Vision Pro Video Compatibility: Codec, Container, Stereo, HDR, and Audio

Start with two separate questions:

1. Can visionOS play the format through its system media stack?
2. Can the app you plan to use handle the file, source, and streams?

Those answers often differ. Apple Vision Pro supports H.264, HEVC, MV-HEVC, AV1, Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG in its published specifications, but that does not mean every file containing one of those formats will play in every app. A file can also include an unsupported stereo layout, audio track, subtitle format, or container path. Apple Vision Pro technical specifications describe platform capabilities. Each app determines which files and sources it can open.

Lumair is a Vision Pro app for compatible local files, SMB shares, and Jellyfin libraries. It can open compatible local files through Files, connect directly to SMB, and connect to a user's Jellyfin server. Lumair plays compatible decrypted 2D and 3D Blu-ray ISO disc images but does not open BDMV folders, bypass DRM, or rip discs. Lumair can browse, stream, and download compatible video directly from SMB servers on the local network. It does not claim NFS, DLNA, WebDAV, Plex, or Emby support. See Lumair Support for current app details.

Use this checklist before transferring, downloading, or streaming a file.

1. Check the platform route before the app route

Apple's supported video codecs describe what visionOS can decode or present through supported media frameworks. Apple lists H.264, HEVC, MV-HEVC, and AV1 video support, along with Dolby Vision HDR, HDR10, and HLG. Apple's Vision Pro specifications also list AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos audio support.

That list does not guarantee that every container, profile, embedded stream, or subtitle type works in every app.

For example:

• An HEVC video stream may be compatible, while its MKV container needs app-specific handling.
• An MKV may contain compatible 2D HEVC, MVC Blu-ray 3D, Dolby Vision metadata, TrueHD audio, image subtitles, or several combinations of those streams.
• A file extension identifies the container. It does not identify every video, audio, subtitle, HDR, or stereo stream inside the file.
• File size and bitrate alone cannot predict playback. A small file can contain an unsupported stream, and a large file can play if its streams and processing requirements are compatible.

Treat a successful result in one app as an app result, not a platform-wide rule. Test the exact file on the exact source path you plan to use.

2. Check the source path

Choose how the file reaches Lumair before evaluating the format.

Local files through Files

Lumair can open compatible local files through the Files app. Files can hold content from iCloud Drive, local app folders, and locations that visionOS exposes through Files. Apple documents how to browse, move, and organize files on Vision Pro in its Files guide.

For local playback:

1. Put the file in a location available in Files.
2. Open the file with Lumair.
3. Test video, audio, subtitles, HDR, and stereo presentation before relying on the file.

Lumair can browse, stream, and download compatible video directly from SMB servers on the local network. It does not claim NFS, DLNA, WebDAV, Plex, or Emby support. If your library lives on a network share, connect to a compatible SMB server directly or access the library through Jellyfin.

Jellyfin

Lumair can connect to a user's Jellyfin server. Jellyfin is a source path, not a video format. The result still depends on the original file's container, video codec, stereo layout, HDR metadata, audio tracks, subtitles, and the server's delivery choice.

Jellyfin documents that direct play, remuxing, and transcoding depend on the client and source codecs. Review Jellyfin's client codec support documentation and transcoding documentation when configuring a server.

Lumair's Jellyfin downloads save the selected original source file unchanged to app-managed storage. Embedded video, audio, and subtitle tracks remain in that file. Lumair does not bundle separate external subtitle files into the download.

Download a representative item and test the downloaded file before travel. Apple documents Travel Mode separately in its Vision Pro Travel Mode guide.

3. Check the video codec and container together

A codec describes compressed video. A container holds one or more streams.

• H.264 / AVC: A widely used video codec.
• HEVC / H.265: A video codec listed in Apple's Vision Pro specifications.
• MV-HEVC: A multiview HEVC format used for compatible stereoscopic video.
• MVC: Multiview Video Coding, commonly found in Blu-ray 3D sources. MVC is different from MV-HEVC.
• MKV: A container that can hold many video, audio, subtitle, and metadata combinations.
• MP4, MOV, and M4V: Containers commonly used with Apple media frameworks.

Compatible MP4, MOV, and M4V files that AVFoundation handles use native playback in Lumair. This remains file-specific. The extension alone does not guarantee that AVFoundation accepts every stream or profile inside the file.

Lumair can handle compatible HEVC MKV files by remuxing them for playback while preserving the original HEVC base video. The source video is not re-encoded as part of that remux path. Dolby Vision may be prepared when that is safe. When Lumair cannot safely preserve Dolby Vision handling, it uses the source HDR10 base layer where available. Dolby Vision profile, metadata, and file structure still affect the result, so Lumair does not promise every Dolby Vision file.

Compatible decrypted 2D and 3D Blu-ray ISO disc images are supported. BDMV folders remain unsupported. Extracting or converting a disc source is outside Lumair's scope, and users remain responsible for their source material and rights.

