x265
Ranked 5 of 5 video encoders by recommenders
Free, open-source HEVC video encoder that makes much smaller files than older codecs, though patent royalties and patent pool claims can apply to commercial use.
5 people recommended x265 in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 7 comments.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- mixed feelings
- 2
- warn against or regret it
- 1
The record
Recommended in 4 of 12 months
In 4 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 4 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- The biggest thread supplies 40% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 7 of the 8 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Efficient compression, smaller video files
“x264 (and x265!) beat the pants off of them if one can spare the time and electricity”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “H.264 Is Magic (2016)” “you can ideally encode in a modern, efficient codec like x265 or AV1”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “What You Need to Know Before Touching a Video File” “fast CPU method saves closer to 60-70% file size”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Court orders Acer and Asus to stop selling PCs in Germany over H.265 patents” - Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Netflix’s AV1 Journey: From Android to TVs and Beyond”
Other video encoders people recommend
The four most recommended other video encoders, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AV1 | 38 | 8 | 20 | 66% | 11 | — | — |
| VP9 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| x264 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 77% | 8 | — | Approved |
| SVT-AV1 encoder | 7 | 3 | 1 | 88% | 5 | — | — |
| x265This page | 5 | 2 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
7 of the 8 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“x264 (and x265!) beat the pants off of them if one can spare the time and electricity”
“It's what I use for video capture.”
“Benchmarks like… x265 encoding… make much more sense than Geekbench.”
“VideoLAN wants you to pay the royalty for x265 and you'll get sued by patent pools if you use it in a company”
“fast CPU method saves closer to 60-70% file size”
“you can ideally encode in a modern, efficient codec like x265 or AV1”
“x265 is much better at preserving visual energy”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 3 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.