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Need help?HEVC to HEVC — What This Page Produces
HEVC is a codec, not a container, and that single fact explains almost every question people arrive here with. ITU-T published the first version of H.265 in April 2013; ISO/IEC standardised the same bitstream as MPEG-H Part 2. Because it is a codec, a .hevc file has no agreed structure — it might be a bare elementary stream dumped by an encoder, or someone's shorthand for "an MP4 with H.265 inside".
This page accepts both readings. It takes .hevc, .mp4, .mov, .m4v and .mkv uploads, re-encodes the video with x265, and writes a Matroska file under a .hevc name, with the audio track carried through. Free, no sign-up, no watermark; files upload over an encrypted connection, are processed on our servers, and are deleted automatically after a few hours.
What Comes Out of This Page
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Container written | Matroska (EBML), named .hevc |
| Video encoder | x265 — both "H.265" and "HEVC" in the dropdown resolve to it |
| Audio | Preserved as a re-encoded track. AAC by default |
| Default File Compression mode | Quality Preset at "Very High (Recommended)" |
| CRF slider range | 16-51, opening at 23 when you switch to Constant Quality |
| Default Video resolution | Keep original |
| Will it open by double-click? | Usually not — .hevc is not a registered type on Windows or macOS |
| Fix | Rename the download to .mkv. The bytes are already Matroska, so nothing is re-processed |
| Plays in VLC / MPV as-is? | Yes, both sniff the file header rather than the extension |
The output is emphatically not a raw Annex B elementary stream. If you specifically need one of those — for a hardware decoder test rig, or to feed a muxer directly — this is the wrong tool; extract it locally with a stream-copy utility instead.
How to Convert HEVC to HEVC
- Upload Your File: Drag and drop, or click "+ Add Files". This page accepts
.hevc, plus.mp4,.mov,.m4vand.mkvsources, so "my H.265 video is in an MP4" is a supported starting point rather than a problem. Batches share one set of settings. - Choose Codec and Audio: Video Codec lists H.265 and HEVC; they are the same x265 encoder under two names, so the choice is cosmetic. Audio Codec defaults to AAC and also offers AC3, EAC3, DTS (DCA), FLAC, Opus, Vorbis, MP2 and MP3 — FLAC if you want the audio lossless, AC3 if a receiver expects it.
- Set the Compression Mode: Quality Preset is preselected. Constant Quality gives you the CRF slider directly, Specific file size targets a megabyte budget, Constraint Quality pairs a quality value with a bitrate ceiling, and Constant or Variable Bitrate pin the rate outright.
- Resize, Trim, then Convert: Video resolution is on Keep original; switch to Resolution Percentage, a height-based Preset from 4320p to 144p, a locked-aspect Width or Height, or an exact Width x Height. Trim takes a start time and a duration. Click Convert and download.
Quality Preset to CRF, for H.265
The preset is not a vague label — for CRF-capable codecs like H.265 it resolves to a specific value, calibrated at 1080p and then nudged by up to two points based on the output resolution (higher resolutions tolerate a slightly higher CRF because artefacts hide in the pixel density).
| Preset | H.265 CRF at 1080p | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | 15 | Visually lossless, archival, large |
| Very High (default) | 17 | Near-lossless; the safe default for a re-encode |
| High | 20 | Transparent at normal viewing distance |
| Medium | 26 | Standard web quality |
| Low | 30 | Artefacts visible on inspection |
| Very Low | 32 | Noticeably compressed |
| Lowest | 36 | Heavy artefacts, smallest file |
Remember that these numbers are H.265-specific. CRF 23 means "standard web quality" on H.264 and "quite good" on H.265 — the scales are not interchangeable, which is why the tiers above differ from the ones on an H.264 page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my downloaded .hevc file actually a Matroska file?
Because a codec name is not a container, and something has to hold the video and audio together with timing information. .hevc has no registered muxer, so the pipeline picks Matroska — the most permissive container available and the one that will accept an H.265 track alongside any of the audio codecs on offer. Renaming the download to .mkv costs nothing and makes every player and file manager behave.
Does re-encoding HEVC to HEVC lose quality?
Yes. Our servers always decode and re-encode; there is no passthrough. Feeding an already-H.265 file back through x265 is a second generation of lossy compression, and it is the most wasteful kind because HEVC's own artefacts become "detail" the new encode spends bits preserving. If you can start from a less-compressed master, do. If you cannot, use the Highest or Very High preset to keep the second generation cheap.
What happens if I upload a raw .hevc elementary stream?
It converts, but with two consequences worth knowing. A bare elementary stream carries no audio at all, so the output is silent no matter which audio codec you select. It also carries no container-level duration or bitrate metadata, so anything that depends on knowing the source bitrate — notably progress estimates — behaves less precisely than it would from an MP4 or MKV source.
Can I get an H.265 file that plays on an iPhone or in Safari?
Not from this page as-is, because the output is Matroska and Apple's platforms do not play .mkv natively. Apple has decoded HEVC since 2017, but it expects it inside an MP4 or MOV. Use HEVC to MP4 for that container — and set its Video Codec dropdown to H.265, because that page opens on H.264 and would otherwise transcode you out of HEVC entirely.
Why does the dropdown list both "H.265" and "HEVC"?
They are two names for the same standard and both map to the x265 encoder in our pipeline. H.265 is the ITU-T designation; HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) is the name used in the ISO/IEC text and in most marketing. Picking one over the other changes nothing about the output.
Will multiple audio tracks or subtitles survive?
No. One video track and one audio track come out, plus at most one subtitle track, and a text subtitle is rewritten into the Matroska-native ASS form rather than kept as SubRip. If your source has a commentary track, a second language, or several subtitle streams, they are dropped. Extract what you need before converting.
What CRF should I set if I want a genuinely small file?
On H.265, CRF 26 is roughly "standard web quality" and CRF 30 starts showing artefacts on detailed footage. Rather than guessing, use Specific file size and type the megabyte figure you need — the pipeline works out the rate for you. If the only thing bothering you is the unfamiliar extension, HEVC to MKV writes the same Matroska container under a .mkv name — but note that page's Video Codec dropdown opens on H.264, so select H.265 there explicitly if you want to stay on the same codec.
Is HEVC royalty-free?
No. HEVC is covered by patent pools — principally Access Advance and Via LA — and that licensing burden is the main reason AV1 exists and why browser support for H.265 lagged for a decade. It has no effect on converting your own files here, but it is why you will still find sites and services that accept H.264 or AV1 and refuse H.265.
How long are my uploads kept?
Files and their outputs are deleted automatically after a few hours. They are never shared, published or made searchable, and using the tool requires no account, email address or payment.