H.265 Minimum requirements
H.264 and H.265 are video compression standards widely used in various applications, including IP cameras and video streaming services. In this article, we'll discuss the differences between H.264 and H.265, their advantages, and the minimum requirements for devices and browsers to support them.
H.264, also known as Advanced Video Coding (AVC), is a video compression standard introduced in 2003. It has become the most widely used format for compressing and recording video, supported by a vast majority of devices and IP cameras. H.264 is popular due to its ability to provide high-quality video at lower bitrates, making it ideal for various applications, including video conferencing, streaming services, and surveillance systems.
H.265, also known as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), is the successor to H.264. Introduced in 2013, H.265 aims to improve upon H.264 by offering better compression efficiency and supporting higher resolutions, such as 4K and 8K. H.265 can deliver the same video quality as H.264 at approximately half the bitrate, making it a more efficient choice for bandwidth-limited applications.
H.265 offers superior compression efficiency, allowing for the same video quality at lower bitrates compared to H.264.
With H.265, video streams require less bandwidth, making it ideal for applications with limited bandwidth resources.
H.265 supports higher resolutions, such as 4K and beyond, without significantly increasing bandwidth requirements.
H.265 enables smoother streaming experiences, especially in scenarios with fluctuating network conditions.
Most of the the devices manufactured since 2008 support H.264. Since, it is one of the widely used compression standards. This format is supported by majority of the devices (powering on Intel / AMD / Nvidia)
Firefox supports H.264 on Windows 7 and later since version 21
Partial support for older Firefox versions refers to the lack of support in OS X & some non-Android Linux platforms.
H.265 is more computationally intensive than H.264, and hardware-based encoding and decoding can significantly improve performance and reduce power consumption compared to software-based implementations. Most of the modern devices with dedicated GPUs support H.265.
Please check whether the GPU of your device meets the demand below
Intel - Check Compatibility
AMD - Check Compatibility
NVIDIA - Check Compatibility
Firefox doesn't support H.265/HEVC due to patent issues
Supported only on macOS High Sierra or later
Reported to work in certain Android devices with hardware support
Supported for all devices on macOS (>= Big Sur 11.0) and Android (>= 5.0) if Edge >= 107, for devices with hardware support on Windows (>= Windows 10 1709) when HEVC video extensions from the Microsoft Store is installed
Try to open this Test Page and check if your device and browser is able to play the video.
Open chrome://gpu link in your chrome, search for Video Acceleration Information. You should see "Decode hevc main" field and "Decode hevc main 10" field
Open Chrome Settings chrome://settings
Search for Use graphics acceleration when available
Enable this and restart your chrome and try accessing the H.265 test page.
For Windows Devices that don't have hardware support for H.265, you can still try to play H.265 videos using Microsoft HEVC Video Extension Pack. You can try installing this from Microsoft store and test it out. Please note that software based implementations are slow when compared to hardware baed implementations.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/116944
https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/16772268498329-What-s-the-Requirement-for-My-Device-to-Playback-HEVC-H-265-Videos
https://caniuse.com/?search=h.264
https://caniuse.com/?search=h.265
https://bluesky-soft.com/en/dxvac/deviceInfo/decoder/intel.html
https://github.com/StaZhu/enable-chromium-hevc-hardware-decoding
H.264
H.264, also known as Advanced Video Coding (AVC), is a video compression standard introduced in 2003. It has become the most widely used format for compressing and recording video, supported by a vast majority of devices and IP cameras. H.264 is popular due to its ability to provide high-quality video at lower bitrates, making it ideal for various applications, including video conferencing, streaming services, and surveillance systems.
H.265
H.265, also known as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), is the successor to H.264. Introduced in 2013, H.265 aims to improve upon H.264 by offering better compression efficiency and supporting higher resolutions, such as 4K and 8K. H.265 can deliver the same video quality as H.264 at approximately half the bitrate, making it a more efficient choice for bandwidth-limited applications.
Advantages of H.265 over H.264
H.265 offers superior compression efficiency, allowing for the same video quality at lower bitrates compared to H.264.
With H.265, video streams require less bandwidth, making it ideal for applications with limited bandwidth resources.
H.265 supports higher resolutions, such as 4K and beyond, without significantly increasing bandwidth requirements.
H.265 enables smoother streaming experiences, especially in scenarios with fluctuating network conditions.
Minimum Requirements of H.264
Device Requirements
Most of the the devices manufactured since 2008 support H.264. Since, it is one of the widely used compression standards. This format is supported by majority of the devices (powering on Intel / AMD / Nvidia)
| Device Type | Min Version |
|---|---|
| Android | 2.3+ |
| Windows | 7+ |
| macOS | 10.13 |
| iOS | 2014+ |
Browser Requirements
| Browser | Min Version |
|---|---|
| Chrome | 4+ |
| Edge | 12.0+ |
| Safari | 3.2+ |
| Firefox | 35.0+ |
| Opera | 25+ |
| IE | 9.0+ |
Note
Firefox supports H.264 on Windows 7 and later since version 21
Partial support for older Firefox versions refers to the lack of support in OS X & some non-Android Linux platforms.
Minimum Requirements of H.265
H.265 is more computationally intensive than H.264, and hardware-based encoding and decoding can significantly improve performance and reduce power consumption compared to software-based implementations. Most of the modern devices with dedicated GPUs support H.265.
Device Requirements
| Device Type | Min Version |
|---|---|
| Windows | Windows 8 or later |
| macOS | Big Sur 11.0 |
| IOS | 11.1 or later |
| Android | 7.0 or later |
| Linux | Distros with GPU driver support |
Please check whether the GPU of your device meets the demand below
Intel - Check Compatibility
AMD - Check Compatibility
NVIDIA - Check Compatibility
Browser Requirements
| Browser | Min Version |
|---|---|
| Chrome | 107+ |
| Edge | 12+ |
| Safari | 13+ |
| Firefox | NOT SUPPORTED |
| Opera | 94+ |
| IE | 11+ |
Firefox doesn't support H.265/HEVC due to patent issues
Note
Supported only on macOS High Sierra or later
Reported to work in certain Android devices with hardware support
Supported for all devices on macOS (>= Big Sur 11.0) and Android (>= 5.0) if Edge >= 107, for devices with hardware support on Windows (>= Windows 10 1709) when HEVC video extensions from the Microsoft Store is installed
Test if your device supports H.265
Try to open this Test Page and check if your device and browser is able to play the video.
Open chrome://gpu link in your chrome, search for Video Acceleration Information. You should see "Decode hevc main" field and "Decode hevc main 10" field
Enable hardware acceleration in chrome
Open Chrome Settings chrome://settings
Search for Use graphics acceleration when available
Enable this and restart your chrome and try accessing the H.265 test page.
Using Software based implementations for H.265
For Windows Devices that don't have hardware support for H.265, you can still try to play H.265 videos using Microsoft HEVC Video Extension Pack. You can try installing this from Microsoft store and test it out. Please note that software based implementations are slow when compared to hardware baed implementations.
References
https://support.apple.com/en-us/116944
https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/16772268498329-What-s-the-Requirement-for-My-Device-to-Playback-HEVC-H-265-Videos
https://caniuse.com/?search=h.264
https://caniuse.com/?search=h.265
https://bluesky-soft.com/en/dxvac/deviceInfo/decoder/intel.html
https://github.com/StaZhu/enable-chromium-hevc-hardware-decoding
Updated on: 30/04/2024
Thank you!