2024-03-06, 08:34 PM
Browsers don't support HEVC, so you're out of luck there.
Android definitely does though. You just need to make sure you're using the integrated player and not the web player in your Android client settings.
Container "transcoding" (remuxing) isn't an intensive task either, and happens pretty transparently. So if your device supports HEVC, but doesn't like mkv containers, then a simple remux to mp4 during playback shouldn't cause any strain.
Same with audio transcoding, it's not intensive at all.
But yeah, using Chrome is going to be your issue. You're not going to get direct play of HEVC there at all. At best, you will get Direct Stream (simply remuxing the container and leaving the streams intact), but I believe there may be a PR still waiting to be merged for that.
The only time a client would transcode is if you're trying to play a stream (video, audio or subtitles) that uses a codec or format not supported by the client.
Android definitely does though. You just need to make sure you're using the integrated player and not the web player in your Android client settings.
Container "transcoding" (remuxing) isn't an intensive task either, and happens pretty transparently. So if your device supports HEVC, but doesn't like mkv containers, then a simple remux to mp4 during playback shouldn't cause any strain.
Same with audio transcoding, it's not intensive at all.
But yeah, using Chrome is going to be your issue. You're not going to get direct play of HEVC there at all. At best, you will get Direct Stream (simply remuxing the container and leaving the streams intact), but I believe there may be a PR still waiting to be merged for that.
The only time a client would transcode is if you're trying to play a stream (video, audio or subtitles) that uses a codec or format not supported by the client.