Can't I just rename the file to .mp4?

No, and this is the most common misunderstanding here. MP4 is a container; HEVC is the video inside it. Changing the container leaves the video exactly as unplayable as it was. The stream itself has to be converted.

Why is it slower than other conversions?

Because every frame is decoded and re-encoded, on your CPU. There is no shortcut — anything claiming to do this instantly is only changing the container, which does not work.

Will the file get bigger?

Usually yes. HEVC compresses roughly twice as efficiently as H.264, so the same video in H.264 takes more space. That is the cost of it playing everywhere.

Could I install the HEVC codec instead?

You can, and for watching your own clips on your own PC that may be simpler. Converting is the answer when the file has to play on someone else's machine, or in software that cannot use the codec.

Free converter

HEVCMP4

HEVC to MP4 Converter

This is the one that genuinely needs converting, and it is worth understanding why: simply rewrapping an HEVC video into an MP4 container does not fix anything, because the stream inside is still HEVC and that is what Windows cannot play. PhotoTray converts the video itself to H.264, which plays everywhere.

Download for Windows

Windows 10/11 (x64) · Free · No account

Drop in your files — MP4 files land in the folder you pick — this path re-encodes, so it takes real time.

Why convert

Why HEVC needs a real conversion

HEVC — also called H.265 — is what modern phones record to halve the file size, and Windows can only decode it with a codec that is not installed by default. Plenty of tools claim to fix this by changing the container to .mp4, which changes nothing at all: the video is still HEVC, and it still will not play. The only real fix is converting the video stream to H.264.

Phone video that will not play on a Windows PC.
Sending a clip to someone whose machine lacks the HEVC codec.
Getting footage into an editor that cannot decode HEVC.
Making an archive of clips that will play anywhere, indefinitely.

How it works

Convert HEVC to MP4 in a few clicks

1
Drop your HEVC files in
One clip or a folder, at any size.
2
PhotoTray confirms it really is HEVC
If the file turns out to hold H.264 already, it takes the fast lossless path instead and finishes in about a second. Only genuine HEVC gets re-encoded.
3
Get an H.264 MP4 back
In the folder you chose, playable on essentially any device, with the original untouched.

The details

HEVC to MP4, at a glance

Engine: ffmpeg — bundled and checksum-verified before every run
What happens: A genuine re-encode from HEVC to H.264 — not a container swap
Time: Real time on a CPU; a long 4K clip is a long job
Audio: Carried across intact rather than re-encoded
Where it runs: Your own PC — nothing is uploaded
Limits: None — no file count, no file-size cap, no watermark
Platform: Windows 10/11 (x64)

Questions