4. Check whether the file is 2D, MVC, MV-HEVC, SBS, or OU

Stereo video needs its own check because two files can use the same container and video codec while storing the left and right eye views differently.

Native-compatible MV-HEVC

Apple documents MV-HEVC as the format used for compatible stereoscopic video workflows. Apple's developer documentation also describes converting side-by-side 3D video to multiview HEVC and spatial video. See Apple's MV-HEVC conversion documentation.

A compatible MV-HEVC file in a compatible Apple media container follows the native playback route.

MVC Blu-ray 3D in MKV

MVC is not MV-HEVC. Lumair supports compatible H.264 MVC video in MKV by decoding MVC and converting it on the device to stereo MV-HEVC for the visionOS system player.

This is a conversion path. It is not direct MVC playback and it is not no-conversion MVC playback.

The MVC source must be compatible enough for Lumair to decode and prepare. Audio, subtitles, HDR, source structure, and device processing limits can still affect the outcome.

Side-by-side and over-under

Side-by-side (SBS) stores left and right views next to each other in a frame. Over-under (OU) stores them vertically. These layouts can appear in H.264 or HEVC files, including MKV files.

Lumair can handle compatible SBS and OU video in MKV, MP4, and MOV as stereo layouts. Resolution per eye, the packing arrangement, video stream details, audio, subtitles, and HDR still determine whether a specific file plays as expected. An SBS or OU label in a filename is not enough. Inspect the file and test it.

5. Check HDR and Dolby Vision

Vision Pro supports Dolby Vision HDR, HDR10, and HLG according to Apple's published specifications. HDR support remains dependent on the file's video profile, metadata, container, and app path.

For Lumair:

• Compatible MP4, MOV, and M4V files that AVFoundation handles use native playback.
• Compatible HEVC MKV files use Lumair's remux path while preserving the HEVC base video.
• Lumair may prepare Dolby Vision when it can do so safely.
• When safe Dolby Vision preparation is unavailable, Lumair uses the source HDR10 base layer if the file includes one.

A Dolby Vision label does not guarantee playback or Dolby Vision presentation. Some Dolby Vision files do not include an HDR10 base layer. Some files use profiles or metadata arrangements that need separate testing. The codec name, container name, bitrate, and file extension do not answer those questions.

6. Check audio tracks before playback

Audio can decide whether an otherwise compatible video file plays with the expected sound.

Apple lists AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos among supported Vision Pro audio formats. Review the Vision Pro specifications for Apple's published list.

Keep a compatible fallback audio track when possible. Many library files include more than one track, such as Dolby Digital Plus alongside a lossless track. Select and test the intended track in Lumair before downloading titles for offline use.

TrueHD, DTS-HD, DTS:X, commentary tracks, and unusual channel layouts require file-specific testing. Their presence does not mean the video will fail, but they prevent a simple prediction from the container or video codec alone.

7. Check embedded and external subtitles

Embedded subtitle tracks remain available when Lumair downloads an original Jellyfin source file unchanged. The download retains embedded tracks in the selected source file.

Separate external subtitle files are different. Lumair's Jellyfin download does not bundle an external `.srt`, `.ass`, `.ssa`, or other separate subtitle file with the video download. For predictable offline playback, use subtitles embedded in the selected source. For SMB media opened through Lumair's processing path, Lumair can pair a compatible sidecar SRT file when the filenames match in the same SMB directory. This includes compatible MKV, MK3D, WebM, ISO, and recognized SBS or OU video using spatial conversion. Plain MP4, MOV, and M4V native playback does not load sidecar files. Files selected through the system Files picker do not grant access to sibling sidecar files.

Test subtitle selection, character support, and timing with the downloaded file. Subtitle format is another independent compatibility check.

Conservative Lumair compatibility matrix

This matrix is intentionally conservative. “Compatible” means a file still needs testing against its actual streams, profile, metadata, subtitles, and source path.

Final playback checklist

Before committing time to a large transfer or download, check each item in this order:

1. Platform support: Is the codec within Apple's published Vision Pro support?
2. App support: Can Lumair open this container and source path?
3. Container: Is it MKV, MP4, MOV, M4V, ISO, or another structure?
4. Video codec: Is it H.264, HEVC, MVC, MV-HEVC, AV1, or another codec?
5. Stereo layout: Is it 2D, MVC, MV-HEVC, SBS, or OU?
6. HDR: Does it use SDR, HDR10, HLG, or a Dolby Vision configuration that needs testing?
7. Audio: Which track will you use, and does it play correctly?
8. Subtitles: Are they embedded, or are they separate external files?
9. Source path: Are you opening through Files or SMB, streaming from Jellyfin, or playing an offline download?
10. Real-file test: Test the complete file or a representative source before travel.

Lumair includes no media. Users are responsible for obtaining and using content they have the rights to access. Lumair is not affiliated with Jellyfin.

Lumair includes a 5-minute playback preview for every video. Full Playback is a $14.99 US one-time purchase. App Store pricing can vary by storefront.

Download Lumair free on the App Store.