ODG to HEVC Converter

ODG to HEVC Converter

ODG is the OpenDocument Graphics format — the native vector drawing of LibreOffice Draw and Apache OpenOffice Draw, holding shapes, flowcharts, and text boxes as editable XML. HEVC (H.265) is a modern video compression standard, and a bare .hevc file is a raw H.265 elementary stream — a sequence of encoded video frames with no container and no audio track. This converter rasterizes your drawing to a fixed pixel frame and writes that single still frame as a silent, motionless HEVC stream held for a duration you choose. It is worth understanding both formats before you use it, because for most people a still drawing gains nothing from being wrapped in a video codec — the tables below explain why, and what to convert to instead.

ODG Format at a Glance

HEVC (H.265) Format at a Glance

How to Convert ODG to HEVC

1. Upload Your ODG File: Drag and drop your .odg onto the page, or click "+ Add Files" to browse. Add several drawings and choose "Merge images" under Merge strategy for one combined stream, or "Video per image" for a separate .hevc per file.
2. Set the Image Duration: Under Image Duration, choose how long the single rasterized frame holds — options run from a 1/60-second frame up to 10 seconds per frame, and "5 seconds per frame" is the default.
3. Pick Resolution and Background Color (Optional): Under Video resolution choose "Keep original", a preset, or an exact Width x Height — this is the pixel size the vector drawing rasterizes to. Set a Background Color (Black by default, or any of 24+ named colors) to fill bars when the drawing's shape doesn't match the frame. Leave the Quality Preset on "Very High (Recommended)".
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and save your .hevc. The video is encoded with the H.265 codec and is silent. No sign-up, no watermark.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is a .hevc file, and how is it different from an MP4?

A bare .hevc file is a raw H.265 elementary stream — just the encoded video frames in an Annex B bytestream, with no container wrapped around them and no place for an audio track. An MP4 or MOV, by contrast, is a container that holds an H.265 (or H.264) video track alongside audio, timing, and metadata. Many ordinary media players and every browser expect a container, so a raw .hevc often won't open by double-clicking even on a machine that plays HEVC fine inside MP4. If you want a file that behaves like a normal video, use ODG to MP4 instead, which wraps the frame in a container.

Will my HEVC file play in a web browser or on any device?

Not reliably. HEVC is patent-encumbered, so support is conditional rather than universal: Safari on macOS and iOS decodes it natively, but Chrome on Windows needs a GPU with a hardware HEVC decoder, and Microsoft Edge needs the separately installed (and paid) HEVC Video Extension. On top of that, a raw .hevc elementary stream has no container, which browsers expect — so even where the codec is available, the bare stream usually won't play in a <video> tag. For a clip that plays on virtually every phone, browser, and TV, ODG to MP4 wraps the same frame in H.264 inside an MP4 container.

Why does converting ODG to HEVC rasterize my drawing instead of keeping it as vectors?

An ODG is vector — shapes and paths that resize without losing quality — but a video frame is a grid of pixels. To encode the drawing as HEVC, the converter samples it onto a fixed pixel canvas at the resolution you choose, and from that point it is no longer scalable; you cannot enlarge the stream later without it softening. If keeping the drawing editable and infinitely scalable matters more than having a video, use ODG to SVG, which preserves the vector paths, or ODG to PDF for a print-ready copy that stays crisp at any zoom.

Why is my converted HEVC stream silent?

Because an ODG is a still drawing with no audio, and a raw H.265 elementary stream has no audio track to begin with. The converter rasterizes the drawing to one frame, holds it for the Image Duration you set, and writes video only — so the result is deliberately silent. HEVC inside a container like MP4 or MKV can carry AAC audio, but there is nothing here to fill it. To add music or narration, convert to a container format such as ODG to MP4 first, then add an audio track in a video editor like Shotcut or DaVinci Resolve.

Does HEVC's efficiency make my drawing smaller or higher quality?

No. HEVC's main advantage is compressing moving video into far fewer bytes than older codecs, which buys you nothing for a single static frame — a still image already compresses heavily in any modern codec. Encoding the rasterized drawing as H.265 cannot add detail either; the encode is lossy and never invents new pixels, so quality is fixed the moment you pick the resolution. In our testing, a single 1920x1080 ODG drawing held at the default 5 seconds produced a silent .hevc stream well under 1 MB, since one static frame needs almost no bitrate. For full fidelity keep the drawing as ODG to PNG (lossless raster) or ODG to SVG (vectors).

My ODG has several pages — which one ends up in the HEVC file?

ODG files can hold several drawing pages, and the converter rasterizes the drawing to still frames, so a single-page ODG becomes one held frame. With a multi-page ODG, the safest expectation is that the first page is rasterized; if you need every page, export each one as an image first (for example via ODG to PNG) and then assemble them. Keep the original .odg open in LibreOffice Draw to confirm which page you want before converting.

Is HEVC even the right target for a drawing, or should I pick something else?

For almost everyone, something else. A static drawing gains nothing from a high-efficiency video codec, and a raw .hevc stream is one of the least portable files you can produce. If you simply need a usable copy of the drawing, ODG to PDF keeps the vectors crisp and prints anywhere, or ODG to PNG gives a lossless image. If you genuinely need the still as a video, ODG to MP4 wraps the frame in a universally playable container. Choose .hevc here only when a specific pipeline explicitly demands a raw H.265 elementary stream.

How are my files handled, and how long are they kept?

Your file is uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically a few hours after the conversion — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared or made public.