The default Linux Mint media player (Celluloid) is a frontend for MPV. Create a configuration file for automatic hardware acceleration:
mkdir -p ~/.config/mpv/
nano ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf
Add these lines to enable HEVC hardware decoding via VA-API:
vo=gpu
hwdec=vaapi
hwdec-codecs=hevc,h264,vp9
profile=gpu-hq
Save (Ctrl+O, then Ctrl+X). Now, every time you open an MKV HEVC file in Celluloid or MPV, the GPU will handle decoding, drastically reducing CPU usage.
| User Type | Recommended Method |
| :--- | :--- |
| Casual user who just wants MKV files to play | Install VLC (Method 3) |
| Power user with a modern Intel/AMD laptop | Method 2 (Hardware-accelerated MPV) |
| Older PC without HEVC hardware decoding | Method 1 (Software decoding via ffmpeg) |
| NVIDIA GPU owner | Method 3 (VLC with NVDEC) |
If you are still having issues with hardware acceleration or specific 4K HEVC files, you might need a more up-to-date version of the multimedia libraries than what is in the default repository.
You can add the Rob Savoury PPA, which maintains updated multimedia apps:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:savoury1/ffmpeg6
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
Note: Use PPAs with caution, but this one is generally trusted within the Linux community for keeping media libraries current.
mpv --demuxer-lavf-o=analyzeduration=2M your-test-file.mkv
For Intel (Quick Sync Video):
sudo apt install intel-media-va-driver vainfo
vainfo # Should show HEVC entries
For NVIDIA (NVENC/NVDEC):
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-535 # Use latest recommended
sudo apt install nvidia-vaapi-driver
For AMD (VCE/VCN):
sudo apt install mesa-va-drivers
vainfo # Should show HEVC decoding support
Solution: Some GPU drivers have bugs with certain HEVC profiles. Fallback to software decoding by commenting out hwdec=vaapi in the mpv.conf file (add a # at the beginning of the line).
Test an MKV file with the ffmpeg command line tool:
ffmpeg -i /path/to/your/video.mkv
Look for the line: Stream #0:0: Video: hevc (Main 10), ... — if ffmpeg identifies it, your system recognizes the codec.
For Mkv Video On Linux Mint Link: Install Hevc Codec
The default Linux Mint media player (Celluloid) is a frontend for MPV. Create a configuration file for automatic hardware acceleration:
mkdir -p ~/.config/mpv/
nano ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf
Add these lines to enable HEVC hardware decoding via VA-API:
vo=gpu
hwdec=vaapi
hwdec-codecs=hevc,h264,vp9
profile=gpu-hq
Save (Ctrl+O, then Ctrl+X). Now, every time you open an MKV HEVC file in Celluloid or MPV, the GPU will handle decoding, drastically reducing CPU usage.
| User Type | Recommended Method |
| :--- | :--- |
| Casual user who just wants MKV files to play | Install VLC (Method 3) |
| Power user with a modern Intel/AMD laptop | Method 2 (Hardware-accelerated MPV) |
| Older PC without HEVC hardware decoding | Method 1 (Software decoding via ffmpeg) |
| NVIDIA GPU owner | Method 3 (VLC with NVDEC) | install hevc codec for mkv video on linux mint link
If you are still having issues with hardware acceleration or specific 4K HEVC files, you might need a more up-to-date version of the multimedia libraries than what is in the default repository.
You can add the Rob Savoury PPA, which maintains updated multimedia apps:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:savoury1/ffmpeg6
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
Note: Use PPAs with caution, but this one is generally trusted within the Linux community for keeping media libraries current. The default Linux Mint media player (Celluloid) is
mpv --demuxer-lavf-o=analyzeduration=2M your-test-file.mkv
For Intel (Quick Sync Video):
sudo apt install intel-media-va-driver vainfo
vainfo # Should show HEVC entries
For NVIDIA (NVENC/NVDEC):
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-535 # Use latest recommended
sudo apt install nvidia-vaapi-driver
For AMD (VCE/VCN):
sudo apt install mesa-va-drivers
vainfo # Should show HEVC decoding support
Solution: Some GPU drivers have bugs with certain HEVC profiles. Fallback to software decoding by commenting out hwdec=vaapi in the mpv.conf file (add a # at the beginning of the line).
Test an MKV file with the ffmpeg command line tool: Add these lines to enable HEVC hardware decoding
ffmpeg -i /path/to/your/video.mkv
Look for the line: Stream #0:0: Video: hevc (Main 10), ... — if ffmpeg identifies it, your system recognizes the codec.