Codec Selection - BitBonsai

Quick Comparison

Choose the right codec for your library based on encoding speed, file size, and device compatibility.

New to video encoding? A codec is the format used to compress video. See the codec glossary entry for a simple explanation.

Feature	HEVC (H.265)	AV1
File Size Reduction	40-60% smaller vs H.264	50-70% smaller vs H.264
Encoding Speed	Fast (CPU/GPU)	Slow (CPU only)
Hardware Acceleration	NVIDIA, Intel, AMD	Limited (Intel Arc only)
Device Compatibility	Widespread (2015+)	Limited (2020+)
Quality at Same Bitrate	Good	Excellent
Browser Playback	Safari, Edge	Chrome, Firefox, Edge
Smart TV Support	Most 2016+ models	Few 2021+ models
Best For	Balanced speed + compatibility	Maximum storage savings

TL;DR: Use HEVC for faster encoding and broad device support. Use AV1 for maximum space savings if you have time and modern playback devices.

When to Use HEVC

HEVC (H.265) is the balanced choice for most users who want significant file size reduction without sacrificing encoding speed or device compatibility.

Ideal Scenarios

Fast Encoding Required

Encoding large libraries (1000+ movies) where time matters more than maximum compression. HEVC encodes 5-20x faster than AV1.

Hardware Encoder Available

NVIDIA RTX 20/30/40 series, Intel 6th gen+, or AMD RX 6000+ GPUs provide 3-10x speedup with NVENC/QSV/VCE hardware acceleration.

Apple Ecosystem

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV all support HEVC natively since 2016. Safari requires HEVC for efficient video streaming.

Smart TV Playback

Most smart TVs from 2016+ support HEVC hardware decoding. Older or budget TVs often lack AV1 support.

HEVC Performance Examples

Hardware	Resolution	Speed	Time for 2-hour movie
Intel i5-12400 (CPU)	1080p	15-25 FPS	45-75 minutes
Intel i9-13900K (CPU)	1080p	30-50 FPS	25-40 minutes
NVIDIA RTX 3060 (GPU)	1080p	60-100 FPS	12-20 minutes
NVIDIA RTX 4090 (GPU)	4K	80-120 FPS	20-30 minutes
Intel i5-12400 (CPU)	4K	5-10 FPS	3-5 hours

Enable hardware acceleration in Settings → Encoding to unlock GPU speeds. HEVC on NVIDIA RTX 3060+ provides near-identical quality to CPU at 5-10x the speed.

HEVC File Size Savings

Typical storage reduction when converting from H.264 to HEVC:

Original Size	Resolution	HEVC Size	Savings
10 GB	1080p BluRay	5-6 GB	40-50%
20 GB	4K BluRay	8-10 GB	50-60%
2 GB	1080p TV Episode	1-1.2 GB	40-50%
50 GB	4K HDR Remux	20-25 GB	50-60%

Real example: A 500-movie library (5 TB H.264) shrinks to 2.5 TB HEVC in 2-3 days with NVIDIA RTX 3060.

When to Use AV1

AV1 delivers maximum compression at the cost of much slower encoding. Best for users with time to spare and modern playback devices.

Ideal Scenarios

Maximum Storage Savings

When disk space is expensive and you prioritize smallest file sizes over encoding speed. AV1 achieves 10-20% better compression than HEVC.

Future-Proofing Library

AV1 is royalty-free and backed by Google, Netflix, Amazon. It’s the long-term successor to HEVC with improving hardware support.

Chrome/Firefox Streaming

Web-based media servers (Plex, Jellyfin, Emby) benefit from AV1’s native support in Chrome/Firefox for efficient browser playback.

Archival Encodes

Encoding a library once for long-term storage where speed doesn’t matter. AV1 provides best quality-per-byte for archival purposes.

