Free online 264 to XVID converter

Older DVD players, TVs, and editing programs may accept Xvid video but reject a raw H.264 file with a .264 extension. Converting it usually means decoding the H.264 stream and re-encoding it as MPEG-4 Part 2/Xvid, commonly inside an AVI container.

What the 264 format is

A .264 file normally contains a raw H.264/AVC video elementary stream without a container such as MP4 or MKV. Cameras, CCTV and DVR systems, hardware encoders, and specialist video export tools commonly create it. Because raw H.264 does not reliably store audio, frame-rate metadata, duration, or subtitles, conversion software may require those values as input.

What the Xvid format is

Xvid is an implementation of MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile, not a separate container format. Xvid video is commonly stored in an .avi file and is supported by many older standalone players, TVs, game consoles, and legacy editing applications. It can provide acceptable quality at modest bitrates, but it is less efficient than H.264 and lacks newer H.264 features.

How to actually convert 264 to Xvid

Using FFmpeg

FFmpeg is suitable for raw H.264 input and gives direct control over the Xvid encoder. Install a build that includes libxvid, then inspect the source if possible:

ffprobe input.264

Convert a stream whose frame rate is known to be 25 frames per second:

ffmpeg -f h264 -r 25 -i input.264 -c:v libxvid -q:v 4 -an output.avi

Replace 25 with the recording rate, such as 30, 29.97, or 50. The -q:v value controls quality in constant-quality mode; lower values produce larger files and better quality. Values around 3 to 6 are a practical starting range.

If a separate audio file must be included, encode it to an AVI-compatible format such as MP3:

ffmpeg -f h264 -r 25 -i input.264 -i audio.wav -map 0:v:0 -map 1:a:0 -c:v libxvid -q:v 4 -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 192k -shortest output.avi

For a two-pass encode at a target video bitrate, use a first pass followed by a second pass:

ffmpeg -f h264 -r 25 -i input.264 -c:v libxvid -b:v 1200k -pass 1 -an -f avi /dev/null

ffmpeg -f h264 -r 25 -i input.264 -c:v libxvid -b:v 1200k -pass 2 -an output.avi

On Windows, replace /dev/null with NUL. Choose a bitrate according to the original resolution and the playback device; 1,000–2,000 kbps is often suitable for standard-definition material, but it is not a universal quality target.

Using the built-in online converter

You can convert the file free on 101convert.com without installing software. Upload the .264 file, select Xvid or AVI output when offered, start the conversion, and download the resulting file. Supply the correct frame rate if the service asks for it, because a raw stream may not contain that information.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

This conversion is a lossy re-encode: the H.264 stream is decoded and compressed again with Xvid, so it cannot improve the source and may introduce blocking or ringing. Keep the original file and avoid repeated conversions.

Raw .264 input may have no dependable frame-rate metadata. An incorrect frame rate causes playback to run too quickly, too slowly, or with an incorrect duration. If the source is interlaced, add a deinterlacer such as -vf yadif when the target device requires progressive video.

Xvid AVI has limited compatibility with modern features, unusual frame sizes, variable-frame-rate timing, and some audio codecs. Use dimensions divisible by 2, encode audio as MP3 or PCM when required by the player, and test the resulting AVI on the target device before converting a large collection.