Yes, they changed it. Only way of knowing is with the parts number. But is Tesla still using old HW2 hardware?
By the way, I also had issues with 265, stuttering, artifacts and missed clips. Not sure if it was the stick, but I doubt it.
I don’t know. There are confirmed cases of AP2.5 computers installed after the nominal cutover date in cars ordered without FSD, but I have no idea if the practice is continuing. I would expect it to end at some point - Tesla explicitly said the AP3 computer is 20% cheaper to make.
I had issues with the videos on the initial factory delivery firmware - the videos had this weird flickering effect in the imagery - but that went away in the first or second update I got and I had no other problems. I am using an SSD, but the whole point of H265 is it requires less storage space and less bandwidth, so I don’t see how the slower card would matter.