Xvid to HEVC

How to Convert Xvid to HEVC Online

1. Upload Your Xvid File: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select Xvid-encoded video (typically .avi, sometimes .mkv). Batch upload is supported, so you can re-encode an entire archive in one job.
2. Pick a Compression Mode: Open "File Compression". Default is Quality Preset at "Very High (Recommended)" — leave it for transparent quality. For predictable storage savings choose Target file size as % (e.g. 50% to halve the file) or Specific file size (set an exact MB cap). For fine-grained control switch to Constant Quality (CRF — lower is better quality; CRF 23–25 is near-transparent for 1080p, CRF 28 is the common archival default), Constant Bitrate (one fixed Mbps target), Variable Bitrate, or Constraint Quality (CRF with a maximum bitrate ceiling).
3. Resolution and Trim (Optional): Under "Video resolution" keep original, pick a preset (1080p, 720p, 480p, etc.), set Resolution Percentage to scale by a factor, or enter custom Width x Height (aspect ratio is preserved when only one dimension is set). Under "Trim" switch from "Unchanged" to Time Range to set a start time and duration.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert". Files process privately on our servers — no sign-up, no watermark, no third-party uploads.

Why Convert Xvid to HEVC?

Xvid implements MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile, a codec ratified in 1999–2001 and widely used for DivX-style AVI rips through the 2000s. HEVC (H.265, ISO/IEC 23008-2 / ITU-T H.265) was ratified in 2013 and supersedes both Xvid's MPEG-4 ASP and the H.264 generation that followed it. Re-encoding old Xvid libraries to HEVC reclaims significant disk space and brings legacy video into the codec ecosystem that current phones, TVs, and streaming pipelines actually accelerate in hardware.

• Shrink legacy AVI archives — Xvid was efficient for 2003 but loses to HEVC by a wide margin. MSU/JCT-VC subjective tests against H.264 show HEVC at ~52% bitrate reduction at 480p, ~62% at 1080p, and ~64% at 4K; against the older MPEG-4 ASP that Xvid is built on, the gap is even larger. A 700 MB Xvid AVI typically re-encodes to 250–350 MB of HEVC at visually equivalent quality.
• Get hardware-accelerated playback on phones and TVs — HEVC has had hardware decode on every Apple A9 chip and later (iPhone 6s, September 2015) and every Intel Skylake CPU and later (6th-gen, August 2015). Most 2017+ smart TVs, Apple TV 4K, Fire TV, and Android flagships decode HEVC in fixed-function silicon — which Xvid's AVI files never get.
• Future-proof for 4K, HDR, and 10-bit pipelines — HEVC supports up to 8192×4320 (8K) and 10/12-bit Main 10 / Main 12 profiles. Xvid's MPEG-4 ASP tops out at 8-bit and is functionally limited to SD/HD use. If you ever plan to upscale or HDR-grade footage, HEVC is the correct intermediate.
• Keep AVI-era rips compatible with modern apps — Many media apps (Plex, Infuse, VLC) play Xvid fine, but Photos.app, Files.app on iOS, and some browser-based players don't. HEVC inside an .mp4 or .mkv container plays in Safari 11+, Edge, and natively in iOS/macOS.
• Reduce streaming bandwidth — At the same perceived quality, HEVC roughly halves the bitrate vs. Xvid, which directly cuts CDN cost and buffering for self-hosted libraries.

Xvid vs HEVC — Format Comparison

x265 Encoder Quick Guide (CRF and Preset)

The x265 encoder used under the hood follows libx265 conventions. Lower CRF = better quality + larger file. Slower preset = better compression at the same CRF (so smaller file, longer encode).

Preset order (fastest → slowest): ultrafast, superfast, veryfast, faster, fast, medium (default), slow, slower, veryslow, placebo. The xconvert "Quality Preset" dropdown maps to this scale; "Very High (Recommended)" sits in the slower-but-not-extreme region for a balance of file size and encoding time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the HEVC file actually be smaller than the Xvid source?

