VOB to HEVC Converter

How to Convert VOB to HEVC Online

1. Upload Your VOB Files: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select the VOB segments from your DVD's VIDEO_TS folder (typically VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB, etc., each capped at ~1 GB). Batch upload all VOB parts of a title at once — they convert in order and can be merged into a single HEVC file.
2. Pick Quality Preset or Bitrate Mode: Default is the "Very High (Recommended)" Quality Preset, which targets visually-lossless H.265/HEVC output. Switch to Specific file size to cap output at an exact MB target (a 4.7 GB DVD often lands around 700 MB-1.2 GB in HEVC), Constant Bitrate for fixed-bandwidth playback, Variable Bitrate for the best quality-per-MB, or Constant Quality to fine-tune with a CRF slider (18 = visually lossless, 23 = HEVC default, 28 = noticeably smaller).
3. Resize or Trim if Needed (Optional): Under Video resolution, keep original (DVD is 720×480 NTSC or 720×576 PAL), pick a Preset Resolution (2160p / 1440p / 1080p / 720p / 480p), scale by Resolution Percentage, or enter custom Width × Height. Under Trim, pick Time Range and enter start time + duration in seconds or HH:MM:SS.sss to skip menus, FBI warnings, or studio logos. Upscaling MPEG-2 DVD content past 720p won't add real detail — keep source resolution for archival accuracy.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared. Download each HEVC file individually or as a single merged output.

Why Convert VOB to HEVC?

VOB (Video OBject) is the DVD-Video container standardized in 1996. It wraps MPEG-2 Part 2 video (H.262) with AC-3, MPEG audio, LPCM, or DTS audio plus subpicture and navigation streams, and is split into ~1 GB chunks because the original DVD-Video spec targeted file systems that couldn't address larger files. HEVC (H.265), approved by ITU-T in April 2013 and published as ISO/IEC 23008-2, is a modern codec that delivers the same visual quality at roughly half the bitrate of H.264 and a fraction of MPEG-2's bitrate. Common reasons to convert your DVD's VOB files to HEVC:

• Massive file-size reduction — A full DVD title runs 4-9 GB of MPEG-2 at 4-9 Mbps. Re-encoded as HEVC at CRF 22-24, a 90-minute movie typically lands between 700 MB and 1.5 GB with minimal visible loss for typical home-video content at normal viewing distances. A small NAS or external SSD can then hold an entire DVD library.
• Modern device playback — HEVC plays natively on iOS 11+, macOS High Sierra+, Android 5.0+, Windows 10/11 (with the HEVC extension), most 2017+ smart TVs, Apple TV 4K, Roku Ultra, Chromecast with Google TV, Fire TV, and Plex/Jellyfin direct-play on most modern client hardware. VOB rarely plays anywhere except a DVD player or VLC.
• Plex / Jellyfin / Emby libraries — Media servers can stream VOB but every client request triggers a CPU transcode because almost no client supports MPEG-2 in a VOB shell. Pre-converting to HEVC MP4/MKV lets every device direct-play with zero server transcoding load.
• Archive old home movies and rare DVDs — Pressed DVDs degrade (disc rot, scratches) and DVD-R/RW lifespans are 5-30 years. Ripping to HEVC preserves the content in a format that today's hardware can still decode in 2046, freeing up a closet of jewel cases.
• Merge multi-VOB titles into one file — DVDs split a single feature across VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB, VTS_01_3.VOB to honor the 1 GB chunk limit. Conversion concatenates them into one seamless HEVC file with continuous chapter timestamps.
• Drop forced subtitles, menus, and extras — VOB carries every angle, language track, and menu sprite. Trim during conversion to keep just the main feature and your preferred audio + subtitle track, often halving the size again.

VOB vs HEVC — Format Comparison

Quality and Bitrate Mode Quick Guide

If you'd prefer a more universal output instead of raw HEVC, see VOB to MP4 or VOB to MKV. To go the other way (HEVC back to DVD-Video), use HEVC to MP4 and author with a separate tool, or MP4 to HEVC if you already converted to MP4 first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose quality converting VOB to HEVC?

