The Alliance for Open Media's (AOMedia) AV1 codec, touted as the future of online streaming, has failed to gain widespread adoption despite being backed by tech giants like Netflix, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta. The codec, which promises to deliver higher-quality video at a lower bandwidth, has been around since 2015, but its adoption has been slow due to technical limitations and competing standards.

AV1's advantages over other codecs like H.264 (AVC) and H.265 (HEVC) are undeniable. It is around 30% more efficient, allowing for higher-quality video at a lower bandwidth. Additionally, AOMedia claims that AV1 is royalty-free, meaning streaming device makers and video providers won't have to pay patent holders for using the technology. However, despite these benefits, many major streaming services, including Max, Peacock, and Paramount Plus, have yet to adopt AV1.

One of the main reasons for the slow adoption is hardware. For AV1 to work properly, a device needs to have the hardware to support it, or otherwise run potentially resource-intensive software that can handle decoding AV1 content instead. While many devices, including TVs, phones, and streaming devices, have adopted AV1 decoders, not every device maker has been keen to adopt the standard. Roku, for instance, accused Google of coercing the company into supporting AV1 in 2021, claiming it would drive up costs to consumers.

Another challenge facing AV1 is the complexity of encoding and decoding. According to Larry Pearlstein, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the College of New Jersey, "In order to get its best features, you have to accept a much higher encoding complexity... But there is also higher decoding complexity, and that is on the consumer end." This complexity can lead to issues with phone battery life, as some users on YouTube have reported.

AV1 also faces competition from other standards, such as VVC (H.266), which was developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and the Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG). VVC promises to compress video using 50% less data compared to HEVC, a bit more than AV1's promise of 30% efficiency savings. However, unlike AV1, VVC isn't royalty-free.

Despite these challenges, AOMedia and its adopters are pushing ahead with AV1 as the future of online streaming. According to Pierre-Anthony Lemieux, the executive director of AOMedia, "AV1 is going to be here for forever, probably... But of course, our members are working on the next big thing, and I expect something later this year." However, the uncertainty surrounding AV1's royalty-free claim, with some patent pools claiming royalties on patents used by AV1, may continue to hinder its adoption.

The European Union also opened up an investigation into AOMedia's licensing policy in 2022 over concerns that its "mandatory royalty-free cross licensing" agreement could stifle innovation. Although the Commission closed its investigation in 2023, the uncertainty still lingers.

In conclusion, while AV1 has the potential to revolutionize online streaming, its adoption has been slow due to technical limitations and competing standards. Despite the backing of tech giants, AV1 still faces significant challenges that need to be addressed before it can become the ubiquitous standard it was meant to be.