HEVC (H.265) is the codec that succeeded H.264 in 2013, delivering roughly 50 % smaller files at the same visual quality. That's the difference between a 4K HDR stream needing 30 Mbps in H.264 and ~15 Mbps in HEVC — direct CDN cost cut in half. It's the codec behind 4K Blu-ray, most Apple HDR content, broadcast UHD in many countries, and a huge chunk of premium streaming.
What kept HEVC from completely replacing H.264 was its licensing situation: three competing patent pools, plus dozens of patent holders demanding royalties separately, plus uncertainty around per-stream fees for online video. This patent thicket scared off Google and Mozilla — which is why HEVC playback in Chrome and Firefox was missing for years and is still spotty — and gave the open Alliance for Open Media the political momentum to create AV1.
In 2026 the practical picture is: HEVC is the dominant 4K/HDR codec on Apple devices, smart TVs and broadcast pipelines. Hardware support is universal on anything made since ~2017. Encoding is mature and fast — Apple's VideoToolbox encodes 4K HEVC in real time on M-series Macs. The case for HEVC over AV1 is mostly about encoding speed and Apple-centric audiences; the case for AV1 over HEVC is bandwidth savings and licensing clarity. Many services in 2026 ship both, plus an H.264 fallback.
The book · Volume 1 of 7
Video Encoding: A Complete Guide to Video Compression — From Pixels and Color to H.264, HEVC, AV1, Quality Metrics, and AI
HEVC saves around half the bitrate of H.264 and is required for HDR on Apple devices, but patent licensing still slows adoption. Volume 1 takes HEVC apart: CTUs and partitioning, in-loop filters, x265 presets, hardware encoders, licensing, and how it scores against H.264 and AV1 on quality metrics. Written by Nikolay Sapunov, CEO at Fora Soft.
Weighing HEVC for 4K, HDR or Apple devices against licensing cost?
Tell us your devices and traffic: we compare HEVC with H.264 and AV1 for them, including licensing exposure, and give you a codec plan with bitrate savings. 250+ video products shipped since 2005.
