and 12-bit color depths.
  • Monochrome (alpha/depth) or multi-components.
  • 4:2:0, 4:2:2, 4:4:4 chroma and RGB subsampling.
  • Film grain.

AVIF Support

Software type Name Since version
Web browsers Firefox 93
Chrome 85
Opera 71
Android Browser 100
Opera Mobile 64
Chrome for Android 100
Firefox for Android 99
Samsung Internet 14.0
Image viewers XnView 0.96
gThumb 3.11.4
ImageMagick 7.0.25
IrfanView 4.56
Media player VLC 4.0
Image editors Paint.net September 2019
GIMP 2.10.22
Krita 5.0
Other PHP 8.1
Exiftool 11.79

Did you find this article helpful?

0 out of 0 Bunnies found this article helpful

Glossary

Encoding

The act of transferring or saving information into a usable file format.

Prove your Knowledge.
Earn a bunny diploma.

Test your knowledge in our Junior and Master Quizes to see where you stand. Prove your mastery by getting A+ and recieving a diploma.

Start the QuizBunny with a diploma.