Welcome to 2025, where your IP camera streams in glorious, storage-saving H.265… and your browser looks at it and says, “lol nope.”
Modern IP cameras are ditching the old H.264 format in favor of H.265/HEVC because it slashes file size by up to 50% without trashing image quality. For a video surveillance system with dozens of cameras running 24/7, that’s not just nice — it’s the difference between buying one NAS and three.
But here’s the kicker: recording in HEVC is the smart move, watching HEVC is still a headache.
Why This Is Still a Problem in 2025
Blame patents. H.264 became the default because its licensing fees were relatively chill, and browser makers added support back when TikTok didn’t even exist. HEVC, on the other hand, is wrapped in enough licensing drama to make a lawyer weep. Multiple patent pools, multiple royalties, and browser vendors who don’t want to foot the bill for millions of users.
Safari users are living the dream — Apple paid the fees, so macOS and iOS play HEVC without drama.
Windows users? Not so fast. Windows can play HEVC… but only if you install Microsoft’s HEVC Video Extensions. Edge (Chromium) will happily use it. Chrome and Yandex sometimes will — emphasis on sometimes. On Windows 7 and 8? Forget it.
Why H.264 Plays Like a Champ
H.264 is the reliable old workhorse. Its patents are basically free to use at this point, and every browser on the planet supports it. Video.js, Plyr, whatever player you use — they don’t add codecs, they just use what the browser offers. That’s why MP4 with H.264 “just works,” while H.265 sometimes feels like a lottery ticket.
The Brutal Truth About HEVC Playback
Here’s the TL;DR: there’s no way to guarantee that a plain MP4 (H.265) file will play in Chrome or Yandex on every Windows machine from 7 through 11.
- Windows 10/11: Maybe — if the user has installed HEVC Video Extensions and their GPU can decode it.
- Windows 7/8: Nope.
- Safari: Works fine.
- Edge: More reliable than Chrome, but still depends on the codec being installed.
- Firefox/Chrome: Officially don’t promise anything.
Why “Just Transcode It” Is Not the Answer
Transcoding is CPU-murder. If you have 10 or 20 cameras streaming 1080p or 4K and you try to transcode HEVC → H.264 in real time, your CPU will sound like it’s prepping for liftoff. The same goes for converting archives — ffmpeg will do the job, but hours of video will take hours (or days) of compute time.
Quick one-off example:
ffmpeg -i input_hevc.mp4 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -crf 22 -pix_fmt yuv420p \
-profile:v high -level 4.1 -movflags +faststart -c:a aac -b:a 128k output_avc.mp4
-profile:v high -level 4.1 -movflags +faststart -c:a aac -b:a 128k output_avc.mp4
This is fine for a clip or two, not for 24/7 surveillance footage.
How to Make Windows Play Nice with HEVC
The quick fix? Just open the file in VLC. It has its own codecs and doesn’t care about Microsoft’s licensing drama.
But if you need playback in a browser or in software like SmartVision, you have to install the system codec:
- Open Microsoft Store.
- Search for HEVC Video Extensions (paid) or HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer.
- Install.
No Store? Go old-school:
Add-AppxPackage -Path "C:\Downloads\Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension_*.Appx"
Or the one-liner with winget:
winget install 9n4wgh0z6vhq
Heads-up: This only works on Windows 10/11. Windows 7/8 users are out of luck.
Why Browsers Still Don’t Flip the Switch
Three reasons:
- Licensing headaches — nobody wants to pay for your cat cam stream.
- Hardware matters — HEVC decoding without a GPU is a CPU crime.
- AV1 is the future — Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla are pushing the royalty-free AV1 hard.
What Smart Developers Should Do
- Store in HEVC. Don’t waste space — HEVC saves you terabytes.
- Serve H.264 or AV1 for the web. HLS/DASH with multiple codecs is your friend: Safari gets HEVC, Chrome falls back to H.264.
- Don’t trust WebAssembly decoders. libde265/wasm is a CPU hog — even 1080p will stutter.
There’s still no universal way to make Chrome/Yandex play MP4 (H.265) on Windows 7–11. Edge and Safari can, but only with the right codec and hardware.
For mass deployments, always offer a fallback — H.264 or AV1. For local playback, recommend VLC or SmartVision. For the web, serve multi-codec streams and spare your users the pain.
Your storage stays lean, your CPUs stay cool, and your users stay happy.
Perfect — here’s the manual HEVC installation section rewritten in the same light, Wired-style tone:
The Hacker Way: Installing HEVC Without the Microsoft Store
So you want HEVC but hate the Microsoft Store? Or maybe the Store just… doesn’t open (because Windows). No worries — here’s how to sidestep it and get the codec manually.
Step 1: Grab the Package
- Go to this nifty link generator: store.rg-adguard.net
- Paste this magic URL:
https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9n4wgh0z6vhq
- Hit ✓ and look for a file ending in .Appx or .Msixbundle that matches your system (x64).
- Download it somewhere easy — like C:\Downloads\.
Step 2: Summon PowerShell
- Hit Win, type Windows PowerShell, right-click → Run as administrator.
- Type this spell (adjust the filename if needed):
Add-AppxPackage -Path "C:\Downloads\Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension_*.Appx"
- Got a .Msixbundle? Same command, just swap the extension.
Step 3: The Winget One-Liner
Feeling fancy? Skip the file download entirely:
winget install 9n4wgh0z6vhq
Winget fetches and installs the codec automatically, like magic (well, like a package manager should).
Step 4: Reboot the Browser, Not the PC
Close and reopen Chrome, Edge, or Yandex Browser. Open your MP4 (H.265). If your GPU knows HEVC, it should just work.
- This works only on Windows 10/11. Windows 7/8 won’t suddenly learn HEVC.
- You still need a GPU with HEVC support (Intel 6th-gen+, NVIDIA GTX 950+, AMD Polaris+).
- Chrome/Yandex are moody — sometimes they’ll play ball, sometimes not. Edge is more reliable.