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QuickTime Player doesn't read H265-Videofiles

If I open a H265-Videofile of the Canon EOS C70 with QuicktTime Player, it won't be read and play. But if I open a H265-Videofile of an iPhone 11 with the Quicktime Player, it will be read an play. What is the different? How I can play H265-Files of Canon EOS C70 with the QuickTime Player?


I use a MacBook Pro 2020 13'' 2 Thunderbolt 3

1,4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5

8 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR 3

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 with 1,536 GB

macOS Big Sur 11.6.2

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Apr 10, 2022 5:37 AM

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Posted on Apr 10, 2022 6:20 AM

What are the codec details??


...


There is the "old" H.264 (AVC Advanced Video Coding) and new H.265 (High Efficiency Video Coding HEVC) that needs macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later.


QuickTime Player refuses to play some H.265/HEVC flavors (as well as Final Cut Pro 10.6). Currently macOS 11-12 Big Sur and Monterey are more forgiving but they still has the following issues with "Codec ID" and "Chroma subsampling" options.


You can check all those pesky details with apps like Invisor (my favorite because it neatly highlights differences when a folder is dropped on it) or MediaInfo.


H.265 Codec ID hvc1 plays OK (as well as H.264 Codec ID avc1).


H.265 Codec ID hev1 has an error message "This file contains some media that isn't compatible with QuickTime Player" and plays audio only. There is a lossless fix if you install ffmpeg and add '-tag:v hvc1' without re-encoding in the Terminal:


ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -tag:v hvc1 output.mp4


Chroma subsampling 4:2:0 (Bit depth 8 bits) plays OK.


Chroma subsampling 4:2:2 (Bit depth 10 bits) has an error message "This file contains media which isn't compatible with QuickTime Player". Opens anyway in Big Sur but fails in Mojave.


VLC and IINA should have no issues with playing any decent new or old codec. Handbrake or VLC can be used to convert old codecs to new H.264 or H.265 wrapped as common mp4 (or its very close cousin m4v or mov).

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 10, 2022 6:20 AM in response to InternCines

What are the codec details??


...


There is the "old" H.264 (AVC Advanced Video Coding) and new H.265 (High Efficiency Video Coding HEVC) that needs macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later.


QuickTime Player refuses to play some H.265/HEVC flavors (as well as Final Cut Pro 10.6). Currently macOS 11-12 Big Sur and Monterey are more forgiving but they still has the following issues with "Codec ID" and "Chroma subsampling" options.


You can check all those pesky details with apps like Invisor (my favorite because it neatly highlights differences when a folder is dropped on it) or MediaInfo.


H.265 Codec ID hvc1 plays OK (as well as H.264 Codec ID avc1).


H.265 Codec ID hev1 has an error message "This file contains some media that isn't compatible with QuickTime Player" and plays audio only. There is a lossless fix if you install ffmpeg and add '-tag:v hvc1' without re-encoding in the Terminal:


ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -tag:v hvc1 output.mp4


Chroma subsampling 4:2:0 (Bit depth 8 bits) plays OK.


Chroma subsampling 4:2:2 (Bit depth 10 bits) has an error message "This file contains media which isn't compatible with QuickTime Player". Opens anyway in Big Sur but fails in Mojave.


VLC and IINA should have no issues with playing any decent new or old codec. Handbrake or VLC can be used to convert old codecs to new H.264 or H.265 wrapped as common mp4 (or its very close cousin m4v or mov).

Apr 10, 2022 9:36 AM in response to InternCines

> What is the different between hev1 and hvc1?


For some reason Apple favors hvc1. But it seems it is possible to losslessly just change hev1 to hcv1 tag with ffmpeg.


https://stackoverflow.com/questions/63468587/what-hevc-codec-tag-to-use-with-fmp4-hvc1-or-hev1


https://community.bitmovin.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-hvc1-and-hev1-hevc-codec-tags-for-fmp4/101


Apr 10, 2022 9:03 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Thanks for your quick reply!


This is insightful. However, I have one more question to better understand the complexity of the topic:


What is the different between hev1 and hvc1?


Because if I open a XF-AVC-File 10Bit 4:2:2 in Full HD with 50fps, QuickTime will play smoothly. The same thing will happen, if I open a MP4-File in H.265 10Bit 4:2:2 in UHD with 25 of a Panasonic Lumix GH5.

But QuickTime can't open MP4-File in H.264 10 Bit 4:2:2 3840x2160p25 of GH5 or MP4-File in H.265 10 Bit 4:2:2 in UHD with 50fps of a Canon EOS C70.

It's little bit strange.


When is a H265-File in HEV1 and when in HVC1?


Apr 10, 2022 10:38 AM in response to InternCines

Thank you for the links. I now understand the difference.

And I checked with Invisor the metadata of my video files and I have to correct my previous post:

The one videoclip of the Panasonic Lumix GH5, which was recorded in UHD and H265 in 10 Bit and can be played by QuickTime Player, has a Chroma Subsampling 4:2:0.


So you are right about "QuickTime Player refuses to play some H.265/HEVC flavors (as well as Final Cut Pro 10.6). Currently macOS 11-12 Big Sur and Monterey are more forgiving but they still has the following issues with "Codec ID" and "Chroma subsampling" options."


I hope Apple will release an update for QuickTime Player to solve this problem.


@Matti: thanks for your help!

QuickTime Player doesn't read H265-Videofiles

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