Codec terminology
HEVC vs H.265
HEVC and H.265 are two names commonly used for the same video coding standard. HEVC means High Efficiency Video Coding; H.265 is the ITU-T recommendation designation.
HEVC is the codec, not the container
A video described as HEVC or H.265 can be stored inside containers such as MP4, MOV, MKV or transport stream files. Changing the file extension alone does not change the encoded video.
Why both names appear
Software, cameras and websites may use HEVC, H.265, or both. You may also see codec tags such as hvc1 or hev1 inside MP4-family files.
Why HEVC is used
HEVC was designed to provide efficient compression for high-resolution video. It is commonly encountered in HD, 4K, HDR and phone-camera recordings.
Compatibility matters
Because HEVC decoding support varies across devices and browsers, a file may need conversion even though the file itself is valid. HEVC Now can inspect and test local files before you decide to convert them.