Shotcut's release notes state, in the entry for Release 26.6.25, that "No H.264 hardware encoders support 10-bit; this change simply makes it use software encoding with x264." So if your project is in a 10-bit processing mode and you export H.264 with Use hardware encoder checked, the file is produced by the software x264 encoder — the checkbox is on, but the GPU is not doing the encoding.
That single sentence resolves a confusion that comes up constantly: people see earlier release notes about 10-bit being fixed for hardware encoders, assume 10-bit plus hardware acceleration works everywhere, and then wonder why a 10-bit export takes as long as a software one. Both things are true. They just apply to different codecs.
The 10-bit picture, at a glance
Every row below is a release-note entry, so read each one as "this is what changed in that version", not as a standing spec.
| What | What the official source says | Version |
|---|---|---|
| 10-bit + H.264 hardware encoding | "No H.264 hardware encoders support 10-bit; this change simply makes it use software encoding with x264." | Release 26.6.25 |
| The bug that prompted it | "Fixed 10-bit H.264 encoder fails with hardware encoding on." | Release 26.6.25 |
| 10-bit with NVIDIA | "Fixed 10-bit Export with NVENC (NVIDIA) encoders." | Release 24.01.28 |
| 10-bit with AMD and Windows on Arm | "Fixed 10-bit with amf (AMD) and mf (Windows on Arm) hardware encoders." | Release 25.12.30 |
| 10-bit AV1 on Intel | "Added support for Intel (“qsv”) AV1 and VP9 hardware encoders on Windows including 10-bit for AV1." | Release 23.05.07 |
| What a 10-bit project exports by default | "Changed Export to default to 10-bit HEVC export in the 10-bit processing modes" | Release 26.4.30 |
| HDR metadata on export | "Export only embeds PQ HDR metadata for the libx265 and libsvtav1 video codecs and no hardware encoders." | Release 26.6.25 |
Note the shape of this: the 10-bit fixes are attached to specific encoder families, and the "no 10-bit" statement is attached specifically to H.264. Dropping that qualifier turns a true statement into a false one.
Where the 10-bit setting actually lives
Since version 25.12, the relevant switch is Settings > Processing Mode. The user guide lists four options verbatim:
- "Native 8-bit CPU (fast, flexible)"
- "Native 10-bit CPU (slower, better)"
- "Linear 10-bit CPU (slowest, best)"
- "Linear 10-bit GPU/CPU (Experimental)"
The guide notes that this "was added in version 25.12 and replaces the old menu item Settings > GPU Effects", and Release 25.12.30 records the addition with a detail that matters here: "Added Settings > Processing Mode for video processing. This affects both preview and export." The parenthetical speed and quality labels are the official ones; Shotcut's documentation puts no numbers behind them.
So a 10-bit export is usually not something you asked for on the Export panel — it follows from the processing mode you picked. Release 26.4.30 records the change as "Changed Export to default to 10-bit HEVC export in the 10-bit processing modes".
Why the export gets slower, and why that is expected
The user guide recommends hardware encoding for "Long exports", "High-resolution video", "Preview or draft renders" and "Laptop or low-power systems", and says to prefer software encoding for "Maximum compression efficiency", "Archival-quality exports" and "Advanced codec tuning". The guide states that hardware encoding can shorten export time substantially; the actual factor depends on your resolution, encoder and GPU, so check the official documentation for the figures it gives.
Put those together with the 26.6.25 note and the behaviour makes sense: a 10-bit H.264 export gives you software-encoder timings because it is a software encode. Nothing is broken, and there is no setting that makes an H.264 hardware encoder do 10-bit.
One related expectation worth resetting while you are here. The guide is explicit that the hardware-vs-software trade is about bitrate, not artifacts: "Hardware encoding is usually less compression-efficient, not lower quality", and "The visual quality difference is often small or invisible; the difference is usually in bitrate efficiency, not obvious artifacts." A hardware-encoded file being larger at the same quality target is documented behaviour, not a misconfiguration.
