MOV to HEVC Converter
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Supports: MOV
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Need help?How to Convert MOV to HEVC Online
- Upload Your MOV File: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select MOV recordings — iPhone footage, QuickTime exports, screen captures, DSLR clips, or ProRes masters. Batch conversion is supported, drop in an entire folder.
- Pick Quality and Compression Mode: Output codec is H.265 / HEVC. Set Quality Preset (Highest → Lowest, default "Very High"), target a percentage of the original size, or fine-tune with CRF (18 = visually lossless, 23 = default, 28 = noticeably smaller). For tight bitrate control, switch to Variable Bitrate and set min/max in Mbps. Audio defaults to AAC — switch to AC3, MP3, or Opus from the Audio Codec dropdown.
- Resize or Trim (Optional): Pick a resolution preset (4320p / 2160p / 1440p / 1080p / 720p / 480p / 360p), enter custom width × height, scale by percentage, or keep the original. Trim a section using start time + duration in HH:MM:SS.sss format.
- Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files process in your browser session — no sign-up, no watermark.
Why Convert MOV to HEVC?
MOV is Apple's QuickTime container. iPhones, ProRes camcorders, and Mac screen recorders all save MOV by default, often with H.264 video inside. The container itself is fine for Apple workflows, but the H.264 stream inside is bulky — a 1-minute 4K @ 60fps iPhone clip in H.264 MOV runs around 600 MB, while the same footage in HEVC drops to roughly 350 MB. Re-encoding to HEVC (H.265) shrinks files ~40-50% at the same visual quality, and modern Apple, Samsung, Sony, and Snapdragon hardware decodes HEVC directly in silicon. Common reasons people convert MOV → HEVC:
- Free up iCloud, Mac, or external drive space — Re-encoding a year of QuickTime screen recordings or MOV camera footage to HEVC typically reclaims 30-50% of the disk. A 100 GB MOV archive ends up around 50-60 GB without visible quality loss at CRF 23.
- AirDrop and iMessage between Apple devices — iPhone Photos and Messages handle HEVC natively. AirDropping HEVC instead of H.264 MOV cuts transfer time roughly in half on a typical home Wi-Fi network.
- 4K and HDR content — HEVC is the codec Apple, Samsung, and LG smart TVs (2018+) expect for 4K and HDR10 over USB or DLNA. H.264 4K plays but uses 2× the bitrate for the same picture.
- Dolby Vision and HDR10 metadata — iPhone 12 Pro and later record Dolby Vision in HEVC. Re-encoding the MOV container to a raw HEVC stream preserves the codec stream and HDR metadata cleanly for downstream tools that consume
.hevcdirectly. - Cloud archiving where size matters — Backblaze, Glacier, and Google Photos all charge by storage. HEVC archives at the same visual quality cost half what H.264 MOV archives cost month over month.
- Feeding HEVC streams into a muxer or hardware encoder pipeline — Plain
.hevcis a raw elementary stream (Annex B). Useful when a downstream tool expects the bitstream without container overhead — for example, remuxing later into MP4 or MKV with custom flags.
MOV vs HEVC — Format Comparison
| Property | MOV (H.264 typical) | HEVC (H.265) |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Container (QuickTime) | Video codec / raw elementary stream |
| Common codec inside | H.264, sometimes HEVC, ProRes, Animation | H.265 only |
| Compression vs source | Baseline | ~40-50% smaller at same quality |
| 4K / HDR | Possible but inefficient (H.264) | Native — primary use case |
| Hardware decode | Universal (H.264) | iPhone 6+, Apple Silicon, Intel 7th-gen+, Snapdragon 820+ |
| HDR / Dolby Vision metadata | Limited in H.264 streams | Native HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision profile 5/8 |
| Royalty status | MPEG LA pool, broadly licensed | Multiple HEVC patent pools, license fees |
| Best for | Editing on Mac, ProRes masters | Storing originals, 4K/HDR, modern hardware |
CRF Quick Guide for HEVC Output
| CRF | Visual quality | File size (relative) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Visually lossless | Largest | Master copies, archive originals |
| 23 | Default — high quality | Balanced | General re-encoding, sharing |
| 28 | Noticeably smaller, mild artifacts | ~50% of CRF 23 | Mobile playback, cloud backup |
| 32+ | Visible blocking on flat areas | Smallest | Quick previews only |
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I lose quality re-encoding MOV to HEVC?
