HEVC or
High-Efficiency Video Coding is a video compression standard. This is also known as H.265 or MPEG-H Part 2. It is a successor to AVC or H.264 or MPEG-4. HEVC maintains the same quality of video while it doubles the data compression ratio. It supports 8K UHD resolution of 8192 x 4320 as well.
Microsoft removed inbuilt support for HEVC CodecIf you are a Windows 10 user before the Fall Creators Update was released, you might notice that Windows 10 always supported playback of videos that were compressed with HEVC codec. If you have just upgraded your machine to Windows 10 v1709, you are fine. But if you have clean installed Fall Creators Update, you might be facing issues playing these videos. There might be scenarios where the audio is playing and in the video section but you just see a black screen. There might be times where the application might just throw an error telling you that the video codec is not supported. This is mainly faced with apps like Netflix, Movies & TV or any other apps from the Microsoft Store.
Play HEVC coded videos on Windows 10A Codec is a combination of Coder and Decoder or Compressor and Decompressor, and it is a software that is used to compress or decompress a digital media file, such as a song or video. To be able to play HEVC coded videos on Windows 10 now in Windows 10 v1709 and later, you would need to install the Codec manually. This is so because, with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, Microsoft removed the inbuilt support for HEVC Codec. But thankfully, you need not have to wander around the internet looking for players or third party and less secured software to play your files.
HEVC Video ExtensionMicrosoft released a minor update to Windows 10 Fall Creators Update named KB4041994 which brings HEVC Codec support for the devices. It looks like Microsoft really missed adding again the inbuilt support while releasing the final build of the Fall Creators Update – but nevertheless, it’s here as an update.
Microsoft has also made available the codec in the Microsoft Store for the users for free.
The HEVC Video Extension enables compatible Windows 10 devices to play video using the HEVC format in any app, including 4K and Ultra HD content. Compatible devices support HEVC in hardware, including Intel 7th Generation Core processors and other modern GPUs. If you are not using a compatible device, this extension will have no effect on your Windows 10 video experience.
Before beginning, please take a note that this codec will enable streaming of 4K and UHD video streams. Also, this codec only supports the compatible hardware. This includes Intel’s 7th Generation of Processors and some modern Graphics Processing Units or GPUs.
This list includes the following :
Kaby Lake, Kaby Lake Refresh and Coffee Lake, and GPUs like AMD’s RX 400, RX 500 and RX Vega 56/64, and NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1000 and GTX 950 and 960 series.
In case that minor update
KB4041994 is not working out well for you, you can head on to this link to find and install the codec from
Microsoft.
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