AV1 Performance Examples

Hardware	Resolution	Speed	Time for 2-hour movie
Intel i5-12400 (CPU)	1080p	2-5 FPS	4-8 hours
Intel i9-13900K (CPU)	1080p	5-10 FPS	2-4 hours
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (CPU)	1080p	6-12 FPS	1.5-3 hours
Intel i9-13900K (CPU)	4K	1-3 FPS	10-20 hours
Intel Arc A770 (GPU)*	1080p	20-40 FPS	30-60 minutes

AV1 hardware encoding is rare. Only Intel Arc GPUs (2022+) support AV1 encoding acceleration. Most users will encode on CPU at 1/10th the speed of HEVC.

AV1 File Size Savings

Typical storage reduction when converting from H.264 to AV1:

Original Size	Resolution	AV1 Size	Savings
10 GB	1080p BluRay	4-5 GB	50-60%
20 GB	4K BluRay	6-8 GB	60-70%
2 GB	1080p TV Episode	0.8-1 GB	50-60%
50 GB	4K HDR Remux	15-20 GB	60-70%

Real example: A 500-movie library (5 TB H.264) shrinks to 2 TB AV1 but takes 2-3 weeks to encode on Intel i9 CPU.

Quality Settings (CRF Values)

Both HEVC and AV1 use CRF (Constant Rate Factor) to control quality. Lower CRF = higher quality + larger files.

CRF Range	Quality	File Size	Use Case
18-22	Visually Lossless	Large (80-90% of source)	4K HDR archival, reference quality
23-28	High Quality	Medium (40-60% of source)	Recommended for most users
29-35	Acceptable	Small (20-40% of source)	Low-bitrate streaming, mobile
36+	Low Quality	Very Small (10-20% of source)	Not recommended

BitBonsai default: CRF 23 for both HEVC and AV1. This provides transparent quality indistinguishable from the source for most content.

CRF Comparison Examples

Encoding a 10 GB 1080p H.264 BluRay movie:

CRF	HEVC Size	AV1 Size	Quality Notes
18	8 GB	7 GB	Visually identical to source
23	5 GB	4 GB	Transparent quality (default)
28	3 GB	2.5 GB	Minor banding in dark scenes
33	1.5 GB	1.2 GB	Visible compression artifacts

How to adjust CRF: Settings → Encoding → Quality → CRF slider. Lower for archival quality, higher for streaming/mobile libraries.

Content Type	Recommended CRF	Reasoning
4K HDR Movies	20-23	High detail, large screen viewing
1080p Movies	23-26	Balanced quality and size
TV Shows	24-28	Fast-paced action, smaller screens
Animation	20-24	Flat colors compress well, benefit from high quality
Old DVDs	28-32	Source already low quality, no benefit from low CRF

Hardware Transcoding

Hardware encoding uses GPU/iGPU for 3-10x speedup vs CPU. Quality is slightly lower but visually transparent for most content.

What is hardware transcoding? Using your graphics card to encode videos 5-10x faster than CPU-only encoding. See hardware acceleration in the glossary.

NVIDIA NVENC (GeForce/RTX)

Supported cards: GTX 1650+, RTX 20/30/40 series Codecs: HEVC only (no AV1 on consumer cards) Performance: 5-10x faster than CPU Quality: Near-identical to CPU at default settings Setup:

Install NVIDIA drivers 450+
Settings → Encoding → Hardware Acceleration → Enable NVENC
Select HEVC codec
Start encoding (GPU usage visible in nvidia-smi)

GPU Model	1080p Speed	4K Speed	Max Concurrent Jobs
GTX 1660	40-60 FPS	10-15 FPS	2-3
RTX 3060	60-100 FPS	20-30 FPS	3-4
RTX 4070	80-120 FPS	30-40 FPS	4-5
RTX 4090	100-150 FPS	40-60 FPS	5-6

NVENC quality tip: Use preset p7 (slowest) for best quality. Only 10-20% slower than p4 but significantly better quality.

