Hi, I’m reencoding some h.264 files with FFmpeg to h.265. The h.264 version would both play to any device and sync to our iPads just fine. The new h.265 version will play everywhere, over plex, on a Mac, directly on the iPad when copied there, but when I try to sync the files to the iPad it error…

@trumpy81 said: Most iOS devices do not support HEVC (H.265) and will not play it, so I am not surprised that Sync is failing for you. Stick to H.264 as that is the only format that all Apple devices support, the only exception to that is the new Apple TV 4K which does support HEVC but only in an…

@trumpy81 said: And since when am I considered to be Plex? You do realise that I am a volunteer here and I am NOT employed by Plex, right? It does not make any sense to me wasting time and resources to encode a H.264 video to H.265 only to have Plex transcode it back to H.264 again. Whether the…

Starting in iOS 11 iOS supports HEVC. As the OP stated, it plays back just fine, it just doesn’t sync. Not all iOS devices support decoding HEVC in hardware, so on older devices, performance of HEVC playback may suffer. Is the file a 4K file by any chance? iOS devices will play them back just fine …

@kclimie no, not a 4k file. Some 1080p and other 480p Just tested again with latest plex server, 1.13.1.5063 and ios client, still no worky. @trumpy81 due to plex’s inability to fix the AppleTV buffer size issue, I can choose between the features of files syncing to the device OR having playback …

HVEC/H265 files play fine but sync fails

General Discussions

enchained June 4, 2019, 5:34pm 9

Maybe you’ll find the following info useful in your case: Allow sync without transcoding

Topic		Replies	Views
Sync support for HEVC/x265, converting to x264 to then download (resolved with downloads feature) Feature Suggestions downloads	33	4489	April 1, 2022
Plex transcoding some h264 to HEVC on devices which seemingly can't handle it Plex Media Server server-linux , ios-legacy	10	359	June 8, 2021
Issue syncinc HEVC file Player Betas android-mobile-beta	7	69	January 8, 2020
Plex Sync Transcoding entire HEVC H265 due to missing "audio profile"? Plex Media Server server-linux	2	296	November 1, 2021
Plex iOS app is now forcing transcoding of H.265/HEVC files that previously played via Direct Play, Plex Players server-synology , ios	11	3857	July 28, 2025

HVEC/H265 files play fine but sync fails

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