Almost always — typically 40–65% smaller at visually equivalent quality. Because HEVC's compression gain over MPEG-4 ASP (Xvid's underlying spec) is even larger than the 25–50% gain it has over H.264, an old 700 MB Xvid AVI rip usually re-encodes to roughly 250–400 MB at CRF 23–26. Files already heavily compressed (low-bitrate, blocky source) sometimes only shrink modestly because the artifacts themselves are expensive to encode.

What CRF should I pick for 1080p Xvid sources?

CRF 23–25 is a safe transparent zone for 1080p HEVC; CRF 26–28 gives a strong size reduction with quality loss most viewers won't notice. If you want a defensible archival default, pick CRF 24. If you want the smallest file that still looks "fine" on a phone, CRF 28 with a slow preset is the common pick. Don't pick CRF below 18 for re-encodes — you're not adding quality back, only padding the file.

Which devices play HEVC without extra setup?

iPhone 6s and later (Apple A9, September 2015), iPad Pro and later, Apple TV 4K, macOS High Sierra (10.13)+, Android phones from the Snapdragon 820 generation onward, Windows 10/11 with the HEVC Video Extensions installed, and most 2017+ smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL, Hisense). Browsers: Safari 11+ on macOS/iOS plays HEVC natively; Chrome, Edge, and Firefox added HEVC playback in 2023–2024 but require hardware support on the device. VLC has natively decoded HEVC since 2.2.0 (February 2015) on every platform.

Will the audio inside my Xvid AVI survive the conversion?

Audio is re-muxed (or re-encoded if the output container needs it). Typical Xvid AVIs carry MP3, AC-3, or AAC audio; the converter keeps the audio stream parameters appropriate for the output container. If you need lossless audio passthrough or a specific codec (AAC for iOS, Opus for self-hosted), that's controlled by the audio settings, not the video codec choice.

Should I use MP4, MKV, or keep AVI for the HEVC output?

Pick MP4 for maximum app and browser compatibility (iOS Files, Photos.app, Safari, embedded players). Pick MKV for archival flexibility — multiple audio tracks, subtitles, and chapter markers. Don't put HEVC back into AVI: AVI was designed for the MPEG-4 ASP / DivX/Xvid era and lacks proper support for HEVC's parallelization and timing. Most modern players reject or stutter on HEVC-in-AVI. See convert HEVC to MP4 for re-containering.

Is HEVC the right pick, or should I consider H.264 or AV1?

For long-term archive of an Xvid library, HEVC is the safest 2026 choice — universal hardware support, mature encoders, much smaller files than H.264. Pick H.264 instead only if you specifically need playback on a pre-2015 device, an ancient browser, or a low-end embedded player. AV1 beats HEVC by another ~20–30% in compression but encoding is 5–20× slower and hardware decode is still not universal — fine for streaming distribution, less ideal for "convert this archive once."

Does converting to HEVC reduce quality?

Re-encoding any lossy codec to another lossy codec is generationally lossy in theory, but at CRF 23–25 the second-generation HEVC is visually indistinguishable from the Xvid source for all but pathological cases (very dark scenes, fine grain). The encoder spends bits hiding compression artifacts from the source, so practical losses are minimal. If you have the original master file (camera footage, DVD/Blu-ray rip, etc.), encode from that instead of from the Xvid intermediate.

Can I trim or resize during the same job?

Yes. Set "Trim" to Time Range with a start time and duration to extract a clip. Set "Video resolution" to a preset (1080p, 720p) or a percentage to downscale — useful when re-encoding an old upscaled Xvid back to its native resolution. Both happen during the single encode pass, so you don't pay quality for two trips through the codec.

What's the difference between Xvid and DivX, and does it matter?

Both are MPEG-4 Part 2 ASP encoders. Xvid is open-source (GPL v2); DivX is proprietary. The bitstreams are interoperable — a DivX-encoded AVI plays in any Xvid-compatible decoder and vice versa. For conversion to HEVC the distinction doesn't matter; the decoder just sees MPEG-4 ASP video. If your file is .divx or DivX-AVI, the same conversion path works.

Related conversions

For other Xvid endpoints see Xvid to MP4, Xvid to MKV, or compress Xvid. To shrink an existing HEVC file further, use compress HEVC. For AVI sources where Xvid isn't the codec, AVI to HEVC handles MPEG-2, DivX, and H.264-in-AVI as well.