Intel Quick Sync (QSV)

Supported CPUs: Intel 6th gen (Skylake) to 14th gen (Raptor Lake) Codecs: HEVC, AV1 (Arc GPUs only) Performance: 3-8x faster than CPU Quality: Good (slightly lower than NVENC) Setup:

Enable iGPU in BIOS (may require dummy HDMI plug)
Settings → Encoding → Hardware Acceleration → Enable QSV
Select HEVC codec
Docker: Pass /dev/dri device to container

CPU/GPU Model	1080p Speed	4K Speed	AV1 Support
Intel i5-12400	30-50 FPS	8-12 FPS	No
Intel i9-13900K	40-70 FPS	12-18 FPS	No
Intel Arc A380	50-80 FPS	15-25 FPS	Yes (AV1)
Intel Arc A770	80-120 FPS	25-40 FPS	Yes (AV1)

Intel Arc is the only consumer GPU with AV1 encoding. If you want fast AV1 encodes, Arc A380/A750/A770 is your best option.

AMD VCE/VCN

Supported GPUs: RX 5000 series (VCN), RX 6000/7000 series (VCN 2.0/3.0) Codecs: HEVC only (no AV1) Performance: 3-6x faster than CPU Quality: Lower than NVENC/QSV (noticeable in complex scenes) Setup:

Install AMD drivers
Settings → Encoding → Hardware Acceleration → Enable VCE
Docker: Pass /dev/dri and /dev/kfd devices

GPU Model	1080p Speed	4K Speed	Notes
RX 6600 XT	30-50 FPS	8-12 FPS	VCN 3.0
RX 6800 XT	40-70 FPS	12-18 FPS	VCN 3.0
RX 7900 XTX	50-80 FPS	15-25 FPS	VCN 3.0

AMD hardware encoders have lower quality than NVIDIA/Intel. Recommended only for non-critical encodes or when NVENC/QSV unavailable.

Hardware vs CPU Quality Comparison

Encoder	Quality	Speed	Recommendation
CPU (x264/x265)	Excellent	Slow	Use for archival quality, small batches
NVENC (NVIDIA)	Near-identical	Very Fast	Best balance of speed + quality
QSV (Intel)	Good	Fast	Great for large batches, slightly lower quality
VCE (AMD)	Fair	Fast	Last resort, noticeable quality drop

Codec Compatibility Matrix

Playback Device Support

Device	HEVC (H.265)	AV1
iPhone/iPad	✅ Yes (iOS 11+)	❌ No
Mac (Apple Silicon)	✅ Yes (hardware decode)	✅ Yes (M3+, software)
Mac (Intel)	✅ Yes (7th gen+)	❌ No
Apple TV	✅ Yes (4K model+)	❌ No
Android Phone	✅ Yes (Android 5.0+)	⚠️ Partial (Android 10+, software)
Windows PC	✅ Yes	✅ Yes (software decode)
Chromebook	⚠️ Partial (software)	✅ Yes (native support)

Smart TV Support

TV Brand	HEVC (H.265)	AV1
Samsung	✅ 2016+ models	⚠️ 2020+ high-end models only
LG	✅ 2016+ models	⚠️ 2019+ OLED models only
Sony	✅ 2016+ models	⚠️ 2021+ select models
TCL	✅ 2017+ models	⚠️ 2020+ Roku models
Vizio	✅ 2016+ models	❌ No

AV1 smart TV support is extremely limited. If you watch on TV, use HEVC for guaranteed hardware decoding. AV1 may software-decode (slow, stuttering).

Browser Support

Browser	HEVC (H.265)	AV1
Chrome	⚠️ Windows 10+ only (software)	✅ Yes (native)
Firefox	❌ No (licensing issues)	✅ Yes (native)
Safari	✅ Yes (native, hardware)	⚠️ Partial (macOS 14+, software)
Edge	✅ Yes (native)	✅ Yes (native)

For web streaming (Plex, Jellyfin): Use HEVC if users watch in Safari/Edge, AV1 if primarily Chrome/Firefox.