What to do when this hits your export
Pick based on what you actually need out of the file:
- You want hardware speed more than you want 10-bit. Set Settings > Processing Mode to "Native 8-bit CPU (fast, flexible)" and export H.264 as usual.
- You want 10-bit and hardware acceleration. That means not using H.264. The release notes record 10-bit fixes for NVENC (24.01.28), amf and mf (25.12.30), and 10-bit AV1 on Intel qsv on Windows (23.05.07) — but the official wording around AV1 hardware encoders is hedged throughout: "av1_nvenc (newer GPUs only)", "av1_vaapi -- AV1 encoding using VAAPI (if supported)", and "av1 -- Very efficient, newest standard, limited hardware support". Check what your own machine actually offers rather than assuming.
- You want 10-bit H.264 specifically. Then accept the software encode and budget the time.
If the file that comes out is bigger than you wanted to hand to someone, shrinking it afterwards is a separate job from the export, and it does not require going back into Shotcut:
Try it right here
Runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded anywhere.
That runs locally in the browser tab, so the export stays on your machine. More format tools are listed on all Clapr tools, and /compress-video covers the general case.
Encoder-by-encoder gotchas
Check what your system actually exposes. The guide says Shotcut "automatically scans the system and lists all hardware encoders it can access on the current operating system", and spells out what a greyed-out entry means: "Unchecked options mean: The encoder exists in Shotcut But is not available on your system". That is availability, not a disabled feature.
Watch the status line when you tick the box. Per the guide, if the encoder has not been configured Shotcut tries to detect it when you click the checkbox, and you should "Pay attention to the status message area just below the player controls for several seconds after clicking the checkbox to see what it reports." The Quick Start guide is blunt about the outcome: "If nothing is detected then your graphics card is not compatible."
Two pages disagree about which codecs hardware encoding covers. The guide's Export Basics section says the feature "currently only supports the H.264 (aka AVC) and HEVC (aka H.265) codecs", while the very next section lists AV1 hardware encoders by name and three release notes (23.05.07, 23.11.29, 24.02.29) record adding them. Both statements are official; treat the AV1 path as real but hedged by the qualifiers above.
Presets are not guaranteed to cooperate. The guide lists "Some export presets may not support hardware encoders" among the limitations, and for a preset used where the hardware encoder is unavailable says "The export may fail Shotcut may fall back to software encoding Results may differ from expectation" — two possibilities, not one guaranteed fallback.
HDR is a separate line. Release 26.6.25 added HDR support to Export "automatic per Video Mode and 10-bit processing mode", but only for libx265 and libsvtav1, "and no hardware encoders". So a hardware-encoded export will not carry PQ HDR metadata.
FAQ
Can Shotcut export 10-bit with hardware encoding? For H.264, no — Release 26.6.25 states that no H.264 hardware encoders support 10-bit and that Shotcut uses software x264 instead. For other codecs, the release notes record 10-bit fixes for NVENC, amf, mf, and 10-bit AV1 on Intel qsv on Windows.
Why is my 10-bit export slow even though hardware encoding is on? Because on the H.264 path it is being encoded by x264 in software regardless of the checkbox. Hardware encoding is recommended by the guide for long exports and draft renders; a software encode does not get those timings.
How do I turn 10-bit off in Shotcut? Choose Settings > Processing Mode > "Native 8-bit CPU (fast, flexible)". Release 25.12.30 notes this setting affects both preview and export.
Does hardware encoding make my video look worse? The guide says the opposite of the common assumption: "Hardware encoding is usually less compression-efficient, not lower quality." Expect a larger file at the same quality target rather than visible artifacts.
Why is my CPU still maxed out during a hardware-encoded export? Shotcut's FAQ explains that reading and decoding files alone becomes a bottleneck feeding the hardware encoder, and that any decent amount of image processing means significant CPU usage, especially with parallel processing enabled.
More export limits and gotchas are collected in the limits hub. Facts on this page are quoted from Shotcut's official release notes and User Guide as captured in September 2026 — verify against the current documentation before relying on a version-specific behaviour.
