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While installing, you will be able to see the new codecs including HEVC to be supported in WMP.
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Go to this website to top up your WMP software with an advanced codec pack. The good thing is that if you learn to install H.265 codec with WMP, you can apply the same principle for other media players. You will usually get a blank screen while trying to play H.265 videos on WMP. If VLC was a natural fit with H.265, Windows Media Player (WMP) requires some work. You can download VLC 3.0 for Windows, macOS, iOS, Apple TV, GNU/Linux, Android and Chrome OS. Therefore, if you simply download the latest version of VLC, you can play H.265 videos as shown below. There are tons of websites offering you H.265 support for VLC, which adds to the confusion. Surprisingly, they forgot to update this important fact on their official website. From version 3.0 and above, you can play H.265 codec without any extra support packs. If VLC is your favorite media player, then you’re in luck already. However, with a few tweaks, you can run H.265 videos without any trouble. As it turns out, very few of them directly support this format. Here we will learn how to play H.265 videos on your favorite media player. This fee likely reflects the cost of licensing the codecs for Microsoft.H.265 is aimed at higher resolution displays including 8K/4K and gives superb picture quality with no hazy output. If you search the Store for HEVC, you’ll see the $0.99 HEVC Video Extensions package. Both are identical, but one costs $0.99 and one is free. There are actually two different codec packages you can get from the Store. You have no guarantee that they’re safe, even if you run them through antivirus tools like VirusTotal to check.
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Your only alternative is to try to download the codecs from a third-party website, which is potentially risky. If you use video editing software that relies on Microsoft’s HEVC codecs to import and export H.265 video, like DaVinci Resolve, you’ll need to pay for the codecs. Unfortunately, that means you must now either pay the 99 cents for the other codecs available from Microsoft or opt to use a third-party video player, like VLC, to play back videos encoded with H.265. RELATED: What Is HEVC H.265 Video, and Why Is It So Important for 4K Movies? How to Install the Codecs for Free Update, 4/7/23: Microsoft has finally pulled the free HEVC codec from the Microsoft Store. These codecs are also required for encoding video in HEVC (H.265) format in applications that use Windows 10’s system codecs. These aren’t included with the latest versions of Windows 10 but must be installed from the Microsoft Store. For built-in support, you’ll need the codecs.
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