HEVC to MPEG2 Converter
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Supports: HEVC
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Need help?How to Convert HEVC to MPEG-2 Online
- Upload Your HEVC Files: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select one or more HEVC (.hevc, .h265) videos. Batch conversion is supported — drop a whole folder of clips at once.
- Pick a Quality Preset: Default is Very High (Recommended). Drop to Medium or Low if you need to fit more video on a 4.7 GB single-layer DVD; bump to Highest for archival masters. For DVD authoring, you can also switch to Constant Bitrate and target 6-8 Mbps to stay safely under the DVD-Video 9.8 Mbps peak ceiling.
- Set Resolution and Trim (Optional): Use Preset Resolutions to pick a DVD-friendly target — 480p (NTSC, 720×480) for North America/Japan or 576p (PAL, 720×576) for Europe/most of the world. Or scale by percentage, set Width × Height directly, or keep the source resolution. Use Trim → Time Range to pull a single segment by start time and duration in HH:MM:SS.sss.
- Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files process in your browser session — no sign-up, no watermark, originals stay on your machine. Output is an MPEG-2 elementary stream (.mpeg2) ready for DVD authoring tools.
The output uses MPEG-2 video (ISO/IEC 13818-2) with MP2 audio by default. Both can be changed under Advanced settings — switch audio to AC-3 if your DVD authoring tool prefers Dolby Digital, the most common DVD audio format.
Why Convert HEVC to MPEG-2?
HEVC (H.265, ISO/IEC 23008-2) is a modern codec — Apple shipped full system support in iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra in September 2017, and every iPhone since the iPhone 7 records HEVC by default. The problem: HEVC was finalized in November 2013, and any device built before roughly 2015-2017 has no idea what to do with the bitstream. MPEG-2, finalized in 1995, is the lingua franca every legacy player understands.
- DVD-Video authoring — DVD-Video is locked to the MPEG-2 video codec at a 9.8 Mbps maximum video bitrate (10.08 Mbps combined with audio). HEVC streams cannot be burned to a standards-compliant DVD; they must be transcoded to MPEG-2 first before passing the file into DVDStyler, DVD Flick, ImgBurn, Toast, or Nero.
- Standard-definition broadcast — Many cable, satellite, and over-the-air systems still mandate MPEG-2 (DVB-T, ATSC 1.0). Source clips recorded on HEVC-capable cameras need to be downconverted before being ingested into a playout server.
- Older set-top boxes and projectors — TiVo Series 3, early Roku models, hotel-room DVD players, and many conference-room projectors with USB media playback only decode MPEG-1/MPEG-2.
- Editing in legacy NLEs — Older versions of Premiere, Avid, and Vegas pre-2018 either cannot open HEVC at all or stutter on the timeline. Transcoding to MPEG-2 (or to a DV/I-frame intermediate) gives a smoother edit.
- Archival to a widely-readable codec — MPEG-2 has 30 years of decoder ubiquity; HEVC is patent-encumbered and may not be supported on every future device. Some archivists still prefer MPEG-2 mezzanines for that reason.
- Capture-card pipelines — Hardware capture devices (Blackmagic, Hauppauge HD PVR) often output MPEG-2 transport streams; matching that codec keeps the pipeline consistent.
HEVC vs MPEG-2 — Format Comparison
| Property | HEVC (H.265) | MPEG-2 (output) |
|---|---|---|
| Standards body | ITU-T / ISO/IEC (Joint Collaborative Team) | ITU-T / ISO/IEC MPEG |
| Standard number | ISO/IEC 23008-2 (MPEG-H Part 2) | ISO/IEC 13818-2 (MPEG-2 Part 2) |
| Year finalized | November 2013 | 1995 |
| Compression vs MPEG-2 | ~50% smaller files at same quality (PSNR-based studies report up to ~70%) | Baseline |
| Compression vs H.264 | 25-50% smaller | About 50% larger than H.264 |
| Typical 1-hour 1080p | ~3-6 GB at high quality | ~6-12 GB |
| DVD-Video support | Not allowed by spec | Required by spec (max 9.8 Mbps video) |
| Broadcast use | DVB-T2, ATSC 3.0, UHD streaming | DVB-T, ATSC 1.0, DVB-S, DVB-C |
| Hardware decoders | Apple A9 (2015) and newer; Intel Skylake+; Nvidia GTX 950+; most TVs since 2017 | Universal — every DVD player, set-top box, and TV since 1996 |
| 4K/HDR | Native | Not designed for 4K (used for SD/HD only) |
| Patent licensing | Patent pool (MPEG LA, HEVC Advance, Velos) — paid | Patents largely expired |
DVD Bitrate and Resolution Quick Guide
DVD-Video has hard limits — exceed them and your DVD authoring software will reject the file or the disc will fail on playback. These are the targets to use under Advanced settings.
| DVD region | Resolution | Frame rate | Recommended video bitrate | Max video bitrate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NTSC (US, Japan, Canada) | 720×480 | 29.97 fps | 4-6 Mbps (long content), 7-8 Mbps (short, high motion) | 9.8 Mbps |
| PAL (Europe, most of world) | 720×576 | 25 fps | 4-6 Mbps (long content), 7-8 Mbps (short, high motion) | 9.8 Mbps |
| Either, half-D1 | 352×480 / 352×576 | 29.97 / 25 fps | 1.5-3 Mbps | 9.8 Mbps |
Audio sits on top of the video budget — combined audio + video must stay under 10.08 Mbps. AC-3 at 192-448 kbps or MP2 at 192-384 kbps is standard. Two-pass VBR gives the cleanest visual result at any given target size; constant bitrate is simpler and predictable.
