What H.265 improves
H.264 divides each frame into blocks of at most 16 by 16 pixels. H.265 uses flexible blocks up to 64 by 64, along with better prediction of motion and detail. Large uniform areas, common in high-resolution video, compress far more efficiently, which is why the gain is greatest at 4K.
Where it plays
Because browser support is uneven, services pair H.265 with an H.264 version that plays anywhere.
- Smart TVs and streaming devices: almost universal on 4K models
- Apple devices: supported in hardware for years, including in Safari
- Android: supported on most modern phones and on Android TV
- Desktop browsers: depends on the browser, operating system and hardware
The trade-offs
- Encoding takes several times the computing effort of H.264, so it costs more
- A second set of renditions means more storage
- Patent licensing is more complicated than for H.264, with several licensing groups
- Older devices cannot play it at all
When to use it
Use H.265 for 4K and HDR, where it is effectively required, and for popular titles on television devices, where halving the bitrate makes a visible difference to the delivery bill. For a small catalog in HD, H.264 alone is often the more economical choice.
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