How to Encode AV1 Video with HandBrake

The essential answer

HandBrake can encode an existing video file to AV1 by opening that file, choosing a container, selecting an AV1 encoder on the Video tab, setting quality or bitrate, then starting the encode. The job is finished when HandBrake reports the encode complete and the new file plays with picture and sound in a player that supports AV1.

Two distinctions change what that answer means. HandBrake is a file transcoder: it reads a source file and writes a new file. It is not a webcam preview, a call app, or a live-capture tool, so this path does not test a camera, a microphone, or a video call. Encoding to AV1 is also separate from playing AV1: a successful encode produces an AV1 bitstream; playback still depends on the player and the operating system supporting that bitstream.

What to set before you start

Open the source in HandBrake and keep the original until you have checked the output. Pick a container the encoder and your player both accept; MKV is the usual match for AV1, and MP4 is usable only when that HandBrake build and your player both allow AV1 in MP4. On the Video tab, choose an encoder whose name includes AV1. If the encoder list has no AV1 option, that build cannot do this job until you use a version that includes an AV1 encoder.

Then set quality or bitrate, keep audio unless you intend a silent file, and start the encode. Success is an output file whose size is greater than empty, whose duration matches the source (unless you trimmed it), and that plays with visible picture. If the player shows a black frame, no video track, or an unsupported-codec message, the file is not a working AV1 encode for that player, even if HandBrake finished without an error.

• Open the source video file in HandBrake.
• Choose an output folder and a container that can hold AV1.
• On the Video tab, select an AV1 encoder from the encoder list.
• Set constant quality or a bitrate; leave the rest of the video tab at defaults unless you have a reason to change them.
• Keep or configure an audio track, then start the encode.
• When HandBrake marks the job complete, open the new file in an AV1-capable player and confirm picture and sound.

Choices that change the file

The encoder name in the list is the first fork. Software AV1 encoders such as an SVT-AV1 option encode on the CPU and work on a wide range of machines. A hardware AV1 option, if one appears, uses a compatible GPU or media engine and only exists when HandBrake detects that encoder on your system. If no hardware AV1 item is listed, use the software AV1 encoder; do not assume a graphics card that can play AV1 can also encode it inside HandBrake.

Quality versus speed is the second fork. A quality-based (constant quality) encode aims for a stable visual level and lets file size vary. A bitrate-based encode aims for a size or bandwidth budget and lets quality vary. AV1 encodes are typically slower than H.264 at the same resolution; a long source at a slow preset can run for a long time. Preset names and quality numbers differ by encoder and by HandBrake version, so treat any number you copy from another guide as unverified until you check one short clip from your own source.

Limits and gaps

This guide does not include a verified HandBrake version number, exact encoder menu labels, a recommended quality (RF) or bitrate figure, or a measured encode-time or quality comparison. Those values were not supplied as evidence here, and they change with the encoder, the preset, the resolution, and the source. Check the Video encoder list in your installed HandBrake to see whether AV1 is present, encode a short sample first, and confirm playback in the player you actually use.