Chrome and Firefox will support the open source free AVIF image format

The AVIF image format is an open-source and free technical standard launched by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) and belongs to the same source as the AV1 video codec technology.

The AOMedia previously worked with multiple manufacturers and developers to develop the AV1 standard. Currently, the AV1 standard has been compatible with some systems and software.

The open image format AVIF is also developed based on the AV1 codec technology, which has the characteristics of high efficiency and convenience, as well as free support for commercial use by individuals and enterprises.

As early as December 2018, Microsoft and Netflix tested the AVIF image format, but now browser giants Google and Firefox will begin to support this image format.

According to the news released by Google and Mozilla, Chrome and Firefox will support the open-source free AVIF format in a new version launched next month.

In fact, the original Chrome and Firefox browsers were planned to support it at the beginning of this year, but the development progress was slow due to the coronavirus epidemic, so the support of this format can only be postponed.

Mozilla said that from the Firefox browser beta released next month, consumers will be able to enable the AVIF experimental project to obtain support for the image format.

Chromium browser will also be supported next month, which means that such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, etc. can also be supported.

Google engineers also mentioned that adding support for the AVIF image format does not require functional testing because it believes that the risk of adding this new feature is relatively low.

Via: ZDNet