Online HEVC Player
Play H.265 and HDR videos directly in your browser - drag, drop and play. Built-in codec inspector and MP4 converter for files your browser cannot decode.
100% local, nothing uploaded
HW + SW decode paths
HEVC to MP4 fallback
Drop your HEVC file here
or click to browse - file is processed locally, never uploaded
.hevc
.h265
.265
MP4
MOV
MKV
M4V
TS
M2TS
or paste a URL
Codec Inspector
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Convert HEVC to MP4 (H.264)
Files your browser can't play natively can be transcoded to H.264 MP4 - playable in every browser. Conversion runs entirely in your browser using FFmpeg.wasm. Large or 4K files will be slow.
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HEVC Browser Support Matrix
Native HEVC playback depends on both the browser and the underlying device. Below is the current state for desktop and mobile browsers.
| Browser | Windows | macOS | Linux | iOS | Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safari | n/a | Native | n/a | Native | n/a |
| Chrome | HW only1 | HW | No | Native | HW only |
| Edge | HW only2 | HW | No | Native | HW only |
| Firefox | No | No | No | Native3 | No |
| Opera / Brave / Vivaldi | HW only | HW | No | Native | HW only |
- Chrome 107+ on Windows requires both an HEVC-capable GPU and the HEVC Video Extensions installed from the Microsoft Store.
- Edge requires the same HEVC Video Extensions on Windows; without them HEVC fails silently.
- Firefox iOS uses Apple's WebKit engine, so it inherits Safari's HEVC support.
My HEVC File Won't Play - What Now?
If a file fails to load, the cause is almost always one of these:
- Browser has no HEVC decoder. Firefox on desktop, and Chrome/Edge on machines without HEVC-capable GPUs, simply cannot play H.265. Use the Convert to MP4 button above to transcode locally to H.264.
- 10-bit / Main 10 profile. Many devices decode 8-bit HEVC but choke on 10-bit. The Codec Inspector flags this above. See the HEVC profile and settings reference for what each profile means.
- HDR10, HDR10+ or Dolby Vision metadata. Browsers can usually decode the video stream but not render the HDR pass - colors look washed or playback fails.
- Container limitations. Browsers play HEVC inside MP4/MOV. Raw .hevc / .265 bitstreams and many MKV files won't play even with HEVC support - convert them first.
- Audio codec mismatch. HEVC video paired with DTS, TrueHD or eAC-3 audio fails in browsers. The video stream is fine; the audio kills it.
For deeper diagnosis use the Codec Troubleshooter or run the file through the Codec Finder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) and H.265 are two names for the same standard. It is the successor to H.264/AVC and offers roughly 50% better compression at the same visual quality - that's why 4K Blu-ray, HDR streaming and most modern phone cameras use it. For a deeper technical overview see the HEVC reference on xcodecpack.com.
Apple licensed HEVC across iOS and macOS, so Safari has built-in support. Mozilla chose not to bundle a decoder due to patent licensing costs. Firefox on iPhone/iPad uses Apple's WebKit engine, so it inherits Safari's support there - on every other platform it has none.
Chrome only plays HEVC when the device has a hardware decoder. Older PCs, integrated graphics from before 2017, and some virtual machines lack the necessary hardware. The browser is identical - the silicon underneath is what differs. The HEVC hardware support guide on xcodecpack.com lists which CPUs and GPUs include an HEVC decoder.
All three are high-dynamic-range formats encoded inside HEVC streams. HDR10 uses static metadata for the whole video. HDR10+ and Dolby Vision use dynamic per-scene metadata for finer tone mapping. Browsers can decode the HEVC pixels but rarely render the HDR layer correctly - expect SDR fallback in most cases.
No. Drag-and-dropped files stay in your browser. Conversion runs locally with FFmpeg.wasm. Only video URLs you paste are loaded directly by your browser - the bytes never transit our servers.
Browser-based conversion is single-threaded and slower than desktop tools. As a rule of thumb, expect roughly real-time speed for 1080p and 3-5x real-time for 4K. For long files use the Trim option or downscale resolution. For unattended large jobs, use a desktop tool like XMedia Recode or FFmpeg Batch AV Converter.
Browsers cannot play raw HEVC bitstreams - they need a container (MP4 or MOV) with proper indexing. The Convert to MP4 button rewraps and re-encodes raw streams into a playable file.
More Free Online Tools
About This Online HEVC Player
HEVC (also known as H.265) is the dominant video codec for 4K, HDR and modern phone recordings - but browser support is uneven. This free online HEVC player makes it possible to play H.265 files directly in any browser that can decode them, and provides a built-in transcoder for those that can't.
The tool runs entirely in your browser. Drag a file in, and the player will detect the HEVC profile, bit depth, HDR metadata, resolution and audio codec. It then attempts native HTML5 playback. If your browser lacks HEVC support, the Convert to MP4 button transcodes the file to H.264 using FFmpeg.wasm - playable everywhere, including Firefox.
Common use cases include playing iPhone .mov recordings on a Windows laptop without HEVC extensions, previewing 4K HDR test files, checking HEVC profiles before publishing, and rescuing footage from devices where the destination browser can't decode H.265 natively.
Desktop HEVC Players & Codec Tools
For long files, 4K HDR content or hardware-accelerated playback, a desktop player is faster and more capable than any browser. VLC Media Player, MPC-BE, MPC-HC and mpv player all decode HEVC and HDR content with hardware acceleration on supported GPUs.
To enable HEVC system-wide, install the K-Lite Codec Pack. For batch transcoding to H.264, AV1 or other formats, XMedia Recode and FFmpeg Batch AV Converter support multi-file queues with full codec control. Windows users can also browse the codec database or run files through Codec Inspector for detailed analysis.
