Gave h265 a try in handbrake.
Source was a 720x576 vhs rip and I only used the preview option (30s).
File size:
4,3 MB h264
3 MB h265
MPC and vlc played without any hassle. Could be that I once installed a codec pack - don't remember.
To my surprise streaming also worked flawlessy with my kindle fire tablet.
MX player and VLC - free versions.
Settings used:
Besides the fact that h265 took about 5-6 the time to encode - it seems to work now very well. Smaller files are always nice. Could also turn up RF quality while keeping the size.
Is there a reason to post h265 encoded movies here? Seems to work with the default players (don't know about Mac/Linux but vlc is available there too). And if works with kindle OS (given the shitty app support compared to iOS or real android) it should work on any device now. My kindle fire tablet has also weak hardware - sub 100€ tablet - don't remember exactly as it was reduced with prime.
Usually handbrake needs 2 hours on my pc with 264. If it is 10 hours I wouldn't care. Can problaby uplclock it more (i2500k). Maybe another reason to get a beefier CPU and a new CPU. AMD Zen power!
10sec comparison for you to try out (from the vhs source - family safe content):
h264
https://mega.nz/#!dkU1HDBS!FggRPnZpn...PF5uWLnqcsyDN8
h265
https://mega.nz/#!U1UUAC6a!xksoQRCxG...7WC0xAz_iMqA6c
The blur is due to the source as scene is from fictional music vide. Interested in feedback if it works well or if there any problems with it.