CCTV Footage to MP4 (Beta)

Turn security camera and DVR exports that won't play (Dahua .dav, Hikvision .mp4, XMeye and SD-card .264 files) into MP4 with the right speed, sound and recording time.

Opens: DAV, Hikvision MP4, H.264, H.265, LVF, AVI, MP4, ZIP
Saves: MP4

Convert

Recordings

Choose files… or drop them here

.dav, .mp4, .264, .h264, .265, .h265, .hevc, .avd, .lvf, .avi, .ts, .mpg, .mpeg, .ps, .mkv, .mov, .asf, .zip · up to 200 MB each, 50 files max

Add more files

The files the recorder or camera exported (.dav, .mp4, .264, .h264, .265, .avd, .lvf, .avi…), or a ZIP of the export folder. Up to 50 files.

Options

Make it play everywhere (H.264)

Re-encodes the picture to H.264 (up to 1080p and 30 fps) with 48 kHz AAC sound: the kind of MP4 that WhatsApp, e-mail, police and insurance upload portals and every phone accept. It takes longer. Without it the picture is copied unchanged, so H.265 recordings stay H.265.

Join the clips into one video

Recorders often split an export into several files. They are joined in recording order (the time stored in each file, else the time in its name); gaps between them are listed in the report.

Add the recording time as subtitles

A subtitle track with the recorder's date and time for every second, where the file stores it (Dahua, Hikvision and XMeye recordings). Some players show it straight away, others when subtitles are switched on.

More options

Frame rate of raw .264/.265 files

Raw video streams don't always say how fast they were recorded. Automatic uses the rate stated in the stream, or 25 fps when there is none; if the video then plays too fast or too slow, choose the recorder's frame rate here.

Your files are deleted after processing.

Security recorders and cameras save footage in their own formats. Copied to a USB stick for the police, an insurer, a landlord or a neighbour, the files often won't open: a Dahua .dav that no player knows, a Hikvision .mp4 that is really an MPEG program stream, a .264 from a camera's memory card that plays at the wrong speed or without sound. This tool recognises the recorder's format from the file's content, whatever the file is called, and writes a standard MP4.

What it reads

Dahua DAV (.dav), also written by recorders built on Dahua's platform, with its G.711 or AAC sound.
Hikvision recordings (.mp4 files that are MPEG program streams with the IMKH header), with their G.711 or AAC sound.
XMeye (Xiongmai) recordings (.h264) from XM recorders and cameras.
Memory-card recordings in the HXVS/HXVT format (.264/.265, often named like A190310_041305_041320.264).
Raw H.264 and H.265 streams (.264, .h264, .265, .avd) that hold only the video.
LVF, and the ordinary files some recorders export: MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV, TS, MPEG and ASF.
A ZIP of the export folder: the recordings in it are found; the player program, snapshots, index and text files are left out and listed in the report.

What the MP4 gets

The picture unchanged. H.264 and H.265 are copied, not re-encoded, so nothing is lost and it is fast; H.265 is tagged the way Apple devices need. Make it play everywhere re-encodes to H.264 at up to 1080p and 30 fps instead, for WhatsApp, e-mail and police or insurer upload portals that refuse H.265 or very large pictures.
The right speed. Recorders drop frames in the dark or when busy, so assuming a fixed frame rate plays footage too fast. Each frame keeps the time the recorder stamped on it. XMeye files have no per-frame times; their sound, recorded without breaks, serves as the clock. Raw streams use the frame rate stated inside the stream, or the one you choose.
The sound. G.711 and other recorder sound becomes AAC, placed by its timestamps so it stays in sync. Some recorders stamp the sound on a clock seconds or minutes away from the picture's; it is moved to start with the picture, and the report says by how much.
The recording time. Where the file stores it (Dahua, Hikvision, XMeye), the MP4's creation time is set to the recording start, the file is named after it, and an optional subtitle track shows the recorder's date and time for every second.
Split exports joined, if you choose, in recording order. Clips with the same picture size and codec are joined without re-encoding; with “Make it play everywhere” any clips can be joined.

The report

For every file: the format found, the codecs, picture size and frame rate (and where the rate came from), the recorded start and end, the length, gaps in the recording, what was damaged or left out (for example an export that starts in the middle of a group of pictures, or ends in the middle of a frame), and the SHA-256 checksum of the original. Jobs with several files also get the report as a text and an HTML file.

The MP4 is a converted copy for viewing and sharing, not a forensic copy of the evidence: keep the original export unchanged.

What can't be converted

Hikvision's old format from before about 2011 (files starting with 4HKH), whose video only Hikvision's own software decodes. Export it to AVI or MP4 with Hikvision's player.
Player programs (.exe) exported with or instead of the footage: they are never run. Export the footage in the recorder's own format instead.
Exports protected with a password (encrypted).
Samsung .sec and IFV exports.
G.722.1 and G.726 sound: the video is converted without sound, and the report says so.

Limits

Up to 50 files per job, each recording up to 12 hours and 24 hours in total. Copying the picture is fast. Re-encoding for “Make it play everywhere” is limited by processing time to about 25 minutes of 1080p video at 30 frames per second, and correspondingly more at the lower frame rates recorders usually use.

Uploads are deleted as soon as the conversion finishes, and results are deleted automatically soon after.

Frequently asked questions

Why won't my CCTV export play?

Recorders write their own formats: Dahua's DAV, Hikvision's MPEG program streams saved as .mp4, XMeye and memory-card .264 files with their own framing, or bare video streams without any timing. Ordinary players either refuse them or play them too fast, without sound or with broken timing. This tool reads the recorder's format and writes a standard MP4.

Is the picture quality reduced?

Not by default: the H.264 or H.265 picture is copied into the MP4 unchanged. Only “Make it play everywhere” re-encodes it, to H.264 at up to 1080p, for apps and upload portals that refuse H.265 or very large pictures.

Why does the converted video have the right speed when other converters play it too fast?

Many recorders drop frames in low light or when busy and some raw streams store no frame rate at all, so converters that assume a fixed rate play the footage too fast or too slow. Here each frame keeps the time the recorder stamped on it; for XMeye files, which have no per-frame times, the sound (recorded without interruption) is used as the clock. The report says where the frame rate came from.

Is the sound kept?

Yes. Recorders mostly record G.711 sound, which MP4 players don't accept; it is converted to AAC, placed by its timestamps so it stays in sync, and moved to start with the picture when the recorder stamped it on a different clock. G.722.1 and G.726 sound can't be converted; the report says so.

Can the MP4 be used as evidence?

The MP4 is a converted copy for viewing and sharing. Converting rewrites the file, so it is not a forensic copy: keep the original export unchanged. The report lists each original's SHA-256 checksum, its recording times and anything that was damaged, which helps whoever receives the footage.

Are my recordings kept?

No. Uploads are deleted as soon as the conversion finishes, and the results are deleted automatically after a while.