Video codecs explained: H.264, HEVC and AV1 for creators who export

What a codec actually does

Raw video is enormous, so every file you export is compressed. The codec is the algorithm that compresses the picture when you export and decompresses it when someone presses play. MDN describes video codecs as tools that compress the video data and encode it into a format that can later be decoded and played back or edited. [2]

The codec is not the file type. An .mp4 or .mov file is a container that holds a video stream, one or more audio streams and metadata; the same MP4 can hold H.264, HEVC or AV1 video. [2] That is why two files both called video.mp4 can behave differently: one plays everywhere, the other shows a black screen on an older laptop.

All three codecs in this guide are lossy. They throw away detail the encoder judges you will not notice, and the amount thrown away is controlled mostly by bitrate. MDN notes that quality generally improves with higher bitrates and that higher bitrates inherently lead to larger files; motion and image noise also make a file harder to compress. [2] A static slide tutorial compresses far better than handheld footage of a crowded street at the same settings.

H.264, HEVC and AV1 side by side

H.264 (also called AVC) is the compatibility baseline. MDN lists it as supported in all versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera and Safari, and notes that many platforms support hardware encoding and decoding. [2] YouTube recommends H.264 for uploads, with High Profile, closed GOP and 4:2:0 chroma subsampling. [1]

HEVC (H.265) is its successor. MDN says it can theoretically produce files half the size of AVC at comparable quality, but browser support is partial and depends on hardware, operating system and extensions. [2] Apple says iPhone 7 and later can record HEVC, and that HEVC gives better compression than H.264 while keeping the same visual quality. [3]

AV1 comes from the Alliance for Open Media, which describes it as an open codec designed for greater efficiency than previous codecs. [4] MDN describes AV1 as fully royalty-free and says it can compress as much as 50% more than AVC, but Safari support is limited to devices with a hardware decoder, such as M3 Macs and later, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 16 and later. [2]

Encode speed is the trade-off nobody puts on a spec sheet. None of the official sources we used publish encode times, and the answer depends on whether your computer has a hardware encoder for that codec. OBS recommends the best available hardware encoder in the order AV1, HEVC, H.264 for recording, which tells you hardware support is what makes the newer codecs practical. [5] Test on your own machine: export the same 60-second clip in each codec at the same resolution and time it.

Where bitrate fits, with a 10-minute 1080p tutorial

File size is bitrate multiplied by duration. Codec choice changes how much quality you get per megabit, not the arithmetic. Divide megabits by 8 to get megabytes.

YouTube recommends 8 Mbps video for 1080p at 24, 25 or 30 fps, 12 Mbps at 48, 50 or 60 fps, and 384 kbps for stereo audio. [1] A 10-minute (600-second) tutorial at 8 Mbps is 8 x 600 = 4,800 megabits, or 600 MB of video, plus 384 kbps x 600 / 8 = 28.8 MB of audio: roughly 630 MB in total.

If HEVC really reaches similar quality at half the bitrate, as MDN suggests is theoretically possible, the same tutorial at 4 Mbps would be about 300 MB of video. [2] Treat that as a ceiling on savings, not a promise; screen recordings with lots of flat colour often compress well in any codec, so the gap can be smaller.

Which codec to export for each job

YouTube: export H.264 in MP4 at the recommended bitrate. YouTube processes every upload (its recommendations describe converting colour spaces and ranges during processing), and those recommendations are written around H.264, MP4 with the moov atom at the front, and 48 kHz audio. [1] A more efficient codec can shorten the upload, but viewers watch YouTube processed versions, not your file. YouTube also notes that viewers need a browser or device that supports VP9 to watch new 4K uploads in 4K. [1]

Client delivery: H.264 MP4 unless the client has asked for something else. You cannot control what the client opens the file on, and H.264 is the codec MDN lists as playable in every major browser. [2] If the file is too big to send, lower the bitrate before you switch codecs.

Phone playback: Apple says HEVC plays on recent Apple devices, that older devices are more likely to handle it at 1080p or lower and 60 fps or lower, and that media sent by AirDrop, Messages or email may be converted to H.264 automatically when the receiving device does not support HEVC. [3] For phones you do not control, H.264 is still the safe choice.

Archive: keep the original camera and recorder files; they are the real master. If you also keep an edited master, a high-bitrate file in the codec your editor reopens reliably matters more than the smallest possible size. Filmora, for example, lists HEVC and AV1 MP4 export alongside H.264 and Apple ProRes in MOV for 8K. [6]

Checklist before you hit export

Run this once per project type and save it as a preset in your editor, so you only think about codecs when the destination changes.

• Write down where the file is going: platform, client, phone or archive.
• Pick the codec from the table above; default to H.264 when unsure.
• Set bitrate from the destination guidance, for example 8 Mbps for 1080p30 on YouTube. [1]
• Keep the frame rate you recorded at; YouTube asks for the original frame rate. [1]
• Export a 30-second test and play it on the device the audience will use.
• Check the size against bitrate x seconds / 8 so you spot a wrong preset immediately.
• Keep the original recordings until the final file has been delivered and accepted.

Sources & verification

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1. YouTube Help: YouTube recommended upload encoding settings Accessed 30 Oct 2026
2. MDN Web Docs: Web video codec guide Accessed 30 Oct 2026
3. Apple Support: Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices Accessed 30 Oct 2026
4. Alliance for Open Media: AV1 Video Codec Accessed 30 Oct 2026
5. OBS Studio Knowledge Base: Audio/Video Formats Guide Accessed 30 Oct 2026
6. Wondershare Filmora: Tech specs (Windows) Accessed 30 Oct 2026