AV1 to Opus Converter

How to Extract Opus Audio from AV1 Video

1. Upload Your AV1 Files: Drag and drop your .av1 (or AV1-in-MP4/MKV/WebM) clips, or click "+ Add Files" to browse. Batch uploads are supported — every file inherits the same settings.
2. Pick Quality Preset or Custom Bitrate: Default "Highest" preset re-encodes Opus around 256 kbps VBR. Switch to Custom Bitrate for a value between 6 and 510 kbps, or set a target file size as a percentage of the source. Constant Bitrate (CBR) is available for streaming pipelines that need fixed packet sizes.
3. Set Audio Channel, Sample Rate, and Trim (Optional): Channels default to ORIGINAL — force mono to halve file size for voice content, or pick stereo. Sample Rate defaults to ORIGINAL; Opus internally resamples to 48 kHz regardless of input. Use Trim to set a start time and duration if you only need a clip.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert". Files process in your browser session — no sign-up, no watermark, no queue.

Why Extract Opus from AV1?

AV1 (AOMedia Video 1) is the royalty-free video codec finalized by the Alliance for Open Media in June 2018, designed as the successor to VP9 and a competitor to HEVC. Opus is the royalty-free audio codec standardized by the IETF as RFC 6716 in September 2012, combining Xiph.Org's CELT (music) and Skype's SILK (speech) under a hybrid design. Both formats share open licensing, but they serve different layers of a media file — pulling Opus out of an AV1 video gives you a tiny, high-quality audio-only file for downstream use.

• YouTube downloads and re-encoding — YouTube delivers AV1 video paired with Opus audio over DASH/WebM. Extracting the Opus track lets you keep the original audio quality without a lossy AAC re-encode.
• WebRTC and VoIP pipelines — Opus is the mandatory audio codec for WebRTC, used by Google Meet, Zoom Web, Jitsi, Discord, and WhatsApp voice notes. Keep the audio in Opus to avoid double-transcoding.
• Podcast and voice content — Opus at 24-32 kbps mono produces clear, intelligible speech — roughly half the bitrate of MP3 for the same perceived quality, ideal for narrow-bandwidth distribution.
• Music archival at small sizes — Opus at 96-128 kbps is generally transparent for music to most listeners and beats AAC at the same bitrate below ~96 kbps, per public listening tests cited in the codec's spec.
• Audio-only versions of video tutorials — strip the picture, keep the lecture or commentary as a .opus or .ogg file that loads instantly on mobile.
• WebM authoring — when you re-encode video later, having a clean Opus master avoids generation loss compared to extracting AAC/MP3 and re-encoding back to Opus.

AV1 + Opus vs Other Format Pairs

Opus Bitrate Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the extracted Opus track sound resampled to 48 kHz when my AV1 source said 44.1 kHz?

Opus internally operates at 48 kHz and resamples any other input to that rate during encoding, per the RFC 6716 spec. Even if you select 44.1 kHz in the Sample Rate dropdown, the decoder will play it back at 48 kHz. This is a property of the codec, not the converter. For audio mastering work where sample rate matters, extract to FLAC or WAV instead.

Should I keep the Opus track or re-encode to MP3 for compatibility?

Keep Opus if your target playback environment is modern browsers, Android, VLC, or any WebRTC-based app — all support Opus natively. Re-encode to MP3 only when you need iOS pre-iOS 17, older car stereos, or hardware MP3 players. For Apple-ecosystem playback you may want AAC instead; see AAC to Opus for the reverse direction.

Why is the output sometimes larger than I expected for a short clip?

Opus uses VBR by default and reserves a higher bitrate when the audio is complex (multi-instrument music, dense ambient noise). Speech-only content compresses dramatically smaller. If you need a predictable file size, switch to Constant Bitrate mode or set a specific target file size.

Can I just get the audio without re-encoding it?

If your AV1 file already has an Opus audio track (common in YouTube WebM downloads), our converter will detect this and remux without re-encoding when you keep the Audio Codec on its default. That preserves bit-exact quality. If you change the bitrate, sample rate, or channel count, re-encoding is required.

Why does my AV1 file fail to upload but my friend's MP4 works fine?

True bare .av1 elementary streams are uncommon and not all players or pipelines parse them. Most "AV1 video" in the wild is AV1 encoded inside an MP4, MKV, or WebM container. Rename the file with the correct extension (or use AV1 to MP4 first to rewrap) and re-upload.

What's the difference between picking Opus quality "Highest" and setting Custom Bitrate to 256 kbps?

The "Highest" preset targets roughly 256 kbps VBR stereo, which is the YouTube Music Premium tier and considered overkill-transparent for music. Setting Custom Bitrate to exactly 256 kbps gives you a tighter bound — useful if you're feeding the file into a system with bitrate ceilings. For most listeners the audible difference between the two is none.

Will Opus play in iOS Safari and the iPhone Music app?

Safari on iOS 17+ and macOS Sonoma+ supports Opus inside CAF and Ogg containers. The native Music app does not import Opus — for iPhone Music library use, convert to AAC/M4A. Web playback via Safari works fine on any iOS 17+ device.

Can I extract Opus from an AV1-encoded screen recording or game capture?

Yes — OBS Studio, NVIDIA ShadowPlay, and AMD ReLive can all produce AV1+Opus output that this tool reads. If your capture used AAC audio instead of Opus, the output of this conversion will be re-encoded Opus, not a passthrough. To trim a specific section of game commentary, use the Audio Cutter after extraction.

How much smaller is the Opus track compared to the original AV1 file?

For a typical 1080p YouTube clip, video accounts for 95-98% of the file. A 100 MB AV1+Opus video will usually yield a 2-5 MB Opus-only file at the same audio bitrate. If you need the audio even smaller, drop to 64 kbps stereo or 32 kbps mono — see the bitrate guide above. The Compress Opus page covers further size reduction after extraction.