The easiest option is to run `brew install mp4box`(requires HomeBrew).
But generally, I would now also recommend using the latest Handbrake Nightly which converts directly to hvc1.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
HEVC Support
- Thread starter Eliottjames
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The easiest option is to run `brew install mp4box`(requires HomeBrew).
But generally, I would now also recommend using the latest Handbrake Nightly which converts directly to hvc1.
Forgive my ignorance, but what does "hvc1" represent exactly?
Edit:
Found it.
https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/m/#!topic/feature-media-reviews/MGS64mkrpo0
Last edited:
What if i would just like to remux an hev1 to hvc1 video without recoding? is that possible with handbrake? Or does ffmpeg support it yet?
Thanks!
ffmpeg and Handbrake can't do that. mp4box can remux hev1 to hvc1 in a somewhat clunky way, so that's what I built the script for.
What about .mkv files that contain HEVC content? For example IINA can play them in High Sierra, but it uses a software decoder. Is there some magic to turn .mkv files into h265 QuickTime compatible files without re-encoding them? Does High Sierra have libraries that IINA developers could adopt for hardware accelerated playback? Because that would be cool.
As of right now you can’t use Apple’s new decoders on mkv. Best solution I’ve found to create QuickTime-playable HEVC from mkv:
1. Create a new file in Subler (subler.org)
2. Import the mkv’s streams into the new file
3. Save new file as .mp4. If you’re lucky, this might already be playable. Wasn’t the case for me, though.
4. Run my script on the mp4
I wonder how long it will take for the 3rd party applications to implement QuickSync for HEVC. Or does Apple need to expose something in the development toolkit to make this happen?
I note that we still don’t have 8-bit hardware HEVC decode in these applications even though Skylake Macs have been out since 2015.
The Sony nature camp video (76 Mbps 10-bit 2160p60 HEVC) plays perfectly on my 2017 Core m3 MacBook though in High Sierra, since it is an mp4 and the video is directly compatible with QT as is.
I note that we still don’t have 8-bit hardware HEVC decode in these applications even though Skylake Macs have been out since 2015.
Is there a QT-friendly version of the 120 Mbps jellyfish video out there somewhere? Or am I just going to have to Subler it?
The Sony nature camp video (76 Mbps 10-bit 2160p60 HEVC) plays perfectly on my 2017 Core m3 MacBook though in High Sierra, since it is an mp4 and the video is directly compatible with QT as is.
Last edited:
When I just try to run the MP4Box from terminal I get this error.
dyld: Library not loaded: @executable_path/lib/libgpac.dylib
Referenced from: /usr/local/bin/MP4Box
Reason: image not found
Abort trap: 6
How do i fix that?
I tried the 120 Mbps 8-bit and 10-bit Jellyfish files in High Sierra with QuickTime:
http://jell.yfish.us
They are in mkv so I used Subler to convert them to m4v. Unfortunately, the MacBook Core m3 cannot play them cleanly even with hardware acceleration in QuickTime in High Sierra. It is mostly OK but there are some stutters. I don't know if it's a problem with the file type, or if it's the profile (5.1 High and 5.1 Main10 for 8-bit and 10-bit respectively), or the bit rate (120 Mbps).
I'm wondering if a Core i5 MacBook or a Core i7 MacBook could play them cleanly. The GPU speeds of the various MacBook models are:
Core m3: 300 MHz, with boost up to 900 MHz
Core i5: 300 MHz, with boost up to 950 MHz
Core i7: 300 MHz, with boost up to 1050 MHz
Could anyone with the Core i7 MacBook try this in QuickTime in High Sierra? I'm wondering if the higher boost speed for the GPU would be enough to handle this, or if something else is the issue. You'd have to use Subler to remux.
