H.265 Conversion: Decode and Convert H265 (HEVC) to H264 for Easier Playback

"I have been shooting/reviewing the new 4K camera and was disappointed when nothing the 4K cam recorded was watchable on my iMac. All files are encoded in H.265/HEVC, anyone has the solution to it? Is it necessary to convert H.265 to H.264, so that I can edit it with FCP 7 and watch it on iPad easily?"

Compared to H.265/HEVC, H.264 is preferred more because of its high performance in any devices and it is also suitable for playbacks. If playing a H.265/4K video on Apple devices or on a HDTV seems time consuming for you, especially for whom having little awareness of video format or codec. Read on the tutorial here and explore the solutions to encode a H.265 video or convert H.265 to H.264, MPEG4, MOV, FLV, MKV, etc for playback on any of your iDevice or android phones without hassles anymore.

➤ Part 1 Best tool to decode and convert H.265 to H.264 with quality reserved

➤ Part 2 User guide to decode H.265 (HEVC) to H.264

➤ Part 3 Why need to convert H.265/HEVC to H.264?

Best tool to decode and convert H.265 to H.264 with quality reserved

There are a lot of people who have got some H.265 videos in hand like to remux H.265 to H.264, since almost all Apple devices like iPhone 7/Plus, iPad Pro, iPad Mini 4/Air 2, Apple TV still haven't playback features to support H.265 videos playing, while H.264 is still the best format for playback, editing and sharing on Mac and mobile devices at present.

In that case, a reliable H.265 to H.264 converter can provide you with an effortless solution like Dimo Video Converter Ultimate for Mac, acting as the best professional H.265 to H.264 converter which can best decode H.265 with 4K MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV, ASF, etc to H.264 with any container format. If you don't want to change the file container, you can directly convert between any two video codecs including H.265, H.264, VP8, VP9, MPEG-4, DivX, etc., to open with iPad Pro, iPad Mini 4/Air 2, Samsung Galaxy series, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android mobile and tablets etc., in a 30X fastest conversion speed yet keeping the original quality and resolution.

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What's more, Dimo Video Converter Ultimate is also a complete combination of video converter, H.265 video downloader, DVD/Blu-ray ripper and video H.265 editor to help you shrink H.264 video size if you need: cut, rotate, split, add 3D effects to make 3D H.264 video, or remove black borders and reset video parameter etc. in serveral clicks. If you are running on Win computer (incl. Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10), please turn to H.265 Video Converter.

User guide to decode H.265 (HEVC) to H.264

To begin with, please free download this H265/HEVC decoder yet converter onto your Mac or Win version as per your computer condition and run it.

Step 1 Click "Add File" to add one or batch H.265 video files you want to convert to H.264 video into the program. Also you are able to convert other video files in different formats or codecs to H.264.

Step 2 Click the output format from the video profile interface and select "H.264" as the preferred output file format from the drop-down menu by "Format" > "Video" > "H.264". You could also edit your H.265 videos by going to the editing features by clicking "Edit", where you can enable "Trim" feature to clear the unwanted clips off video and use "Adjust" feature to get rid of the black borders from video.

Tip: If you think the output H.264 is too large ( Generally, H.264 file is roughly twice larger than H265 in size.), you can click "Settings" to further reduce H.264 files by lowering video resolution from 1080p to 720p/480p, turning down frame rate, bit rate, etc. Of course, please remember the file size is proportional to video quality. So don't overly adjust parameters.

Step 3 After that, press "Start" to start the conversion process of H.265 to H.264 file format. The conversion process will start immediately. It will only take few minutes of your time, after that you could enjoy the videos in any device. Sometimes, it may take more time for batch conversion of H.265 files.

Why need to convert H.265/HEVC to H.264?

Compared with H. 264, the greatest strength of H. 265 is that it has a higher H.265 compression ratio, which can be just discerned from its name, which is also called HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), and the primary use is to further reduce the design flow rate, in order to lower the cost of storage and transmission. Plus, at the same quality of coding, H.265 video can save around 50% of the bit rate, and the coding efficiency can be doubled than H.264, as H.265 provides more different tools to reduce the bit rate.

However, H.265/HEVC is a future codec with higher patent cost, so many hardware platform still choose other codecs, such as H.264, over H.265. Compare H.265 to H.264, we can see that H.265 is way more processor intensive, don't expect a simple firmware upgrade to get your gear to decode it. You'll need intel i7 core processor, a GPU above $200, a RAM at minimum of 8G-32G plus a SSD.

What's worse, H.265 files requires at least 15Mbps, which is widely unrealizable. The largest streaming company Netflix is dedicated at achieving 4K streaming, but they can't reliably deliver 15 Mbps video over one of the fastest connections around.

In a word, H.265 is still not a widely used codec compared with H.264. And this H.264 advantage is further strengthened with Apple choosing H.264 as their main codec supported by iPad, iPhone, etc. So in order to play or open H.265 on more platforms, portable devices, or other applications, we need to convert H.265 to H.264.

Got stuck into converting H.265/HEVC footages or clips to open with Apple devices like Macbook, Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, Android or Editor of FCP, iMovie? Please email us or leave a message at Facebook.