Every device on earth plays x264. Your iPhone 16, your Grandma’s 2012 laptop, your smart fridge. Try playing AV1 on a smart fridge. You can't. x264 is the universal language.
Will it eventually fade? Yes. When 8K becomes the norm and devices catch up, AV1 or VVC will take the crown. But today? Right now? shot caller x264
If you have ever torrented a movie, ripped a DVD, or tried to shrink a 4K video file down to a manageable size, you have met the silent king of compression: x264 . Every device on earth plays x264