Any advancements in an industry are usually a good thing like the inception of the HEVC (H.265) video compression standard in the video conversion realm. However, the HEVC video codec, even though it brings more efficiency, faces the limitation that not all software or devices can support it.
Luckily, there is a perfect way to bridge this gap and enjoy the H.265 video content hassle-free. To be specific, this is achieved by converting H.265 to a universally compatible format like MP4 using video converter programs. In this article, we will share a couple of methods on how to convert HEVC to MP4 using the following H.265 converters.
What is HEVC (H.265)?
HEVC (High-Efficiency Video Coding), also referred to as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2 is a successor to the popular and common Advanced Video Coding (AVC, MPEG-4 Part 10, or H.264). Amazingly, the HEVC video encoding boasts 25% to 50% better compression when keeping the video quality constant. For this reason, it is best suited for resolutions up to 8K to allow for high-quality video streaming and playback at feasible bitrates.
Why Convert HEVC to MP4?
As earlier mentioned, the HEVC encoding main setback is the lack of support on a ton of old devices/players that are not equipped to handle this video codec. This means that, unless you are running the latest devices and software that manages to decode this format, playback is just wishful thinking. MP4 is considered a universal video format and is therefore supported by almost any device or player out there. Therefore, the main reason for converting H.265 to MP4 is to achieve full range compatibility on all devices and players.
How to Convert H.265 Files to MP4 with Best HEVC to MP4 Converter
# TalkHelper Video Converter (Recommended)
TalkHelper Video Converter is a diligent H.265 to MP4 converter software for Windows that supports popular video and audio formats. In addition to HEVC to MP4 conversion, TalkHelper also has the capacity to convert H.264 to MP4, MKV, HEVC, MOV, or any other format with fast speed. And this HEVC converter offers a wide list of customizable preset conversion profiles to further simplify the process for you.
Steps to Convert H.265 Files to MP4 Using TalkHelper Video Converter:
Step 1: Import an H.265 file. Hit the “Add Media” button and pick the “Add Video File…” option.
From the “Open a video” window, navigate to the source folder, select the H.265 video file, and click on the “Open” button.
Step 2: Set MP4 as the output format. Expand the “Output Format” drop-down list, pick the “Popular” category, select MP4, and then choose your preferred combination of the output codec and resolution.
Step 3: Configure the target path, adjust the quality, and convert. Click on the “More parameters” link, tweak the “Target path:” and “Quality:” options as necessary, and hit the “OK” button. Lastly, click on the “Start Convert” button.
# Xilisoft HEVC/H.265 Converter
Xilisoft HEVC/H.265 Converter boasts unmatched speeds and high-quality output when it comes to H.265 to MP4 conversion. Converting HEVC (H.265) to MP4 (H.264) feels just like a walk in the park, and you get the chance to not only convert into native MP4 files but also device-specific ones to support devices like Apple’s iPod, PlayStation, PSP, feature phones, and more.
This HEVC to MP4 converter also opens you up to some video editing options that come in handy to watermark, add subtitles, split, cut, merge, and add effects. The other good thing is that this HEVC converter accommodates both novice and experienced users.
Limitations:
- Copy-protected H.265 files are not supported
- The free version only allows for 3-minute conversions
Steps to Convert HEVC to MP4 files Using Xilisoft H.265 Converter:
Step 1: Add an HEVC video file to convert e.g. MKV. Click on the “Add” button, head over to the source directory, select the HEVC H.265 file, and then hit the “Open” button.
Step 2: Adjust the output format to MP4. Expand the “Profile:” list, pick the “All Profiles” category, and then select “MP4” from the sidekick menu.
Step 3: Adjust the output options and convert. First, set the saving destination and filename using the “Browse…” button, tweak the video size and video/audio quality in the “Profile” section, and then click on the “Start” button to convert HEVC to MP4.
How to Convert H.265 Files to MP4 with Free HEVC Converter
# HandBrake
HandBrake is a free and open-source H.265 to MP4 converter with popularity spanning almost every platform including Windows, Linux, and Mac. With it, you can easily convert any HEVC file into the MP4 format equivalent while keeping the original quality intact as much as possible, mind you there are instances quality may go down a little bit.
Also, non-copyright protected DVDs and Blu-ray disks containing HEVC files can as well be converted into MP4 format hassle-free. Using this HEVC converter, you can still convert into small files and enjoy good output quality.