I'm thinking it's the GPU, because the Core m3's CPU utilization is never very high. As mentioned before in my HEVC thread in the MacBook forum, the 10-bit 4K HEVC Sony nature file works perfectly. Note though that was a native mp4 file, not an mkv converted to m4v like the Jellyfish files, and the bitrate was much lower at a much more reasonable 76 Mbps.
http://www.4ktv.de/testvideos/
EDIT:
I just re-encoded the 120 Mbps 10-bit HEVC jellyfish video using the Handbrake nightly (with hcv1 support) from the original mkv to an mp4 file using the Handbrake Roku 4K p60 preset, and and the resultant HEVC file was only 18.25 Mbps at 29.97 fps. However, I still get the same stutters in the same places. So it must be something with the way the file was encoded.
Last edited:
If the CPU wasnt getting maxed out with the 120Mbps, i would think it's a bandwidth issue for that bitrate maybe? Although after reading your update (reencoding in HB), I wonder if there's something special(high complexity) in the scenes where stuttering occurs?
I just tried this Sony MP4 file, and it works perfectly on the Core m3 MacBook in High Sierra in QuickTime:
http://4kmedia.org/sony-bravia-uhd-hdr-4k-demo/
Sony Bravia OLED promotional video, in Ultra-HD HDR (HDR10), for Sony 4K OLED TVs.
Video Info:
Resolution : 3840 x 2160
File size : 724 MB
Duration : 00:01:23
Format : MP4
Codec : HEVC
Overall bit rate : 73 Mb/s
Bit depth : 10 bits
Frame rate : 60 fps
http://4kmedia.org/sony-bravia-uhd-hdr-4k-demo/
Sony Bravia OLED promotional video, in Ultra-HD HDR (HDR10), for Sony 4K OLED TVs.
Video Info:
Resolution : 3840 x 2160
File size : 724 MB
Duration : 00:01:23
Format : MP4
Codec : HEVC
Overall bit rate : 73 Mb/s
Bit depth : 10 bits
Frame rate : 60 fps
This is what the video playback looks like. I did a screen capture video of the playback while multitasking. Note that the video looks jerky at times in this screen capture video, but that's just because of the screen capture process. The HEVC video playback was smooth on my machine, but it was also recording a 2560x1600 screen capture at the same time, in the same program (QuickTime). Also, the CPU usage is higher than usual, again because of the simultaneous screen capture.
How is scrubbing at higher bit rates? This is vital for end users to get real time feedback and no freezing.
[doublepost=1499146385][/doublepost]
Ok I just tried this. My results on 2016 15" MBP Radeon 455.
Sierra
QuickTime : no support obviously
VLC : Frozen video, mostly just a black screen with sound.
High Sierra
QuickTime : Tried with and without Automatic graphics switching. Video opens, too many drop frames and attempts to recache. Useless from any point of view.
VLC : Same as Sierra, doesn't rely on system driver improvements
So no. H265 on latest hardware still not there.
IINA plays these much better than vlc, but it is still is software. Only QT will get you the hardware decode.
Scrubbing is not great on Kaby Lake m3 for HEVC 4K.
h.265 HEVC will work on your Skylake model in hardware with QT but it needs to be 8-bit, as you likely know. No support for 10-bit. Discrete GPU irrelevant. Apple is not supporting HEVC decode on AMD GPUs AFAIK.
I just used handbrake to transcode the Sony Camp 4K 10 bit. Is it still 10 bit after transcode in Handbrake? It played smoothly in QT on 13¨ MBP tb on High Sierra. but the bitrate was now around 23 Mb/s
No, handbrake doesn't have 10 bit support as far as I know.
Actually you could get a version here which support it https://mattgadient.com/2016/02/15/...ncodes-with-handbrake-mac-os-x-linux-windows/
But I guess some of the filters handbrake uses might need to be turned off to ensure a complete 10 bit chain.
Last edited:
I agree from a technical standpoint. I think Apple chose this just because they can get away with it. It will cost them less if they don't bother with the AMD/nVidia GPUs and they get to potentially sell more recent machines, through forced obsolescence.
I also wonder what is going on with the A8 and A8X. No hardware decode for HEVC of any sort, but we already know that there was at least some hardware HEVC support as far back as iPhone 6 with A8, since they even went as far to announce that FaceTime on A8 was HEVC and hardware accelerated.