For long-form content on a 4.7 GB single-layer disc, 4-5 Mbps lets you fit ~2 hours; on an 8.5 GB dual-layer disc, the same bitrate fits ~4 hours. Matching frame rate to your destination region matters — a 25 fps PAL DVD playing on an NTSC-only player will skip or refuse.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the MPEG-2 output be larger than my HEVC source?
Yes — typically about twice as large at equivalent perceptual quality. HEVC is roughly 50% more efficient than MPEG-2; PSNR-based studies cite reductions up to ~70% versus MPEG-2. A 3 GB iPhone HEVC clip will land somewhere between 5 GB and 7 GB as MPEG-2 at the same visual quality. Drop the quality preset or target a specific bitrate if you need to fit a specific disc size.
What bitrate should I use for DVD-Video output?
For a feature-length film on a single-layer 4.7 GB DVD, 4-5 Mbps is the sweet spot. For a short, high-motion clip (a music video or sports highlight), 7-8 Mbps gives noticeably better quality. The DVD-Video peak is 9.8 Mbps for video and 10.08 Mbps combined with audio; staying below those caps is mandatory or the disc may stutter or fail to author. Use the Constant Bitrate option in Advanced settings to lock the rate.
NTSC or PAL — which resolution should I pick?
NTSC (720×480, 29.97 fps) for the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea. PAL (720×576, 25 fps) for the UK, most of Europe, Australia, India, China, and most of Africa and South America. If you are unsure, check the destination DVD player's region — the wrong combination can refuse to play. The Resolution Preset dropdown includes both 480p and 576p targets.
Why won't my DVD player play the HEVC file directly without conversion?
The DVD-Video specification was finalized in 1995 and locked to the MPEG-2 video codec. Even modern Blu-ray players that can decode HEVC will not accept HEVC on a DVD-Video disc — the spec literally does not allow it. The disc is formatted as an MPEG-2 program stream with strict bitrate and audio-codec rules; HEVC bytes inside that container would fail format validation.
Can I keep AC-3 audio instead of MP2?
Yes. Switch the audio codec under Advanced settings. AC-3 (Dolby Digital) at 192-448 kbps is the most common DVD audio format and is what consumer DVD authoring tools expect. MP2 at 192-384 kbps is also DVD-legal and is the default here because it has no patent royalties and is universally supported. Both pass DVD spec compliance.
Will trimming preserve quality, or does it re-encode?
This converter re-encodes when it transcodes from HEVC to MPEG-2 — the codecs are completely different, so a stream copy is not possible. Trimming during the same job is essentially free; it just limits what part of the source gets encoded. Use the Trim → Time Range option with start time and duration in HH:MM:SS.sss to pull out a specific segment.
My source is from an iPhone — is it really HEVC?
Probably yes. iPhones since the iPhone 7 record in HEVC by default when "High Efficiency" is selected in Settings → Camera → Formats (the default since iOS 11). The file extension is usually .mov or .mp4, but the video codec inside is HEVC. If the converter accepts the file as HEVC, you are set; otherwise convert from MOV first via MOV to MP4 or use a tool that demuxes the HEVC track.
What about HDR and Dolby Vision metadata?
MPEG-2 has no HDR support — it predates HDR by two decades. Any HDR10 or Dolby Vision metadata on your HEVC source will be discarded during transcode and the output will be standard dynamic range (Rec. 601 for SD or Rec. 709 for HD). That is unavoidable for DVD targets; DVD-Video itself is SDR only. If preserving HDR matters, look at converting to a different format like H.264 or H.265 in an MP4 container instead.
Can I author the DVD here, or do I need separate software?
This tool produces the MPEG-2 elementary stream — the codec-compliant video file. To actually burn a playable DVD-Video disc with menus and chapters, pass the MPEG-2 output into a DVD authoring application: DVDStyler (free, cross-platform), DVD Flick (free, Windows), Burn (free, macOS), or commercial options like Nero or Roxio Toast. They wrap your MPEG-2 video and AC-3/MP2 audio into the VIDEO_TS folder structure required by DVD players.
Is there a related conversion if I just want HEVC playable on more devices?
Yes — if your goal is broader playback (not specifically DVD), HEVC to MP4 re-wraps to H.264 in an MP4 container, which plays on essentially every device made after 2010. Use the MPEG-2 output here only when you specifically need DVD-Video, MPEG transport streams, or legacy MPEG-2 broadcast workflows. For other downconvert targets, HEVC to AVI produces an AVI container with codec choices for older Windows pipelines.