Convert AV1 to MP3 - extract audio
AV1 videos most commonly carry Opus (in WebM containers) or AAC (in MP4) - two different audio codecs behind one wrapper (see Codecs vs containers). Wave discards the video track entirely - never decoding a single AV1 frame - and re-encodes the audio to a portable 192 kbps MP3.
What actually changes
The single best thing about the AV1-to-MP3 path is what Wave doesn't do: it doesn't decode a single frame of AV1. AV1 decoding through libdav1d is fast but still CPU-intensive, and skipping it entirely makes the audio extract complete in seconds rather than minutes. An hour of 4K AV1 becomes an 85 MB MP3 in about 30 seconds on modern hardware, while the equivalent AV1-to-H.264 video conversion of the same file could take 20 minutes.
AV1 sources almost always carry one of two audio codecs. AV1 in WebM (YouTube, most yt-dlp outputs) pairs with Opus - the modern royalty-free audio codec from Xiph. AV1 in MP4 (Netflix, Amazon, some Twitch VODs) pairs with AAC. Wave decodes either and re-encodes to MP3 at 192 kbps through libmp3lame. Both source codecs are more efficient than MP3 at low bitrates, but at 192 kbps MP3 the audible difference on consumer gear is below the perceptual threshold.
AV1 rollouts through 2023-2026 have expanded the search-and-download workflows where AV1 files land on people's disks. yt-dlp defaults to AV1 for premium YouTube content; Vimeo delivers AV1 to browser clients that advertise support; some Twitch VODs and pretty much every Netflix or Amazon Prime download (where the DRM allows) sits behind AV1 encoding. The audio-extract path is the fastest way to pull spoken content (podcast videos, lecture recordings, interview series) into a portable MP3 file.
Opus at Netflix and YouTube bitrates (typically 96-160 kbps stereo) is already transparent to consumer listening; the 192 kbps MP3 output preserves that transparency. AAC at Vimeo and Netflix's typical AV1 bitrates (128-192 kbps stereo) is likewise transparent. If your source is a low-bitrate Opus stream at 32 kbps mono (some voice-only YouTube), the MP3 will not sound better than the source, but every audible sample is preserved.
Three steps.
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Step 1
Drop the AV1 file (typically .mp4 or .webm) onto the card.
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Step 2
Pick MP3 as the output format.
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Step 3
Convert. Save the MP3.
Answers, specifically.
Does the AV1 video track have to decode?
No - and that's the point. Wave discards the video track without ever decoding a frame. The extract is much faster than a full AV1-to-H.264 video conversion of the same source.
Opus vs AAC - which produces the better MP3?
Neither noticeably. At the bitrates AV1 sources typically carry (100-200 kbps stereo), both source codecs are already transparent, and the 192 kbps MP3 preserves them at that same transparency.
yt-dlp AV1 outputs?
Yes. yt-dlp's AV1 download from YouTube produces either .mp4 (AV1 + AAC) or .webm (AV1 + Opus); Wave handles both cleanly.
Netflix AV1 downloads?
Netflix offline downloads are DRM-protected; Wave cannot decode them. Non-DRM AV1 sources (screener copies, self-authored files, YouTube premium downloads) work normally.
AV1 in MKV containers?
Yes. Some yt-dlp variants and manual encodes use MKV as the AV1 container. Wave handles it the same way - it's the audio inside that matters for the extract, not the container itself.
What about 5.1 surround audio inside AV1 sources?
Downmixed to stereo before the MP3 encode. If the AV1 source carries 5.1 or 7.1 audio (some premium Netflix / Amazon downloads), Wave uses the source's downmix coefficients to fold surround into stereo cleanly.
Multiple audio tracks in a movie or show download?
Default-flagged track only. The primary language usually has the default flag set; alternate-language or commentary tracks would need to be extracted with a desktop ffmpeg call.