Roku is by far the most popular set top box for streaming media with the access of thousands of channels. Recently, the dispute about if Roku 3 and its successor Roku 4 support H.265 codec video since H.265/HEVC is gradually more and more used in many camera video, 4K video and other video streaming.
Actually, as far as we know, Roku 3 supported media file formats are restricted to MKV (H.264), MP4 (H.264). H.265/HEVC video is not included here while the Roku 4 has h.265 decoding. So can you successfully play H.265 on Roku 4? I think it maybe depend on your lucky. Some responded that when they played H.265 with Plex on Roku 4, it failed. It’s very possible Plex needs to be updated with proper capabilities of the Roku 4. But it also unveils that it is not as easy as you imaged to stream H.265 on Roku 4.
If you have a bunch of H.265/HEVC video and want to play them on Roku 3/4 without any hassle, you’d better convert H.265 to H.264 codec video with a H.265 converter. U2USoft Total Video Converter is integrated of HEVC H.265 encoding and decoding. No matter you are looking for converting video to HEVC/H.265 480p, 720p, 1080p, 4K UHD 4320p or decode HEVC/H.265 video to other video formats, like Roku 3/4 supported MP4/MKV, the professional HEVC Converter will fulfill your task fast and easily.
If you are a Mac user, you should use the equivalent Mac H.265 Converter. It can make you convert H.265 to Roku 3/4 on macos Mojave, Mac OS X El Capitan, Yosemite, etc platform.
Part 1: How to encode HEVC x265 video for direct playing on Roku 3/4 on Windows?
To transcode HEVC/H.265 video files to H.264 MP4 for playing on a Roku 3/4 on a Windows PC, follow these steps:
Step 1: Import HEVC video files
Launch U2USoft Total Video Converter for Windows and click “Add File” to load HEVC H.265 files that you want to convert into this program.
Download HEVC/H.265 Video Converter for Windows:
Step 2: Click “Profile” to select H.264 MP4 as output format
To convert HEVC media to 1080p H.264 MP4 for playing on your Roku 3/4 via USB drive, simply select “HD Video” > “HD H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Video (*.mp4)” as target format.
If your source HEVC files come with 4K quality and your Roku 3/4 supports 4K video in H.264 encoded MP4 format, then you can choose “4K Video” > “4K H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Video (*.mp4)” as target format. To choose 4K H.264 MP4 as output format, please make sure your Roku 3/4 supports 4K H.264 MP4 first. If not, 1080p H.264 MP4 would be a recommended option.
Tips:
If necessary, you can click “Settings” button to modify video and audio parameters like encoder, resolution, frame rate, bitrate, aspect ratio, sample rate, and audio channels. You can also “Enable 3D Settings” to add 3D effect to your source media.
Step 3: Click “Convert” to start HEVC to Roku 3/4 conversion on Windows.
As soon as the conversion is complete, click “Open Folder” to get the generated H.264 MP4 files for viewing on your Roku 3/4 fluently.
Part 2: How to convert HEVC H.265 video for direct playing on Roku 3/4 on Mac?
To re-encode HEVC/H.265 to H.264 MP4 for playing on Roku 3/4 on macOS, follow these steps:
Download HEVC/H.265 Converter for Mac:
Step 1: Import HEVC video files
Start up U2USoft Video Converter Ultimate for Mac and click “Add File” to load HEVC H.265 files that you want to convert into this program.
Step 2: Click “Profile” to select H.264 MP4 as output format
To convert HEVC H.265 files to 1080p H.264 MP4 for playing on your Roku 3/4 through USB drive, simply choose “HD Video” > “HD H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Video (*.mp4)” as target format.
If you want to convert 4K H.265 to 4K H.264 .mp4 for your Roku 3/4, you can choose “4K Video” > “4K H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Video (*.mp4)” as target format. To select 4K H.264 MP4 as output format, first of all, please make sure your Roku 3/4 supports 4K H.264 MP4 playback. If not, we would recommend choosing 1080p H.264 MP4 as target format.
Tips:
If necessary, you can click “Settings” button to modify video and audio parameters like encoder, resolution, frame rate, bitrate, aspect ratio, sample rate, and audio channels. You can also “Enable 3D Settings” to add 3D effect to your source media.
Step 3: Click “Convert” to start HEVC to Roku 3/4 conversion on macOS.
As soon as the conversion is complete, click “Open Folder” to get the exported H.264 MP4 files and add them to your Roku 3/4 for playback through your USB drive with very good performance.
Quite a simple workflow. No extra transcoding is required while playing them on your Roku 3/4. Hope this will shed you some lights on your incompatibility issues while playing HEVC movies on your Roku 3/4.