The Windows 10 team has been throwing a few granular features into its pot of testing previews over the past few releases in preparation for its bi-annual Update release cycle for the 2019 calendar year.
A new feature that’s being tested is (more like an extension, however) File Explorer and Microsoft Paint support for AVIF images. Not to be confused with Paint 3D, the O.G. Microsoft Paint, which will presumably be replaced by Paint 3D at some point in the future, will now be among the core Windows file support platforms to allow users to view, arrange and organize this newer video image hybrid format.
AVIF support has been seeded to Insiders in several 19H1 builds but hasn’t been a highlighted featured on many of the preview release blogs from the Windows teams. A GitHub developer named AOMediaCodec posted about AVIF’s appearance with the following details,
Windows File Explorer can show AVIF thumbnails, display Exif metadata and preview AVIF images. Requires the Windows 10 “19h1” preview release, which can be obtained from the Windows Insider program, and the AV1 Video Extension.
MSPaint.exe. The “Paint” app in Windows 10 can display AVIF images. Requires Windows 10 “19h1” preview release build 18305 or later, which can be obtained from the Windows Insider program, and the AV1 Video Extension.
Despite being part of the code, it seems there are additional hoops 19H1 Insiders might need to go through to enable the support, including a download and install of the AV1Video Extension from the Microsoft Store.
While not as attention-grabbing as support for VP9 or the eventual GIF support for Windows 10, the inclusion of AVIF keeps the platform relevant, functional, and competitive with other industry businesses such as VLC Media Player and Mozilla as users adopting the latest and greatest content formats.
