Adobe this week stealth-released a version of Flash Player for Mac that supports GPU decoding of H.264-encoded video. However, the 'cool' feature only works on Macs with certain NVIDIA graphics.

The 264 file extension is associated with the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video format. This file extension is often used for H.264 video in RAW format before its conversion to the standard H.264 video formats, that are playable in the most media players.

The H.264/AVC video codec was introduced in 2003 as a successor of H.263 codec and it is used to provide good video quality through low bitrate connection (average half bitrate and the same quality as MPEG-2). Now is used as a standard applied to a wide variety of applications on a wide variety of networks and systems including low and high bit rates, low and high resolution video, broadcast, DVD storage, RTP/IP packet networks, and ITU-T multimedia telephony systems. In 2004 the original H.264 codec was extended by FRExt (Fidelity Range Extensions) developed by JVT that enable higher quality video coding by supporting increased sample bit depth precision and higher-resolution color information, including sampling structures known as YUV 4:2:2 and YUV 4:4:4. The H.264 codec is still in developing and now is available version 17. The video stored in H.264 codec can be stored in various resolutions from 128x96 to 4096x2304. The 264 files are often recorded by hardware DVR recorders used to manage security IP cameras, or other security systems.

These video files are often header less (file header stores information about data stored in the file) and their playback in multimedia players, like VLC player, are not possible. But you can use for example Netviewer app that allows you to playback 264 files from DVR recorders, and convert them to AVI format. Updated: July 4, 2018.

Recommended software programs are sorted by OS platform (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android etc.) and possible program actions that can be done with the file: like open 264 file, edit 264 file, convert 264 file, view 264 file, play 264 file etc. (if exist software for corresponding action in File-Extensions.org's database).

Hint: Click on the tab below to simply browse between the application actions, to quickly get a list of recommended software, which is able to perform the specified software action, such as opening, editing or converting 264 files. © 2000–2019 Note: We try to keep all external and related links up-to-date, however we are not responsible for the content of any site linked, further links on sites linked, or any changes or updates to the the information found on these sites. File-Extensions.org provides links to third party sites only as a convenience and the inclusion of such links on our site does not imply File-Extensions.org's endorsement of either the site, the organization operating such site, or any products or services of that organization. A visit to any site or page from our web site via these links is done entirely at your own risk. Legal notice: You may not, under any circumstances, resell or reproduce any information for commercial use without the express prior written consent of File-Extensions.org. Scripts to automatically harvest results are strictly prohibited due to performance reasons and will result in your IP being banned from this website.

Adobe this week stealth-released a version of Flash Player for Mac that supports GPU decoding of H.264-encoded video. However, the 'cool' feature only works on Macs with certain NVIDIA graphics cards. The culprit: Blame Apple for the spotty coverage.

Adobe product manager Thibault Imbert said on the ByteArray.org blog that Flash Player 10.1.82.76, a security update,. We just pushed a few minutes ago a new version of the Flash Player 10.1.82.76 containing a nice feature that was in beta until now called 'Gala'. Yes, H.264 GPU decoding in Mac OSX is now officially enabled in the Flash Player. You should notice now a nice difference when playing H.264 content on your Mac in terms of CPU usage. We rarely enable new features in security releases but we really wanted to enable such a cool feature. However, followup posts from readers revealed that only some Macs are supported in this initial release of Flash Player. Download quicktime for mac old version.