After downloading footage from either our Plug & Play or Diversity Series devices, certain PCs will sometimes have an issue with playback. This is due to the fact that most of our recorders default to using H.265 as the main compression format. For the past 10 years we have been using this format since it offers the ability to store up to twice as many days of footage compared to H.264. Since this is a patented technology, Windows and macOS do not include the ability to play these files, without the need to download third-party video players or paying for licensed codecs to be able to play these files.


We do offer software to play these files, but if there is an instance where you need to provide video clips to authorities or a court, there is a way to convert these files to a format (H.264) that can be played by any modern operating system.


  1.  First, visit https://handbrake.fr/ and download the Handbrake software. This is a free application that can read almost any video format and can convert it into H.264 format.


  2. After downloading and installing Handbrake, launch the software and find the clip that you downloaded from your AVYCON recorder and drag it onto the Handbrake window.


  3. There should be a Preset drop-down after the video clip has been loaded. From there, please select the "Creator 2160p60 4K" option. This will automatically allow you to convert any resolution up to 4K into an H.264 .mp4 format.




  4. Click on the "Start" or "Start Encode" button and this will transcode the video clip to the H.264 format. After this has completed, please test with either the default Windows Media Player or with the macOS QuickTime Player to confirm that the file plays correctly.