Top 8 H.265 HEVC Video Player in 2025

Alin updated on Aug 15, 2025 to Screen Recording Utility

It is difficult to play HEVC videos on your devices without the right codecs. Therefore, if you want to play HEVC videos without a hassle, it's better to get an HEVC video player for your computer. In this article, we give you the top 8 players.

Have you ever tried to open a high-quality HEVC (H.265) video, only to see a blank screen, choppy playback, or no sound at all? This often happens because many default media players on Windows, macOS, and other platforms don’t have built-in support for the HEVC codec. While you could install extra codec packs, the easier option is to use a dedicated HEVC video player that can handle H.265 files smoothly across devices. In this article, we’ll share the best HEVC video players for different systems, so you can enjoy crisp, lag-free playback without compatibility hassles.

What Is HEVC (H.265)?

HEVC, short for High-Efficiency Video Coding, is a next-generation video compression standard and the successor to AVC (H.264). It delivers the same image quality at about half the file size, making it perfect for streaming, storing, and editing high-resolution videos.

Supporting resolutions up to 8K UHD, HEVC is widely used in 4K movies, high-definition recordings, and professional projects. However, due to its advanced compression technology, many media players require special codecs or updates to play HEVC videos smoothly.

Share this guide with others who want to learn more about HEVC players!

 

How to Choose The Best HEVC (H.265) Video Player

Before recommending our top picks, we evaluated each player using the following criteria:

  • HEVC (H.265) Support: Plays HEVC videos smoothly without installing extra codecs.
  • Platform Compatibility: Works across Windows, macOS, and other devices you use.
  • Playback Performance: Handles high-bitrate 4K and 8K videos without lag or stutter.
  • Extra Features: Subtitle support, playback speed control, screen recording, or video conversion.
  • Ease of Use: Clean interface and simple settings for beginners and advanced users alike.

Best Free Video Player for Windows/Mac - Recommend

  • Compatibility: Win 11/10/8.1/8/7 & macOS 10.13(or later)
  • Video quality: HD ~ 4K
  • Price: Free
  • Rating: 4.5/5 stars

EaseUS RecExperts is a versatile video player and screen recorder. Compatible with almost all common video and audio formats, like MP4, MOV, MKV, etc., this free media player can help you open all media files with a few simple clicks. As for video playing, it lets you enjoy the movies in video quality from HD to even 4K, ensuring an excellent viewing experience. In addition, you can even slow down or speed up video playback from 0.5X to 2X while watching videos.

As we discussed before, it is also a professional screen recording tool that allows you to record screen and audio in different modes. Once the recording is done, you can export your recordings in various formats for later sharing. Now, just hit the below button to get this free video player!

Top 8 Best HEVC H.265 Video Player for All Devices

What's the best HEVC video player? In the following, we will share some HEVC H.265 video players for Windows, Mac, and mobile devices.

Top 1. DivX Player

  • Compatibility: Win Vista/7/8/XP or later and macOS 10.14/later
  • Video Quality: Up to 4K
  • Price: Free version; from $15.99 (pro version)
  • Rating: 3.6/5 stars

DivX Player is a free HEVC (H.265) video player that delivers smooth 4K playback for popular video formats. It supports videos from local storage, URL links, Google Drive, and Dropbox, making it easy to access and enjoy your media files.

The player also offers flexible playback controls, and you can slow down or speed up videos, manage subtitles, and adjust aspect ratios to suit your screen. For organization, it allows playlist creation and library management, so you can keep your videos neatly arranged.

For enhanced viewing, DivX Player lets you rotate, flip, resize videos, choose the screen size, add subtitles to MP4 files, and even cast videos up to 4K to your Smart TV, providing a versatile media experience.

✅Pros:

  • Smooth HEVC (H.265) playback up to 4K
  • Flexible playback: speed control, subtitle management, aspect ratio adjustment
  • Playlist and media library management
  • Smart TV casting support

❌Cons:

  • Only available on Windows and macOS (no mobile apps)
  • Some advanced features require the Pro version
  • Interface may be slightly overwhelming for first-time users

Top 2. PotPlayer

  • Compatibility: Windows 10/11 and later
  • Video Quality: HDR, SDR
  • Price: Free
  • Rating: 4.7/5 stars

PotPlayer is a free HEVC (H.265) video player for Windows that delivers smooth playback of HEVC videos without requiring extra codecs. It supports high-quality playback up to 4K, ensuring crisp images and accurate colors even for highly compressed H.265 content.

PotPlayer is optimized for HEVC playback, providing minimal lag or stuttering even with large 4K files. It supports HDR and SDR content, and offers flexible playback controls such as speed adjustment, audio track switching, and subtitle management. In addition, PotPlayer can handle a wide range of video formats alongside HEVC, including MP4, MKV, AVI, and H.264, and takes advantage of hardware acceleration to ensure smooth performance on modern GPUs.

✅Pros:

  • Smooth HEVC/H.265 playback up to 4K
  • Supports HDR and SDR content
  • Flexible playback options: speed, audio tracks, subtitles
  • Wide format compatibility, no extra codecs needed
  • Hardware acceleration for better performance

❌Cons:

  • Windows only
  • Initial settings can be complex for beginners

Top 3. VLC Media Player

  • Compatibility: Win & macOS & Linux & iOS & Android
  • Video Quality: 480P, 720P, 1080P, 4K
  • Price: Free
  • Rating: 4.5/5 stars

VLC Media Player is a free, cross-platform player that supports HEVC (H.265) playback without extra codecs. It delivers smooth 4K video playback, handles HDR and SDR content, and offers flexible controls like speed adjustment, subtitle management, and audio track switching.

VLC also supports almost all popular video formats and uses hardware acceleration for efficient performance.

