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Nimble Streamer adds HEVC support to WebRTC WHIP and WHEP



Nimble Streamer now supports HEVC/H.265 in WHIP ingest and WHEP playback on limited browsers (see section below).

This update extends Nimble Streamer WebRTC beyond the existing H.264, VP8, VP9 and AV1 scenarios and gives streaming teams another practical codec option for low-latency contribution and delivery.

HEVC can now be used in two WebRTC directions:

  • HEVC input via WHIP, so a WebRTC publisher can send an HEVC stream into Nimble Streamer.
  • HEVC output via WHEP, so viewers can receive WebRTC playback from Nimble Streamer with HEVC video.

This is useful for workflows where HEVC is already part of the production or delivery chain, especially when bandwidth efficiency is important and target clients support HEVC decoding.

A typical workflow may look like this:

  1. A WebRTC publisher sends HEVC video to Nimble Streamer using WHIP (see below).
  2. Nimble Streamer processes the incoming WebRTC stream.
  3. The same stream can be delivered to compatible viewers using WHEP with HEVC video.

This keeps the WebRTC path simple for supported clients and helps avoid unnecessary codec conversion when both publishing and playback sides can handle HEVC.

For mixed-device OTT services, HEVC over WHEP can be used alongside other Nimble Streamer outputs and codec workflows. This allows operators to keep low-latency WebRTC delivery for compatible browsers while still serving broader audiences through other protocols or transcoded variants when needed.

Limited browsers support

Browser codec support for WebRTC is still platform-dependent, so compatibility must be checked for each target environment. HEVC over WebRTC works in browsers on iOS and in Chrome on Windows.

For other browsers or platforms, use the codec supported by the playback environment. You can apply transcoding when the output format must be changed, like we show in this video tutorial. You may also use WHEP ABR for output, in this case we recommend using H.264 in addition to HEVC.

WHIP publishing

Publishing HEVC via WHIP is set up basically the same way as it’s done for other codecs. You can follow this article to do that. Notice that you need to use &videocodecs=h265 parameter to make HEVC publishing explicitly. The article explains that as well.

Update Nimble Streamer to the latest version and test your WHIP/WHEP workflow with the browsers and devices used by your audience.