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Free video codecs from Microsoft for viewing HEVC files

Free video codecs from Microsoft for viewing HEVC files

Vote: (56 votes)

Program license: Paid

Developer: Microsoft Corporation

Version: 2.0.60091

Works under: Windows

Vote:

Program license

(56 votes)

Paid

Developer

Version

Microsoft Corporation

2.0.60091

Works under:

Windows

Pros

  • State of the art video viewing technology
  • Provided by a reputable company (Microsoft)
  • Works with almost any PC with Windows 10

Cons

  • Incompatible with versions of Windows before Windows 10
  • You must have a specific, compatible GPU

HEVC Video Extensions is a suite of codecs that allows users to play highly compressed video files.

Commonly referred to as "x265" or "H.265," this video encoding mechanism allows publishers to output high-fidelity video files with record-breaking low file sizes. As part of Microsoft's "open source initiative," decoders for this video format are included in this package; however, users do not need to use a Microsoft product to play the video. Other players, such as VLC, are also supported. This tool, specifically, does not actually encode videos, but there are plenty of tools out there that will do that for free.

As more of a Windows extension than an application itself, this utility suite does not have a Graphical User Interface (GUI). It merely is a large set of .dll and executable files from Microsoft that every major Windows video player may reference. Some modern versions of Windows 10 already have HEVC capability. However, others don't, and that's when you'll need this manual installer. You don't need to worry about it if you're not sure; the installation wizard will first check for HEVC capability on your system. If your system doesn't have it yet, the installation will proceed, but if it does, it will halt.

Since this suite of utilities was designed by Microsoft, it hooks in with Windows perfectly. It also has a handy "auto-update" feature that allows you to get the latest HEVC codecs required to play highly compressed videos. More importantly, these updates address vulnerabilities within older versions of the software. Although you're not required to allow the software to automatically update, it would be prudent to do so.

Note that videos requiring this codec are typically very high-fidelity videos that couldn't be downloaded in a reasonable amount of time in an older codec. If you're watching videos on a small laptop or phone, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. However, if you have a large television that supports 4K, it's vital to get this HVEC suite!

Your system will need to have Windows 10 installed, as this suite requires resources provided by this operating system. You will also need to have a compatible Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) for the suite to be able to run. HEVC extensions are great for 4K and 8K televisions, supporting resolutions up to 8192x4320, also known as "Ultra HD".

Pros

  • State of the art video viewing technology
  • Provided by a reputable company (Microsoft)
  • Works with almost any PC with Windows 10

Cons

  • Incompatible with versions of Windows before Windows 10
  • You must have a specific, compatible GPU