Limitations:
- May not utilize hardware acceleration fully
- CPU intensive resulting in slow performance
- Quality may be compromised a bit
Steps to Transform H.265 Files into MP4 using HandBrake:
Step 1: Open an H.265 video file. From the panel on the left, click on the “File” option to open the File Explorer window, navigate to the source directory, highlight the HEVC file, and then hit the “Open” button.
Step 2: Choose a preset to work with. Under the “Preset:” section, pick your preferred option depending on your H.265 to MP4 conversion needs. Advanced users can as well go ahead and tweak some advanced options like the video dimensions, filters, subtitles, and more.
Step 3: Output to MP4 format and convert. From the “Format:” section, ensure to select the “MP4” option, at the “Save As:” section, use the “Browse” button to set the saving folder and a relevant filename (of course the extension should be set to .mp4). Once done, hit the “Start Encode” button.
# VLC Media Player
VideoLAN’s VLC Media Player is a free, open-source, and prevalent media player that also doubles as a reliable HEVC to MP4 converter. It features powerful HEVC encoding, decoding, and conversion with little to no quality loss.
Apart from H.265 video, this X265 converter is a good encoder for DivX, MKV, MTS, H.264, MOV, AVI, MPG, WMV, and more. Overall, working with this tool to convert H.265 to MP4 is quite easy to accommodate pretty much every user base. Advanced users can also tweak the supported video codecs to adjust various options like watermarks/logos, filters, rotations, among others.
Limitations:
- No batch processing
- Video conversion options are not straightforward
- Maybe a bit confusing due to a ton of features
Steps to Convert H.265 Files to MP4 Using VLC Media Player:
Step 1: Open the HEVC to MP4 conversion interface. From the “Media” menu, pick the “Convert/Save…” option.
Step 2: Import an HEVC video file to convert. Ensuring that the “File” tab is selected, click on the “Add…” button, add the X265 file, and proceed to hit the “Convert/Save” button.
Step 3: Set output options and convert. Pick an MP4 preset from the “Profile” section, use the “Browse” button to choose where to save the converted MP4 file while setting .mp4 as the file extension, and hit the “Start” button.
# FFmpeg (via command line)
FFmpeg is a powerful video transcoder that is more of an advanced-user HEVC to MP4 converter taking into account that it works from the command line. Therefore, this HEVC encoder can be cumbersome to work with unless you are familiar with what is involved.
Luckily for you, the subsequent guide will get you acquainted with the process without much hassle. This software to convert H.265 to MP4 forms the backbone of many other GUI-driven apps and that signifies just how important it is. Not forgetting that you can also grab the portable version and work from any platform, straight from a USB stick.
Limitations:
- No perceivable GUI; command-line-based
- May present a steep learning curve to most users
Steps to Convert H.265 Files to MP4 Using FFmpeg:
Step 1: Download the FFmpeg executables. Using your preferred web browser, open this link https://www.ffmpeg.org/download.html, and from there, download the packages or executables for your current platform.
Step 2: Open the folder containing the FFmpeg executable. Ensure to first extract the downloaded compressed file and then head over to the directory that has the FFmpeg executables.
Step 3: Launch a command-line window in the FFmpeg folder. On Windows 11, right-click inside the directory (on other versions of Windows hold down the “Shift” key and right-click), and hit the “Open in Windows Terminal” option. You should have a command-line window pop-up on the screen as below.
Step 4: Copy the HEVC video file into the FFmpeg folder. Copy and paste the H.265 MKV video in the mentioned folder.
Step 5: Transform the X265/H.265 file into MP4. In the command-line window, type the command shown below. Keep in mind that you need to substitute the “inputfilename” with the filename of the H.265 file and the “outputfilename” with the output name you prefer for the converted MP4 file.
./ffmpeg.exe -i inputfilename.mkv outputfilename.mp4
Taking the example of the file (video-h265.mkv) shown in the previous screenshot, the command should be as follows;
./ffmpeg.exe -i video-h265.mkv converted.mp4
After typing the command, hit the “Enter” key.
Once the HEVC to MP4 conversion process is complete, find the converted MP4 file in the same directory as the original H.265 video file.
Conclusion
After presenting you with the above ways to transform HEVC into MP4, you are pretty much prepared to handle any task coming your way. Of course, the HEVC converter you settle on will depend on the kind of requirements you are seeking to satisfy.
Each of the offline video converters featured here is powerful enough to help you turn H.265 to MP4 on various operating systems like the latest iteration of Windows 10 and Mac. It is now time to make the all-playable MP4s from those modern HEVC (H.265) video files.
