DivX for Mac Still Can't Play HEVC - What Mac Users Can Use Instead

DivX 11.16 for Mac is out, and HEVC and HEIC are still missing from it.

DivX released version 11.16 on 30 September 2026, for Windows and Mac alike.

In its known issues sits a line Mac users have now read in seven releases in a row: HEVC and HEIC support are unavailable.

If you need to play an iPhone video or an HEVC movie on your Mac today, the fix is free - and it is not DivX.

Nearly two years of "temporarily"

The problem first showed up in DivX 11.11.1 for Mac in December 2024, described as temporary. Every Mac release since has repeated it, and in March 2026 the word "temporarily" quietly disappeared from the note.

Every line above comes from the DivX release history. DivX has not said why the support went, or when it might come back.

What 11.16 does bring

The new version hides the playback controls until you move the mouse, and shows scene thumbnails when you hover over the progress bar. It also labels which features are free and which belong to the paid DivX Pro upgrade.

The HEIC conversion fix in this release is for Windows only - Windows users can grab it from our DivX for Windows page.

What this means on your Mac

DivX Player and DivX Converter for Mac will not open HEVC (H.265) video or HEIC photos. That matters, because HEVC and HEIC are what an iPhone saves when its camera is set to High Efficiency, which is the default.

HEVC is also common in 4K movies, phone footage and MKV downloads. Not sure what your file is? Select it in Finder, press Command-I, and look at Codecs under More Info - if it says HEVC or H.265, DivX for Mac will not play it.

Your Mac already does half the job

You may not need to download anything. QuickTime Player has played HEVC in MP4 and MOV files since macOS High Sierra, and Preview and Photos open HEIC pictures without any help.

Where the built-in apps give up is MKV files, and HEVC video paired with DTS or AC3 audio. That is where a free player comes in.

The free players that handle HEVC on a Mac

• IINA - the one to try first. It is built only for macOS, runs natively on Apple Silicon and plays HEVC, MKV and AV1 with nothing extra to install.
• VLC for Mac - the backstop for the odd file IINA refuses. It handles HEVC inside MKV, plus DTS and AC3 audio, and has its own Apple Silicon build.

Both are free and open source. If you want the full picture, our free Mac video players compared covers mpv, Kodi and Elmedia as well.

Should you remove DivX from your Mac?

No need, if it still does what you use it for. It plays DivX, AVI and H.264 files as before, so it can stay for your older video collection.

Just do not wait on it for HEVC. Seven releases in, a free player that works today beats a fix with no date - more Mac tools are in our Mac downloads section.

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