Most Efficient Way To Play HEVC / x265

I use ffplay version N-78351-ga25c5db

installed with the ffmpeg package also known as:

ffmpeg                           7:2.8.6+git1~trusty   i386                  Multimedia player, server, encoder and transcoder

or ffplay version 3.0.git packages and source available here

Note that due to the level of compression, low-end, older hardware may struggle. This appears to be CPU intensive. Due to the smaller size, slow storage is perfectly acceptable as long as your Processor is up to the task. Smooth play is possible even off a cheap flash drive.

I have had no issues with hevc playback using either MPlayer or vlc, similarly while encoding with x265 is slow on my system it is bearable. I believe you need either or both of the following:

1. A quite powerful processor, quite apart from the GPU. I am running an AMD FX(tm)-8350 Eight-Core Processor which eases the load for intensive graphics work
2. Perhaps one of the newer GPUs that support hevc hardware support. One example is the NVidia GTX960. I only dream of having one of these :)

Early days for hevc and x265 but with the correct hardware you will have no trouble...