Some — VOB content is already lossy MPEG-2, so any re-encode to HEVC is a "transcode" (lossy in, lossy out). However, if you pick the "Very High" preset or CRF 18-20, the result is visually indistinguishable from the source on a 1080p screen because HEVC at those settings encodes well above the perceptual ceiling of the original DVD MPEG-2 stream. Avoid going below CRF 26 if you care about the small details (film grain, dark scenes, subtle motion).

How much smaller will my HEVC file be than the original VOB?

For a typical movie DVD (4.7 GB DVD-5), expect 700 MB-1.5 GB at the "Very High" preset or CRF 22-24 with no perceived quality loss. That's 70-85% smaller. Dual-layer DVD-9 sources (~9 GB) usually land between 1.2 GB and 2.5 GB. Specific numbers depend on motion complexity, grain levels, and whether you keep multiple audio tracks.

Can I merge multiple VOB files into one HEVC output?

Yes. DVDs split a single title across VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB, etc. to honor the original 1 GB chunk limit. Upload all the VOBs of one title together — the converter joins them in order and produces a single continuous HEVC file with the chapter timestamps preserved. This is the recommended workflow for archiving a feature-length movie from a ripped VIDEO_TS folder.

Will all my audio tracks and subtitles transfer?

The primary audio track (usually AC-3 stereo or 5.1) is preserved in the HEVC output, transcoded to AAC or kept as AC-3 depending on the output container. Multi-language audio tracks and VOB subpicture subtitles (which are bitmap images, not text) are stripped during conversion since most playback targets only need one track. If you need subtitle preservation, extract them separately with a DVD authoring tool first, then re-mux into the HEVC MKV.

Why is my DVD audio out of sync after conversion?

DVDs use NTSC (29.97 fps) or PAL (25 fps), and a small number of titles have non-standard pulldown flags or PTS gaps between VOB chunks. If you converted single chunks separately, the audio offset accumulates. Re-run the conversion with all VOB segments of that title selected together so the converter can read the chapter sync points and join them with continuous timestamps.

Should I keep DVD resolution or upscale to 1080p?

Keep source resolution (720×480 NTSC or 720×576 PAL). DVD content was mastered for that resolution and contains no real detail beyond it — upscaling just makes a larger file with the same perceived quality, and most modern TVs do a better job upscaling at playback time than offline encoders. The exception is if you're committed to a 1080p-only Plex library and don't want clients to handle scaling: pick 720p, not 1080p, since 720p is the closest sensible match to DVD source.

Can my device or browser play HEVC?

Yes for most modern hardware. Safari has supported HEVC since 2017 (macOS High Sierra, iOS 11), Chrome and Edge since version 107 (October 2022), and Firefox for Android since April 2025. On the desktop OS side: macOS 10.13+, Windows 10/11 with the HEVC extension installed, Linux with VLC or mpv, Android 5.0+, iOS 11+. Smart TVs from 2017 onward, Apple TV 4K, Chromecast with Google TV, Fire TV 4K, Roku Ultra, and Plex/Jellyfin on most modern clients all direct-play HEVC. If you need maximum compatibility with older hardware, convert to H.264 in MP4 instead via VOB to MP4.

Is it legal to convert my DVD's VOB files?

Personal-use ripping of DVDs you own falls under fair use in many jurisdictions, but bypassing CSS (the DVD copy protection) is a separate question — the DMCA in the US restricts circumventing it, with limited exemptions. XConvert converts already-extracted VOB files; it doesn't decrypt protected discs. You'll need a separate tool to rip the disc to VOB first if the DVD is CSS-protected. Check your local law before redistributing converted content.

My VOB file is exactly 1 GB — is that normal?

Yes. The DVD-Video spec splits any title that exceeds 1 GB into multiple VOB files (VTS_01_1.VOB, VTS_01_2.VOB,...) so that file systems with 1 GB or 2 GB single-file caps (older UDF, FAT16, FAT32 implementations) can still read DVD content. A movie that fills a DVD-5 is typically split across 3-5 VOB files. Upload them all together so the converter can join them into one HEVC output.