Media Server Support

Server	HEVC (H.265)	AV1
Plex	✅ Direct play + transcode	✅ Direct play (transcoding experimental)
Jellyfin	✅ Full support	✅ Full support (10.8+)
Emby	✅ Full support	⚠️ Partial support
Kodi	✅ Yes (hardware decode)	✅ Yes (19.0+, software)
VLC	✅ Yes	✅ Yes (3.0+)

Decision Flowchart

Recommended Presets

Fast Balanced (HEVC + GPU)

Best for: Large libraries, broad device support, fast encoding

Codec: HEVC
CRF: 23
Hardware: NVENC/QSV
Speed: 60-100 FPS (1080p)
Encoding time: 500 movies in 2-3 days
File size: 40-50% reduction

Maximum Compression (AV1 + CPU)

Best for: Small libraries, archival, modern devices

Codec: AV1
CRF: 23
Hardware: CPU only
Speed: 2-5 FPS (1080p)
Encoding time: 500 movies in 2-3 weeks
File size: 50-60% reduction

Ultra Quality Archival (HEVC + Low CRF)

Best for: Reference quality, 4K HDR collection

Codec: HEVC
CRF: 18-20
Hardware: CPU or NVENC p7
Speed: 10-30 FPS (4K)
Encoding time: 100 4K movies in 1 week
File size: 20-30% reduction (high quality)

Fast Streaming (HEVC + High CRF)

Best for: Mobile/web streaming, non-critical content

Codec: HEVC
CRF: 28-30
Hardware: NVENC/QSV
Speed: 80-120 FPS (1080p)
Encoding time: 500 movies in 1-2 days
File size: 60-70% reduction (lower quality)

Hardware Requirements - Check GPU compatibility
First Library Scan - Queue videos for encoding
Monitoring Progress - Track encoding stats
Multi-Node Setup - Speed up encoding with workers

​Quick Comparison

​When to Use HEVC

​Ideal Scenarios

Fast Encoding Required

Hardware Encoder Available

Apple Ecosystem

Smart TV Playback

​HEVC Performance Examples

​HEVC File Size Savings

​When to Use AV1

​Ideal Scenarios

Maximum Storage Savings

Future-Proofing Library

Chrome/Firefox Streaming

Archival Encodes

​AV1 Performance Examples

​AV1 File Size Savings

​Quality Settings (CRF Values)

​CRF Comparison Examples

​Recommended CRF by Content Type

​Hardware Transcoding

​NVIDIA NVENC (GeForce/RTX)

​Intel Quick Sync (QSV)

​AMD VCE/VCN

​Hardware vs CPU Quality Comparison

​Codec Compatibility Matrix

​Playback Device Support

​Smart TV Support

​Browser Support

​Media Server Support

​Decision Flowchart

​Recommended Presets

​Fast Balanced (HEVC + GPU)

​Maximum Compression (AV1 + CPU)

​Ultra Quality Archival (HEVC + Low CRF)

​Fast Streaming (HEVC + High CRF)

​Related Guides

Quick Comparison

When to Use HEVC

Ideal Scenarios

HEVC Performance Examples

HEVC File Size Savings

When to Use AV1

Ideal Scenarios

AV1 Performance Examples

AV1 File Size Savings

Quality Settings (CRF Values)

CRF Comparison Examples

Recommended CRF by Content Type

Hardware Transcoding

NVIDIA NVENC (GeForce/RTX)

Intel Quick Sync (QSV)

AMD VCE/VCN

Hardware vs CPU Quality Comparison

Codec Compatibility Matrix

Playback Device Support

Smart TV Support

Browser Support

Media Server Support

Decision Flowchart

Recommended Presets

Fast Balanced (HEVC + GPU)

Maximum Compression (AV1 + CPU)

Ultra Quality Archival (HEVC + Low CRF)

Fast Streaming (HEVC + High CRF)

Related Guides