Sudden HEVC / H265 failure with Windows 10
My 2016 production Windows 10 Pro (Version 20H2) computer suddenly stopped playing HEVC videos properly. I need this feature in my computer because of my work and entertainment purposes (other that it should just work).
It presented this behavior about two weeks ago. Before that, it was working fine. I did not install anything that I know of which would interfere with this.
What happens:
- MPV player just freezes the video (after some time playing), audio continues playing fine. Player is unresponsive and needs to be terminated.
- VLC Player freezes the video (after some time playing), audio continues playing fine. VLC player doesn't become unresponsive.
What I tried:
- Updating integrated graphics card driver (Intel® HD Graphics 530, driver version 27.20.100.9316).
- Updating dedicated graphics card driver (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, driver version 461.92).
- Installed K-Lite Codec Pack.
- Trying different players (mentioned above).
- Tried with browsers, couldn't play due to limited browser codec support (this is normal).
I use HEVC videos regularly, I am certain this problem didn't exist before, and I am out of options, hoping this community could give me a direction.
Thanks for your time.
Edit: Disabling hardware decoding (VLC) seems to bypass the problem, but an Nvidia 1060 should be able to hardware decode a h265 video (as it was before).
It would appear the solution was easy, however I didn't suspect such a thing because it never happened before.
When I realized my players were using the Integrated GPU rather than my Nvidia 1060 card for decoding the video, I tried the change this through Nvidia Control Panel / Manage 3D Settings, I saw the option to select the video card was grayed out (With the message: Windows OS now manages selection of the graphics processor). So after some research:
https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5035
Beginning with the Windows 10 May 2020 Update (20H1), the method for selecting which graphics processor to use for applications has changed.
The new update made my computer select the Integrated Graphics card to try and decode the video. My poor Intel was trying to hardware decode the videos until this time. This didn't present a problem with AVC (x264) videos, but HEVC (x265) videos were affected. I had to use Windows Settings / System / Display / Graphics Settings / Graphics Performance Preference menu to manually select my Nvidia card to run the player applications. Then the problem is fixed.
I was glad I realized this before trying some windows update revert method, so I leave this answer here if it helps anyone with the same problem.