How to Play HEVC/H.265 Files with PotPlayer

PotPlayer plays HEVC video on most PCs straight after install, and when it refuses, the fix is one free add-on or one checkbox.

Screen-print poster of a cinema projector lens turret with two empty lens mounts and a lens lowering into one of them, beside the title Play HEVC in PotPlayer

This guide takes you from a fresh install to a playing file, then clears the message that stops a lot of people: "HEVC/H265 decoding is not supported in S/W mode".

HEVC, also called H.265, is the format behind a lot of 4K video, iPhone recordings and downloaded TV, because it fits the same picture into roughly half the space of the older H.264.

PotPlayer can decode it in two ways - on your graphics card, or in software on the processor - and every step below is about making sure at least one of them works.

Step 1: Install PotPlayer

Get PotPlayer for Windows and run the installer. On any ordinary Windows 10 or 11 PC, take the 64-bit version, PotPlayerSetup64.exe.

Remember which one you picked. It decides which OpenCodec you need in the next step.

Step 2: Add OpenCodec - Free and Worth Having

OpenCodec for PotPlayer is the player's free add-on decoder pack. It supplies the software decoder PotPlayer falls back on when your graphics card cannot handle an HEVC file by itself.

If your PC is a few years old, or you are simply not sure, install it anyway - it costs nothing and does no harm on a newer machine. Take OpenCodecSetup64.exe for 64-bit PotPlayer and OpenCodecSetup.exe for 32-bit.

Open Codec for PotPlayer setup window with Core Files, OpenCodec Files, FFmpeg Files and Intel H.264 MVC Decoder all ticked

Leave every component ticked, as in the screenshot. FFmpeg Files is the part that carries the software video decoder, so that is the one not to untick.

Not sure which PotPlayer you have? Open Settings, then Apps, then Installed apps (Apps & features on Windows 10) and read the PotPlayer entry - the 64-bit build has "64 bit" in its name. An OpenCodec that does not match your player installs quietly and changes nothing.

Step 3: Check Two Settings

Right-click inside PotPlayer and choose Preferences, or press F5. In the left panel, open Filter Control and click Video Decoder.

Find the H.265 and HEVC rows and make sure both say Built-in Decoder (Recommended). That is PotPlayer's own recommended choice, and the right one unless you deliberately use LAV Filters.

Now click Built-in Video Codec/DXVA Settings at the bottom of the same page and tick Use DXVA. That hands HEVC decoding to your graphics card, which keeps 4K playback smooth and the fan quiet.

Click OK to close both windows.

Step 4: Play the File

Drag your video into the PotPlayer window, or press F3 and pick it. It should start straight away.

Curious what is going on under the hood? Press Tab during playback to show PotPlayer's on-screen playback information, including the video codec and the renderer.

Fix: "HEVC/H265 decoding is not supported in S/W mode"

PotPlayer shows this when it tries to decode HEVC in software and finds no software HEVC decoder to do it with. The full message ends with "Please click 'Find codec' to install the necessary codec."

You have two ways out, and either one is enough:

Install OpenCodec. It adds the missing software decoder - get OpenCodec in the version that matches your PotPlayer, as in step 2.
Tick Use DXVA. It skips software decoding and lets the graphics card take over, as in step 3.

Installed OpenCodec and still seeing it? Check the bitness first - a 32-bit OpenCodec does nothing for 64-bit PotPlayer, and the other way round.

Ticked Use DXVA and still seeing it? Your graphics hardware probably cannot decode that particular file, so PotPlayer fell back to software. Install OpenCodec and it will play, and checking whether your PC can play HEVC tells you how hard the processor will have to work.

When PotPlayer Is the Wrong Tool

If the video will not play in the Photos app or Windows Media Player, nothing in PotPlayer's settings changes that. Those apps rely on Microsoft's own decoder, and our guide to getting the HEVC Video Extension for free covers them.

If you would rather have no settings page at all, VLC decodes HEVC on its own with nothing to add. Here is how to play HEVC files in VLC.

And PotPlayer is a Windows program, so none of this applies on a Mac, a phone or a TV.

Quick questions

Is HEVC the same as H.265?

Yes. It is one video standard with two names - H.265 is the ITU name and HEVC, short for High Efficiency Video Coding, is the MPEG name. That is why PotPlayer lists H.265 and HEVC as separate rows, and both should use the same decoder.

Do I need to buy the HEVC Video Extension for PotPlayer?

No. PotPlayer uses its own decoders and talks to your graphics card directly, so Microsoft's paid extension makes no difference to it.

Should I install the 32-bit or 64-bit OpenCodec?

Whichever matches your PotPlayer. On a normal Windows 10 or 11 PC that is almost always the 64-bit pair, PotPlayerSetup64.exe and OpenCodecSetup64.exe.

Built-in Decoder or LAV Video Decoder - which is better?

For most people the built-in one, which is why PotPlayer marks it as recommended. If you already use LAV Filters in your other players and want the same behaviour everywhere, add it with Filter Management on the Video Decoder page and pick LAV Video Decoder in the H.265 and HEVC rows.

Is OpenCodec free?

Yes. It is a free add-on for PotPlayer and sits in the same download table as the player itself, in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.