also its not just pure “compatibility”, but I had a time when I played vids to my TV over an old laptop (from around 2015). Worked like a charm. But some x265 vids went into full-on stutter mode in scenes where a lot of stuff was happening… was more a nuisance than a dealbreaker, but still, preferred x264 versions if I could get them

There is a LinusTechTips Video where they build a PC together (the guy from the original verge video) and he explained what happened. Have nothing but respect for that dude for doing that now…