By default, Windows is not capable of playing any video you can throw at it. Sometimes, it is necessary to install video extensions that provide the necessary codecs to read a certain video format.
For example, if you take a video using your phone’s camera, upload it to Google Photos, and then try to download a copy to a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC, you’ll see that the system can’t play it. This is something that happens with Google Pixels, but it can also happen with phones from other manufacturers. It is a very common mistake.
If you look in a little detail, the message you get when opening the video is “You need a new codec to play this video”. Now, the problem is that the HEVC video extension that contains that codec is priced at $0.99 in the Microsoft Store, and that’s not so cool anymore.
If you don’t want to buy it and click on the “Not now” button, you will simply see a message with the error 0xc00d5212 informing that “the item was encoded in an unsupported format”. Is there anything you can do to fix it without going through checkout?
How to Get HEVC Video Extension for Windows for Free
Many modern smartphones use the HEVC format to store high-quality videos while taking up very little space. This is thanks to the H.265 codec, which you can use to significantly increase the degree of compression of the videos without hardly losing quality.
Although this codec goes for $0.99 in the Microsoft Store, the good news is that a free version is also available that you can download from the store itself. The only problem is that it is hidden, but that is something you can easily fix.
- Open your web browser and paste this address: ms-windows-store://pdp/?ProductId=9n4wgh0z6vhq
- You will then see a message requesting authorization to open the Microsoft Store. Click on “Open Microsoft Store”.
- The Microsoft Store app will open automatically, to the “Device Manufacturer HEVC Video Extension” installation tab. You will see that this time the installation is completely free.
- Click on “Install”.
You will get the HEVC video extension that Microsoft itself offers to device manufacturers, and that is why they are free. After installing the codecs, you can play the video without major complications. In case of problems, simply restart the PC and that’s it.