Maybe the HEVC acceleration was limited but whatever the case, Apple just said forget it, and only allows iOS 11's hardware HEVC decode to work on A9 and up (8-bit). Consequently, even simple 8-bit 4K HEVC videos recorded by my iPhone 7 Plus won't play at all on my iPad Air 2. I was quite disappointed to see this. I would have been happy enough to get just 8-bit 1080p HEVC hardware decode but we don't get that either. Lower complexity 1080p HEVC will play fine on A8X via software, but it really kills the battery.
Seems they want to be cheap and not pay the costs per device for full HEVC support. This isn't the first time.
[doublepost=1499173220][/doublepost]I've now tested the video above on my PC.
Specs: i7 6700K, no overclock.
Radeon RX 580 and Radeon 295x2. First card is connected to the monitor.
I used the Windows Photos app to play the video.
The video plays back absolutely perfectly with real time scrubbing and silky resizing.
On my MacBook Pro 2016 with High Sierra it was glitchy and jerky.
The colours are absurdly rich on my Eizo (a true wide gamut monitor). Maybe over saturated. Maybe the Photos app is doing that.
I don't know if the CPU or the GPU is doing the work. Task manager is showing only 3-4% CPU utilisation.
All three GPUs in my system are heavily mining in the background. No impact on performance of the video or the mining.
If anyone has Windows 10 on their Skylake/Kabylake MBP or iMac, can you please try the same test and report back.
Thanks.
Last edited:
I have Windows 10 installed on my Skylake 13¨MBP tb. I will try the Sony Camp 4K 10 bit. Or is there som specific clips you want to be tested?
That 10bit file I am testing above, please.
Here is Test number 3!
Specs: Dual core Pentium Skylake, no hyperthreading.
Dual GTX 1070.
Again used Windows Photos app to play the video.
Video plays almost smoothly. Scrubbing was very good. Resizing was jerky.
CPU utilisation went up to around 25% while playing video.
The GPUs were mining in the background.
This system doesn't multi task well due to lack of CPU threads. It is solely a small miner.
So if both my Skylake PCs can playback video while heavily mining I don't see why my MBP shouldn't. It is purely a software issue on Apple's part.
That 10bit file I am testing above, please.
Here is Test number 3!
Specs: Dual core Pentium Skylake, no hyperthreading.
Dual GTX 1070.
Again used Windows Photos app to play the video.
Video plays almost smoothly. Scrubbing was very good. Resizing was jerky.
CPU utilisation went up to around 25% while playing video.
The GPUs were mining in the background.
This system doesn't multi task well due to lack of CPU threads. It is solely a small miner.
So if both my Skylake PCs can playback video while heavily mining I don't see why my MBP shouldn't. It is purely a software issue on Apple's part.
This one right? Sony Bravia OLED promotional video, in Ultra-HD HDR (HDR10), for Sony 4K OLED TVs.
You like $$$ video cards.That 10bit file I am testing above, please.
Here is Test number 3!
Specs: Dual core Pentium Skylake, no hyperthreading.
Dual GTX 1070.
Again used Windows Photos app to play the video.
Video plays almost smoothly. Scrubbing was very good. Resizing was jerky.
CPU utilisation went up to around 25% while playing video.
The GPUs were mining in the background.
This system doesn't multi task well due to lack of CPU threads. It is solely a small miner.
So if both my Skylake PCs can playback video while heavily mining I don't see why my MBP shouldn't. It is purely a software issue on Apple's part.
Good for mining I guess. But yeah, software issue. I figured as much, which is why I waited so long to upgrade. Given the example of Netflix 4K on Windows, I suspected Apple might do the same thing. At best they would support AMD/nVidia GPUs at some unknown later date, and at worst they would never support them.I'll check out the Core m3 scrubbing again, along with resizing, and compare against my iMac i5-7600 / Radeon Pro 575 that arrives tomorrow.
BTW, booting off an external HDD for High Sierra is really irritating. Takes a long time to boot and a long time to log in. It feels like the computer is hung. And any time I have extensively access the drive, it's just painful. But there is no way I am installing the High Sierra beta on my main boot drive.