Repair · HEVC · H.265 · 10-bit · HDR
Repair broken HEVC footage.
HEVC (H.265) is more demanding than H.264: 10-bit, 4:2:2, HDR metadata, length-prefixed NAL units. Haven repairs damaged HEVC files from the iPhone (Dolby Vision included), GoPro, Sony FX series, DJI and more.
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Supported
- · HEVC Main
- · HEVC Main 10
- · HEVC 4:2:2
- · HDR10
- · Dolby Vision
- · iPhone Cinematic Mode
Recognize your problem?
Common damage patterns with HEVC
"This file cannot be played" — even in VLC
HEVC is demanding at the container level: 10-bit profiles, HDR metadata, length-prefixed NAL units. With a damaged hvcC header, even VLC — which otherwise plays everything — refuses.
Video plays, but looks flat/wrongly coloured
HDR HEVC without colour metadata looks like SDR with a shifted colour mapping. Even when the picture is there, the HDR information is missing from the container.
Premiere reports "Unsupported video format"
Premiere is strict about HEVC: without a correct hvcC header and SPS/PPS NAL units in the container, the file is rejected, even when the codec stream itself would be intact.
Only audio plays, picture stays black
An HEVC NAL-unit tag conflict: hev1 vs hvc1. The container is intact, but the decoder finds no codec parameters because they are in the wrong NAL format.
Why does this happen?
The most common causes
01
NAL-unit format conflict (hev1 vs hvc1)
HEVC has two container formats: hev1 (SPS/PPS in-band in the bitstream) and hvc1 (SPS/PPS out-of-band in the hvcC header). When a file is repackaged (e.g. from MKV to MP4), the tag can end up wrong — the picture stays black although the data is there.
02
Recording interrupted, hvcC header lost
The hvcC header sits inside the moov atom. When moov was not written, the codec parameters are missing — and without them no decoder can read the HEVC stream.
03
HDR metadata streams damaged
HDR10 and Dolby Vision have their own metadata NAL units (mastering display, MaxCLL/MaxFALL, DV RPU). When those bytes are damaged, the decoder falls back to SDR — the picture goes flat.
04
10-bit profile mismatch
The iPhone and GoPro write Main 10 (10-bit). When the hvcC header is set to Main (8-bit) because a tool converted it wrongly, the decoder rejects the file.
How to do it
Repair in four steps
- 01
Save the file and check the container type
HEVC can sit in an MP4, MOV, MKV or TS container. Haven reads all four. Make sure the file is local on your machine and not on a read-only mount.
- 02
A reference from the same device / profile
With HEVC the right profile is critical. Main vs Main 10, 4:2:0 vs 4:2:2, BT.709 vs BT.2020. Ideally a reference from the same device with identical capture settings.
- 03
Haven analyses hvcC and VUI
Haven reads the hvcC header (codec parameters), the Video Usability Information (VUI for colour space) and, where present, the DV RPU (Dolby Vision). On any defects, the values are extracted from the reference.
- 04
Preview with corrected HDR display
In the preview the picture appears with the correct colour mapping (provided your screen supports HDR; otherwise a tonemapped SDR preview). If it looks good, export as the repaired file.
Engineering detail
The hvcC box and why it is so sensitive
The hvcC header (HEVC Configuration) holds the bytes a decoder needs before the first frame: profile, level, tier, colour primaries, transfer function, matrix coefficients, the length-prefix bytes and the NAL-unit arrays (SPS, PPS, VPS). If even a single one of these bytes is wrong, decoder initialisation fails — and the file stays completely black. Haven knows the correct values for every common recording device and can reconstruct hvcC from a reference exactly.
For CLI nerds — fallback without Haven
ffmpeg -i kaputt.mp4 -c copy -tag:v hvc1 -bsf:v hevc_mp4toannexb neu.mp4For a hev1↔hvc1 tag conflict, this command can help. When the moov atom is missing or the hvcC bytes are broken, it does not — then Haven is needed.
FAQ · HEVC
Common questions
What is the difference between H.265 and HEVC?
None. H.265 is the ITU name, HEVC is the MPEG name. Both refer to the same codec standard. You will see the two terms used interchangeably.
My iPhone HEVC with Dolby Vision looks flat after repair. What now?
Dolby Vision Profile 8.4 (iPhone) stores DV RPU data in its own NAL units. When those are missing, the decoder falls back to SDR. Haven extracts the DV RPU from the reference and writes it back. In the preview you can see whether HDR is active.
Does Haven also work for HEVC in MKV?
Yes. MKV is a different container, but the HEVC codec data inside it is identical. Haven reads the MKV in, repairs the HEVC headers and can write back to MKV or to MP4.
What is the maximum bitrate Haven can handle?
There is no bitrate limit. Haven has successfully repaired Sony XAVC-I Class 480 (500 Mbit/s) and should cope with any modern HEVC bitrate (up to around 2 Gbit/s at 8K).
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