# Hvec hw transcode question
**URL:** https://forums.plex.tv/t/hvec-hw-transcode-question/921343
**Category:** Plex Media Server
**Tags:** server-linux
**Created:** [June 5, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hvec-hw-transcode-question/921343 "2025-06-05T00:47:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@NullZer0](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NullZer0)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hvec-hw-transcode-question/921343/1 "2025-06-05T00:47:57Z")
Server Version#: 1.41.7.9823
Player Version#: 1.109.0.329-ea562b95
So does plex server have the ability to decode hvec x265 from software and then transcode to x264 using hardware accelerated on the fly transcodes?
My servers igpu doesn’t have x265 support but my media is x265 as I transcode it that way using handbrake. The server doesn’t do hw on the fly transcode from x265 decode or encode. And I think it should be able to use sw decode and then use hw for x264 unless there is a limitation where it needs to be hw decode and encode on the igpu.
Just need to know if that’s the problem. If not then I’ll do more troubleshooting into why it’s not using hw transcoding.
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### Author:  [@MovieFan](https://forums.plex.tv/u/MovieFan)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hvec-hw-transcode-question/921343/2 "2025-06-05T00:51:03Z")
Yes Plex should be able to do that.
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### Author:  [@NullZer0](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NullZer0)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hvec-hw-transcode-question/921343/3 "2025-06-05T00:55:45Z")
Okay thanks I’ll dig deeper then. My setup isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s proxmox to a lxc unprivileged container with igpu pass through to docker which has plex media server. It sees the igpu I need to test a x264 file again I’ve seen it say HW before. But never on x265. Permissions might’ve changed though so I’ll look.
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### Author:  [@NullZer0](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NullZer0)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hvec-hw-transcode-question/921343/4 "2025-06-05T02:17:26Z")
Yeah so hw transcoding works for x264 but not when the cpu needs to decode from x265 sw to hw x264. I’m basiclly stuck using sw all around for that setup. 😕 @ChuckPa
This is my igpus vainfo.:
vainfo: Supported profile and entrypoints
VAProfileMPEG2Simple : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileMPEG2Simple : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileMPEG2Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileMPEG2Main : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline: VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline: VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264High : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264High : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264StereoHigh : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVC1Simple : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVC1Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVC1Advanced : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileNone : VAEntrypointVideoProc
VAProfileJPEGBaseline : VAEntrypointVLD
log errors:
[Req#5b86/Transcode] [FFMPEG] - libva: Trying to open /config/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Cache/va-dri-linux-x86\_64/i965\_drv\_video.so
[Req#5353/Transcode] Codecs: packet decode testing returned -95 for decoder ‘hevc’
[Req#5b86/Transcode] [FFMPEG] - No support for codec hevc profile 2.
[Req#5b86/Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Failed setup for format vaapi: hwaccel initialisation returned error.
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### Author:  [@NullZer0](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NullZer0)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2025, 2:59am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hvec-hw-transcode-question/921343/5 "2025-06-05T02:59:39Z")
Found the solution. Had to add this to dockers environment now it works as intended.
- PLEX\_PREFER\_SOFTWARE\_DECODING=1
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### Author:  [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2025, 2:59am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hvec-hw-transcode-question/921343/6 "2025-09-03T02:59:55Z")
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