AVI to HEVC Converter

Convert AVI to HEVC: What This Tool Actually Produces

This converter re-encodes the video in an AVI file with the H.265 (HEVC) codec and writes a raw .hevc elementary stream — just the compressed video, with no container wrapper. Read the next two cards before you start: a raw stream has no audio track and will not open in most ordinary players, so this output is meant for encoding pipelines, codec testing, or muxing into MP4/MKV later. If you want a normal, playable H.265 video, convert to a container instead — see the routing note below.

Read This First: .hevc Is Not a Normal Video File

A .hevc file is the bare output of an H.265 encoder. Two consequences follow directly from that:

• The audio is dropped. A raw video elementary stream carries one kind of data — video. Whatever audio the source AVI held (typically MP3 or PCM) is not present in a .hevc file, because there is no container to hold a second track.
• Most players can't open it. Phones, smart TVs, and QuickTime expect a container (MP4, MKV, MOV). VLC and other FFmpeg-based tools can usually play a raw .hevc stream directly, but support is inconsistent. The reliable fix is to mux the stream into a container, e.g. ffmpeg -f hevc -i video.hevc -c copy video.mp4.

Most people who search "AVI to H.265" actually want H.265 inside a playable container. If that's you, use AVI to MP4 or AVI to MKV, set the codec to H.265, and you get a single file that keeps the audio and plays everywhere. Pick the raw .hevc output only when you specifically need the elementary stream.

How to Convert AVI to HEVC

1. Upload Your AVI File: Drag and drop your .avi onto the page or click "+ Add Files." You can queue several files and convert them with the same settings.
2. Set the Quality Preset or Constant Quality: The codec is fixed to H.265 for .hevc output. Use the Quality Preset (the "Preset" dropdown defaults to "Very High") for a one-click result, or open Constant Quality to set an explicit CRF when you're testing encoder behavior.
3. Adjust Video Resolution or Trim (Optional): Use Video resolution to downscale (presets up to 4320p, or a custom width × height), or Trim to export only a time range. Both are optional.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and download the .hevc stream. No sign-up, no watermark.

Walk-through: Choosing Bitrate vs Quality Mode

The File Compression section offers several rate-control modes. Which one you want depends on why you're producing a raw stream:

• If you're testing the encoder or comparing settings, use Constant Quality (CRF). It targets a perceptual quality level rather than a file size, so each test clip is encoded at a consistent quality. Lower CRF means higher quality and a larger stream; higher CRF means the opposite.
• If you need a predictable bitrate for a downstream muxing or streaming pipeline, use Constant Bitrate or Variable Bitrate and enter the target in Mbps.
• If you just want a smaller result, Specific file size lets you name a target size and the encoder scales toward it. Targeting an aggressive size while also downscaling resolution is where quality loss shows up first, so change one variable at a time.

For a 1080p source, H.265 reaches similar visual quality to H.264 at a noticeably lower bitrate, so a CRF that looks heavy-handed for H.264 is often fine here. Start near the default and adjust from there.

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

• "The file plays but has no sound" — Expected. A raw .hevc stream has no audio. Convert to AVI to MP4 instead if you need the audio preserved.
• "My phone / QuickTime / TV won't open the .hevc file" — These players need a container. Mux the stream into MP4 (ffmpeg -f hevc -i in.hevc -c copy out.mp4) or convert to MP4/MKV from the start.
• "VLC opens it but the duration or seeking is wrong" — Raw elementary streams carry no timing index, so players estimate timestamps. Muxing into a container with a proper index fixes seek and duration.
• "Output looks heavily pixelated" — You likely combined a small Specific file size target with a resolution downscale. Raise the size target or keep the original resolution.
• "H.265 isn't supported on the playback device" — Older hardware lacks HEVC decoding. Convert to H.264 in an MP4 container for the widest compatibility.

When This Doesn't Work

DRM-protected or corrupted AVI files can't be re-encoded — the converter needs a readable video stream. If your AVI uses an unusual legacy codec that won't decode, try converting to MP4 first and then to HEVC. And if your real goal is a shareable, playable H.265 video for a person or device rather than an elementary stream for a pipeline, skip this page entirely and use AVI to MP4 or AVI to MKV with the H.265 codec selected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the converted .hevc file have no audio?

Because .hevc is a raw video elementary stream, not a container. It holds only the H.265-encoded picture data, so there is nowhere to store an audio track. If you need the sound from your AVI, convert to a container format such as MP4 or MKV instead, where both video and audio coexist.

What can actually play a raw .hevc file?

FFmpeg-based players like VLC can usually decode a raw H.265 stream, and developer tools such as GPAC or an HEVC stream analyzer are built for it. Consumer players — phones, smart TVs, QuickTime, most browsers — generally cannot, because they expect a container. To play the result anywhere, mux it into MP4 with ffmpeg -f hevc -i video.hevc -c copy video.mp4.

Is HEVC really about half the size of H.264?

Roughly, at the same visual quality. The HEVC standard (ITU-T H.265 / ISO/IEC 23008-2, first published in 2013) was designed to deliver about 25-50% better compression than H.264/AVC, with the exact figure depending on resolution and content — savings tend to be larger at 4K than at lower resolutions. In our testing, a 1080p source clip re-encoded to H.265 at the default preset produced a visibly smaller stream than the equivalent H.264 encode, though the precise ratio varies per clip.

Should I convert AVI to a .hevc stream or to MP4 with H.265?

If you want a playable file for a person or device, choose MP4 (or MKV) with the H.265 codec — you keep the audio and it plays on essentially any modern device. Choose the raw .hevc stream only when a downstream tool specifically expects an elementary stream, such as a muxing step, a hardware encoder test, or codec conformance work.

Why does AVI need re-encoding to get H.265 at all?

AVI is a 1992 Microsoft RIFF container built around older codecs like MPEG-4 ASP (DivX/Xvid). It predates HEVC and has structural limits — it can't embed subtitles and handles B-frame-heavy modern codecs poorly — so H.265 is not stored inside AVI in practice. Getting H.265 means decoding the AVI's video and re-encoding it, which is what this tool does.

Are my uploaded files kept after conversion?

No. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically a few hours after conversion. There is no sign-up, no watermark, and files are never shared or made public.