HEVC to H.264 Converter
Swap the H.265 video stream for H.264, the codec that editors, media servers and TVs of the last fifteen years all decode, while the original soundtrack is copied over as it is.
Video Converter
or drop MP4, MOV, MKV … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
Lower is better quality and a bigger file. 18 looks identical to the source, 23 is the default, 28 and above shows visible softening.
Frames per second. Keep the source rate unless a platform asks for a specific one; 15–20 fps is plenty for GIFs.
Only used for PowerPoint files and single still images: how long each slide or picture stays on screen.
Auto uses AAC for MP4/MOV and Opus for WebM. Copy keeps the original sound untouched when the new format supports it.
192 kbps is transparent for music; 128 kbps is enough for speech.
Width of the animation in pixels; height follows the aspect ratio. 480 px suits chats, 720 px or more gives a high-quality GIF but a much larger file.
GIF holds at most 256 colors. Fewer colors make a smaller file but cause banding on gradients and skin tones.
Mixes palette colors in a fine pattern to hide banding. Sierra gives the smoothest result; none gives the smallest file.
Whether the animation repeats endlessly or plays one time and stops.
Optional. Seconds (e.g. 75) or minutes:seconds (1:15). Leave empty to start at the beginning.
Optional. Same format as the start time. Leave empty to keep everything up to the end.
The converted file will be at or just under this size.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the H.265 clips
Add .mp4, .mov, .mkv or raw .hevc and .h265 files, up to 20 per batch and 95 MB each.
- 2
Pick the container
Video codec is set to H.264 and Quality (CRF) to 20 for an editing-grade copy. Choose MKV or MOV under Convert to if you want to keep the container your library uses.
- 3
Convert and replace
Press Convert to MP4 (or the format you picked) and download the H.264 files singly or as a ZIP.
HEVC to H.264: changing the codec inside the file
HEVC and H.264 are codecs, the compression methods for the picture itself. MP4, MOV and MKV are containers that hold a codec stream next to audio and subtitles. That is why renaming a file never helps: a .mp4 with HEVC inside is still HEVC, and a player without an H.265 decoder still shows a black screen or refuses it.
Both codecs come from the same joint ITU-T and ISO/IEC team. H.264, also called AVC, was approved in 2003; HEVC followed in 2013 and needs roughly half the bitrate for the same picture. Licensing slowed its spread: H.264 patents are pooled in one program, while HEVC licenses were split across several pools, including MPEG LA, Access Advance and Velos Media, which made many software makers and browser vendors hesitate for years. Re-encoding is therefore the reliable fix whenever the receiving side is older or unknown.
H.264 vs HEVC: where each codec plays
| H.264 (AVC) | HEVC (H.265) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware decoding on most PCs built before 2015 | yes | no |
| Video codec of standard Blu-ray Discs | yes | no |
| Video codec of Ultra HD Blu-ray | no | yes |
| Light to decode while scrubbing an edit | yes | no |
| File size at the same visual quality | Baseline | About half |
2003
H.264 approved
ITU-T publishes H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC, which goes on to power YouTube, Blu-ray and video calls.
2013
HEVC approved
H.265 is finalized in April with about twice the compression efficiency of its predecessor.
2015
Hardware catches up
Intel's 6th-generation Core chips and NVIDIA's GTX 950 and 960 bring full HEVC decoding to mainstream PCs.
2017
Phones switch
iOS 11 makes HEVC the default camera format on the iPhone 7 and later, and HEVC clips start reaching everyone else.
HEVC
HEVC / H.265 video
HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding, also called H.265) is a video codec standardised by ITU-T and ISO/MPEG in 2013. It delivers roughly the same quality as H.264 at about half the bitrate, which makes it standard for 4K, HDR and iPhone video. A .hevc or .h265 file is a raw video stream without a container or audio. Patent licensing has slowed support, so some browsers, older PCs and editors cannot decode it.
- Compression
- Lossy
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- 2013 · ITU-T VCEG and ISO/IEC MPEG
H264
H.264 / AVC video
H.264, also known as AVC, is a video codec standardised by ITU-T and ISO/MPEG in 2003. It is the most widely supported codec in the world and is used in most MP4 files, Blu-ray discs, video calls and web video. A .h264 file is a raw video stream with no container or audio track, so many players need it wrapped in MP4 first. It needs more bitrate than HEVC or AV1 for the same quality.
- Compression
- Lossy
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- 2003 · ITU-T VCEG and ISO/IEC MPEG
HEVC to H.264 is a decode-cost conversion: the H.265 stream saves space but taxes older GPUs, media servers and editing timelines, while H.264 plays and scrubs smoothly on hardware that is a decade older.
Settings that matter for an HEVC to H.264 re-encode
Quality (CRF) starts at 20 here rather than the usual 23, because HEVC to H.264 copies are often edited or archived, and the extra bitrate keeps foliage and skin texture from smearing. Use 18 for footage that will be graded and around 26 for clips that only need to play.
Leave Resolution and Frame rate on Same as source unless the target cannot handle them. Dropping a 4K drone clip to 1080p cuts the size more than any CRF change. To fit an upload limit, run the copy through compress video to 100 MB afterwards.
If the HEVC clip is an iPhone .mov and all you need is a file that plays on Windows, HEVC to MP4 covers that case with AAC audio and the MP4 container fixed.
HEVC to H.264 FAQ
Can I keep my MKV container and only swap HEVC for H.264?
Yes. Choose MKV under Convert to; Video codec stays on H.264, and you get an MKV with an H.264 video stream. MOV and M4V work the same way.
Why does Plex keep transcoding my HEVC files?
Plex direct-plays a file only when the client device can decode it. Older smart TVs, streaming sticks and browsers without HEVC force the server to convert on the fly, which loads its CPU; an H.264 copy direct-plays on nearly every client.
Does an H.264 copy make editing smoother in Premiere or DaVinci Resolve?
On older or modest hardware, usually yes. HEVC is far heavier to decode, and without a GPU that handles it the timeline drops frames while scrubbing. H.264 is decoded in hardware on nearly every computer sold since about 2010.
Is the soundtrack re-encoded as well?
No. Audio codec is set to Copy original on this page, so the AAC track from an iPhone or camera clip passes through unchanged. Only the video stream is decoded and encoded again.
Will my iPhone HDR video look different as H.264?
It can. iPhone 12 and later record Dolby Vision HDR by default, while H.264 files are almost always played back as standard dynamic range, so highlights and colors may look flatter than on the phone. For future clips you can switch off HDR Video under Settings → Camera → Record Video.
Can I convert a whole folder of HEVC clips to H.264?
Twenty clips go in one batch, each up to 95 MB, and the results download together as a ZIP. Run larger folders in batches of twenty.
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