How to Convert H.265 to H.264 Efficiently?

H.264 and H.265 are both advanced video compression technologies, mainly used for high-quality, small-size video encoding. But as the successor of H.264, H.265 has a better compression ratio than H.264, saving nearly half the bandwidth compared with H.264 encoded video of the same quality. This is why H.265 is often used in 4K and 8K productions. However, since H.265 is not compatible with many platforms and devices, many people want to convert video to H.264 to play videos more easily. And that's where an H265 to H264 converter comes in handy.

Below, I will show you how to convert H.265 to H.264 while preserving high quality. Let's start!

Handbrake is an open source video transcoder. It can convert unprotected DVDs and various digital videos. It also works as an H265 to H264 converter to convert videos to MP4 and MKV formats with H.264 codec. Compared to the above software, Handbrake is a little more complicated to use, but it’s completely free. The following steps will show you how to convert H.265 to H.264 in Handbrake.

Step 1. Download the latest Handbrake from the official site https://handbrake.fr/downloads.php.

Step 2. Run Handbrake and click File to load your H.265 file into the software. Or you can drop the file in the grayed out area to import it.

Step 3. Go to the Summary tab and choose an output format from the Format drop-down options. It has only three output formats, MP4, MKV, and WebM.

Step 4. Switch to the Video tab and select H.264 (x264) or H.264 10-bit (x264) from the Video Codec box. You can also modify other settings such as preset, filters, audio, subtitles, etc. as you see fit.

Step 5. Click the bottom Browse button to choose an output path. When you are ready, click the top green Start Encode button to transcode H.265 to H.264.

Whether you choose the first method or prefer the second one, converting H.265 to H.264 is an easy job that can be accomplished in a few steps. But personally, I would recommend the first program for it is more powerful and supports more formats. You can download the software below and try it out!

That’s all I wanted to share. Hope this article was helpful to you. Thanks for reading!

1. Is H.265 better quality than H.264?

Thanks to its efficient compression algorithm, H.265 can use less bitrate to deliver the same video quality. In other words, at the same bit rate, H.265 has better quality than H.264.

2. Does converting H265 to H264 lose quality?

Both H265 and H264 are lossy compression formats, so quality loss is inevitable during the conversion process. But in most cases, the loss of quality is imperceptible to the human eye.

3. How to convert H.265 video to H.264 online?

Anyconv.com presents an H264 converter online that allows you to convert any video to H264 without installing any software. Follow the steps to begin:

Step 1. Open AnyConv File Converter.
Step 2. Upload your video.
Step 3. Select H264 format.
Step 4. Start conversion.