HEVC Video Extensions: do you need to pay for them?

If Windows says you need the HEVC Video Extensions to play a video, the video was recorded in HEVC (also called H.265) and Windows’ own apps cannot decode it without a $0.99 add-on from the Microsoft Store. You do not have to buy it: VLC plays HEVC for free, and converting the video to H.264 makes it play in every app and on every device.

Here is what the extension is, when it is worth the dollar, and the free alternatives.

What the HEVC Video Extensions are

HEVC is a video codec — a way of compressing the picture — that makes files about half the size of the older H.264 at the same quality. It is also covered by patents, and whoever ships a decoder has to pay licence fees. Windows does not include those fees, so Photos, Media Player and other built-in apps cannot play HEVC until you install Microsoft’s HEVC Video Extensions, which cost $0.99.

You meet it most often with:

• iPhone videos. iPhones record HEVC by default (Settings › Camera › Formats › High Efficiency). Copy them to a PC and Windows cannot play them.
• Android, drone and action-camera 4K. Many record HEVC to keep 4K files manageable.
• Downloaded films and screen recordings saved as H.265 to save space.

There used to be a free edition, “HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer”, intended for PC makers to pre-install. It is no longer offered in the Store, and copies passed around online may not work with current versions of the Windows apps — not worth the risk of installing a package from an unofficial source.

Option 1: play it in VLC (free)

VLC and other free players such as MPC-HC and MPV have their own HEVC decoders, so they play H.265 files with nothing else installed. If all you want is to watch the video on your own PC, this is the simplest fix.

It does not help once the video leaves VLC: Windows’ Photos app, PowerPoint, many editors, the person you send it to and a lot of TVs still cannot play it.

Option 2: convert the video to H.264 (free)

H.264 is the codec every phone, PC, TV, browser and editor made in the last fifteen years can play. Converting an HEVC video to H.264 once fixes it everywhere — no extension, no special player.

HEVC to MP4Convert HEVC (H.265) videos to H.264 MP4 that plays on Windows, TVs and every editor — no codec to buy.Convert HEVC to H.264 →

Our converter runs in your browser and uses your computer’s hardware encoder, so videos are not uploaded and a one-minute clip takes seconds. It accepts iPhone MOVs, Android MP4s and MKV files, and converts a batch at once. For iPhone MOV files you can also use MOV to MP4 and choose Maximum compatibility.

Two things to know:

• The H.264 file is usually bigger than the HEVC original — that is the trade for playing everywhere.
• Your browser has to decode HEVC to convert it. Current Chrome, Edge and Safari can on most computers with hardware HEVC support. If yours cannot, the tool tells you, and VLC (option 1) or HandBrake will do it instead.

Option 3: stop recording HEVC on the iPhone

To avoid the problem with future videos, open Settings › Camera › Formats and choose Most Compatible. New videos are recorded in H.264. They take roughly twice the storage, and some modes need High Efficiency — such as 4K at 60 fps — so they are unavailable while it is off.

There is also Settings › Photos › Transfer to Mac or PC › Automatic, which converts videos to a compatible format when you import them over a cable. It does not apply to AirDrop, iCloud downloads or files sent through messaging apps.

When the $0.99 is worth paying

Buy the extension if you want HEVC to work inside Windows itself: playing videos in the Photos app and Media Player, or getting the highest-quality streams in apps that use HEVC. For a one-off video you need to watch or send, VLC or a quick conversion costs nothing.

Which fix should you pick?

• Just want to watch it on this PC: VLC.
• Sending it to someone, putting it in a presentation, playing it on a TV: convert it to H.264.
• It keeps happening with iPhone videos: set the camera to Most Compatible, or convert as you go.
• You live in the Windows Photos app: pay the $0.99.