Handbrake, one of the leading open source video transcoders running on Windows, Linux, and Mac, has recently been updated to version 0.10.0, which brings not only new encoders, but also a critical change for Windows users.

Starting with this release, the app no longer works on Windows XP, so those who wish to continue using the app on their PCs need at least Windows Vista or a newer version.

Dropping Windows XP support was necessary because of the introduction of new encoders which are no longer fully compatible with the ancient operating system, including Intel QuickSync Video which runs exclusively on PCs with Intel CPUs.

One of the biggest setbacks, however, is the fact that version 0.10.0 also includes H.265 support exclusively offered to Windows users, so those still on XP now have another reason to upgrade to an OS version that still receives support from Microsoft.

Built-in auto-update system still working on XP

If you're still on Windows XP and want to continue running Handbrake on your computer, you’d better stay away from the built-in auto update engine.

It turns out that this particular feature still works on existing installations of the app, so in case you hit it by mistake or on purpose, Handbrake is automatically updated to version 0.10.0. After that, an error telling you that the app no longer on Windows XP is all you get, so keep in mind that updating is not an option if you do run this old OS version.

The latest Handbrake build running on XP is 0.9.9, so if you accidentally updated and are looking for a way to downgrade, here's the download link for this old release.

17 percent of desktops still on Windows XP

While it's not a surprise that software developers across the world drop support for Windows XP, it's pretty obvious that it's impacting millions of users out there, as the 13-year-old operating system continues to be powering no more, no less than 17 percent of desktop computers.

Microsoft pulled the plug on XP on April 8, 2014, and since then, only few have actually upgraded to a newer release, mostly because such a process would also involve expensive hardware upgrades too.

The more time passes however, the more obvious it becomes that those on Windows XP need to upgrade, not necessarily because of security risks, which are quite obvious since they're running an unsupported operating system, but because of new software releases that only work on Windows Vista and newer.