Corrupted, or just a player without HEVC?
Many "corrupted" H.265 videos are healthy files on a computer that can't decode HEVC. Try the file in VLC first, which decodes H.265 on its own.
| What you see | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Plays in VLC, not in the system player | The system player lacks an HEVC decoder. The file is fine. |
| Error 0xc00d36c4 in Windows | Often the same missing decoder. |
| Won't play anywhere, 0:00, no thumbnail | The index is missing. The repair rebuilds it. |
| 0 bytes | No footage reached the storage. Nothing to rebuild. |
What an H.265 file needs from its index
The index, the moov atom in an MP4 or MOV, holds three parameter sets for H.265: the VPS, SPS and PPS, kept in an entry called hvcC. They give the picture size, the profile and the coding tools a decoder must know before the first frame. Some cameras also write them in front of every key frame; many keep them only in the index.
When they are inside the footage, the checker reads them there and needs nothing else. When they were only in the index, it first tries to work them out from the frames, and if it can't prove them, it asks for a healthy video from the same camera at the same settings and copies its parameter sets.
What we tested it on
We removed the index from real H.265 recordings, repaired them, and compared every picture with the original:
| Camera | Recording | Reference needed? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| DJI camera | 4K | No | 212 of 212 pictures identical |
| GoPro HERO10 | High Efficiency | Yes | 1,384 of 1,384 pictures and 1,081 of 1,081 sound frames identical |
| 70mai dash cam, front | 4K | Yes | 35 of 35 pictures identical |
| Samsung phone | 1080p | Yes | 118 of 118 pictures and 188 of 188 sound frames identical |
| iPhone | 4K HDR | Yes | 96 of 96 pictures identical |
Nothing is re-encoded in any of these: the repaired file holds the camera's own H.265 data, so the quality, the HDR and the file size stay as they were.
Repair an H.265 file
- Copy the broken file to your computer and open it in the checker on this page. Your browser reads it from your disk; nothing is uploaded.
- The free check reads the footage and tells you whether it can rebuild the file, and whether it needs a clip.
- If it asks for one, give it a video that plays from the same camera, recorded at the same resolution, frame rate and video format. On a GoPro the format is called High Efficiency; on an iPhone, the camera format.
- Watch the free 5-second preview, then download the full video with a paid plan.
On Android, the Video Repair app repairs H.265 files on the phone with the same engine.