✅Pros

  • Smooth HEVC/H.265 playback up to 4K
  • Cross-platform support
  • Flexible playback controls
  • Wide format compatibility
  • Hardware acceleration

❌Cons

  • Basic interface may confuse beginners
  • Advanced features require manual setup

Top 4. 5KPlayer

  • Compatibility: Win Vista/7/8/XP or later and macOS 10.14/later
  • Video Quality: Up to 4K
  • Price: Free
  • Rating: 2.6/5 stars

5KPlayer is one of the best free HEVC video players you can rely on. The free multimedia player fully supports hundreds of audio-video codecs, especially the H.265/HEVC codec.

It is worth mentioning that this free HEVC media player can play HD and 4K HEVC 8-bit, 10-bit, and even 12-bit videos from GoPro, Drone (DJI), iPhone, action camera, Canon, JVC DSLR cameras with whatever HEVC sub codecs, be it Apple native hvc1 or non-Apple hev1. No external video codec pack or filter is needed. Moreover, it allows streaming 4K and 8K videos in formats like MP4, MKV, MOV, AIV... Windows PC and Apple TV are both supported. As for a free media player, I think it is worth trying!

✅Pros

  • Help to play and download videos
  • Support playing 4K, 1080P, and even 360° video with no stutter, no choke, and no glitch
    Wirelessly stream audio video via AirPlay & DLNA, zero quality loss

❌Cons

  • It associated itself with all types of media files without asking
  • You may encounter malware when using it

Top 5. MPV

  • Compatibility: Win Vista/7/8/XP or later and macOS 10.14/later
  • Video Quality: Up to 4K
  • Price: Free
  • Rating: 4.4/5 stars

MPV is also a free and open-source video player compatible with Windows and Mac computers. It is lightweight, simple, easy to use, and supports a wide range of video formats. With this tool. You can play high-efficiency coding HEVC videos without the help of extra codecs. Moreover, the HEVC H.265 player is also very customizable, which is great. For instance, you can change the video output, the audio output, and the subtitle settings. You can also create custom shortcuts and hotkeys to make it easier to control the player.

Based on my situation, the only downside is that the player doesn't have much documentation. However, the community is very helpful, and there are many resources available online. Overall, I would highly recommend MPV player to anyone looking for a great media player.

✅Pros

  • Easy to install and set up
  • Let you change the look and feel of the player, as well as the way it plays videos
  • Support a wide variety of video and audio formats, as well as DVDs, CDs, and Blu-Ray discs
  • Use very little system resources so that it won't slow down your computer

❌Cons

  • Not very friendly 
  • The interface seems pretty old

Top 6. MPC-HC

  • Compatibility: Windows
  • Video Quality: 720P, 1080P, and 4K
  • Price: Free
  • Rating: 4.5/5 stars

MPC-HC is another open-source and 100% free HEVC media player for PCs. This lightweight media player supports all common video and audio file formats available for playback, and you can watch movies on any SSE2 CPU, even on a low-end PC. 

However, this freeware has some disadvantages, such as freezes, sluggish 4K playback, and choppy & out of sync errors while playing the HEVC codec videos on your PC. Considering it's completely free, I think it is a qualified 1080P HEVC video viewer for general users.

✅Pros

  • Supports H.265 from a long time ago
  • Useful for game development frame debugging
  • Capable of playing 1080P videos smoothly

❌Cons

  • It stopped updating in 2017
  • Support only Windows operating systems

Top 7. Hevc Player & Converter (Mp4)

  • Compatibility: Android
  • Video Quality: Up to 4K
  • Price: Free
  • Rating: N/A

When it comes to the HEVC video player app, you might find fewer apps that allow you to view the HEVC or H.265 video files on your mobile devices. Luckily, we found an excellent HEVC video player app for Android users, and that's Hevc Player & Converter. As its name implies, you will know that this app can help you play H.265 / HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) videos easily. Moreover, if your video file is in another format, you can even use this free tool to convert it into HEVC. 

✅Pros

  • Easy and free to use
  • Open HEVC video files quickly
  • Support converting videos to or from HEVC format

❌Cons

  • Only available for Android devices

Top 8. H.265 / HEVC Player

  • Compatibility: Windows & macOS & Linux
  • Video Quality: Up to 4K
  • Price: Free
  • Rating: 2.6/5 stars

It is an online HEVC video player that you can use directly in your Google Chrome. This is a standalone video player using libde265 to playback H.265/HEVC content. It currently supports Matroska and other video containers with common audio codecs and subtitles (SSA/ASS format). However, if your computer is too slow for decoding, some problems like frame dropping will occur. At that time, the player will display a short notice. Considering there are few online H.265 media players, this tool is a nice choice if you don't want to install any desktop programs.

✅Pros

  • Require no downloading or installation
  • One-click to play HEVC video files online

❌Cons

  • It crashes often

FAQs about HEVC Video Player

1. What video player can play HEVC?

All the tools in this article can be used to play HEVC videos. Among them, we recommend EaseUS RecExperts. This is because if you can download a specific video for some reason, you can record it on your device with this software.

2. Can VLC play HEVC?

The answer is yes. Since version 3.0, VLC supports HEVC hardware decoding on Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS. You may try this player if you want.

3. How do I convert HEVC to MP4?

Go to the official website of Convertio, and follow the steps below to convert HEVC to MP4 online.

  1. 1. Upload the HEVC file from the local computer folder, cloud storage, or a URL.
  2. 2. Choose MP4 as the output video format.
  3. 3. Click the "gear" icon to bring up the "Settings" dialog box. Configure codec, profile, level, constant quality, etc. Then, click "Ok".
  4. 4. Press "Convert" and wait for the conversion.