How to Fix Plex HEVC Video Playback Issue? | 2024 Update

Yes. Plex supports HEVC. As you can see from the left picture, Plex can play 4K HEVC videos but needs to meet the listed properties. If your videos don't match the requirements, then you will fail to play them on Plex.

However, sometimes, you may find that even if your videos meet the requirements, you still cannot play them. Why does Plex not play your HEVC videos? Read the following part to learn about the possible causes.

1. The 4K HEVC video is not supported. As stated in Part 1, not all HEVC videos are supported by Plex. So if your HEVC videos are in MKV or other formats, shot in 60 or higher fps, etc., you will fail to play them on Plex. Moreover, the device you're using may also cause the problem. Currently, 4K HEVC videos can only be viewed through Plex on TiVo Roamio and Bolt (Series 6) devices, 2016 or newer Tizen-based Samsung models, and VIZIO TVs.

2. The computer is insufficient to handle 4K HEVC videos. If you encounter the issue on your Windows PC, that may be the issue with your computer. To play HEVC videos, a computer with a powerful processor and graphics card is necessary. The minimal system requirements for 4K HEVC video playback are:
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake or newer
Integrated Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4200 or better/AMD A10-7800 APU
Discrete Graphics: GeForce GTX 650 or better/AMD Radeon HD 700 Series or better
RAM: 8GB

3. The HEVC transcoding is slow. If your HEVC video does not meet the properties shared in Part 1, Plex will automatically transcode it to 1080P through Plex Media Server. Transcoding is a CPU-intensive task and may cause poor performance for other tasks. Although Plex Media Server uses hardware acceleration to offload transcoding to the GPU for faster performance and lower CPU usage, the transcoding process may stuck if the hardware is underpowered.