If your MOV is already H.264, re-encoding to HEVC at CRF 18 produces a file most viewers can't distinguish from the source. CRF 23 (default) is fine for sharing and playback. The catch: if your MOV is already HEVC inside (some iPhones since iOS 11 record HEVC MOV), re-encoding produces a marginally smaller file with a small generational quality loss — in that case, see MOV to MP4 and pick H.265 codec to remux the stream into MP4 instead, which is byte-perfect.
Why is the output a .hevc file instead of a video container?
Plain .hevc is a raw HEVC elementary stream (Annex B bitstream) — not a container like MP4 or MOV. Most media players (VLC, mpv, IINA) play .hevc directly. macOS QuickTime and Windows Photos do not — those expect the HEVC stream inside an MP4 or MOV. If you want a file that plays in QuickTime or Apple TV, see MOV to MP4 and choose H.265 from the codec dropdown — that puts the same HEVC stream inside an MP4 container.
Should I keep the original audio or pick a different codec?
The default re-encodes audio to AAC, which is what every HEVC-aware player expects. AC3 is useful if you're feeding the HEVC into a Blu-ray-style mux or a home theater setup that prefers Dolby Digital. MP3 is the safest fallback for older Android boxes. Opus is the most efficient for speech-heavy content. AAC is the right default for anything Apple-bound.
Will iPhone HEVC recordings convert without issues?
Yes. iPhone 7 and later record HEVC MOV by default since iOS 11 (2017), and iPhone 12 Pro and later add Dolby Vision in HEVC. Both upload and convert cleanly. Slow-motion clips (240 fps), Cinematic mode video, and 4K @ 60fps all work. ProRes recordings from iPhone 13 Pro and later are also accepted as MOV input — the converter re-encodes ProRes to HEVC at significant size savings (ProRes 422 is roughly 7× larger than HEVC at the same visual quality).
How small can I make a 4K iPhone clip?
A 1-minute 4K @ 60fps iPhone clip is roughly 400 MB in HEVC at iPhone's default quality. Re-encoding at CRF 28 lands around 150-180 MB with minor blocking on smooth gradients — fine for phone playback. CRF 23 stays around 250-300 MB with no visible loss. For Discord (10 MB free / 25 MB Nitro Basic / 500 MB Nitro), drop to 1080p at CRF 28 and trim to 30 seconds.
Can the converter handle ProRes MOV from a Mac edit?
Yes. ProRes 422 / 422 HQ / 422 LT / 4444 from Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or iPhone 13 Pro+ all decode as MOV input. HEVC output at CRF 18 keeps visual quality intact for archiving — typical size reduction from ProRes 422 master to HEVC archive is 6-8×. Useful when sending dailies over the internet instead of shipping a hard drive.
What's the file size limit for the upload?
XConvert handles multi-GB MOV files, including 4K and 8K master recordings. Conversion happens in your browser session, so the practical ceiling is your device's available memory and your willingness to wait for upload. There's no 100 MB cap like Convertio's free tier and no quantity limit on batch jobs.
Can I batch convert a folder of MOV files?
Yes. Drop in an entire folder and apply uniform quality / resolution / trim settings, or override per file. Each conversion runs in parallel within your browser session and downloads individually or as a single ZIP. Useful for clearing out a year of QuickTime screen recordings or an iPhone Photos export before backing up.
How do I get the HEVC stream into MP4 instead?
Use MOV to MP4 and select H.265 from the Video Codec dropdown — that produces an MP4 with the HEVC stream inside, which plays in QuickTime, Apple TV, iOS Photos, and modern smart TVs. The raw .hevc output here is for tools that specifically want the elementary bitstream.