July 2, 2026
Raspberry Pi 5 accepts H.264 video, including YouTube downloads
A Raspberry Pi 5 now takes H.264 video as well as HEVC. Anthias 2026.05.1 started checking each video against what the board can decode, and on a Pi 5 that meant HEVC only, since it has no H.264 decoder Anthias can use. H.264 uploads were refused, and so were YouTube videos, which Anthias downloaded as H.264 and then marked "Failed".
From Anthias 2026.07.0, the Pi 5 decodes H.264 on its processor instead. In the project's testing, a 1080p H.264 clip at 30 fps played as smoothly as the same clip in HEVC, using about 14% of the Pi 5's processor.
YouTube downloads on a Pi 5 take HEVC when YouTube offers it, and H.264 otherwise. Other boards still prefer H.264.