H.264 (AVC)
Also known as: H.264, AVC, MPEG-4 Part 10
The most widely supported video codec, also called AVC. Nearly every camera, phone, browser and editor can record or play it, hence the label Most Compatible.
Updated
What it means
H.264, also known as AVC or MPEG-4 Part 10, is the video codec standardized in 2003 that went on to run most of the video world: Blu-ray, web streaming, video calls and a generation of action cameras. It compresses footage by predicting each frame from its neighbors and storing only the differences, in blocks of up to 16 by 16 pixels.
Its biggest strength today is compatibility rather than efficiency. Practically every phone, laptop, smart TV and editing program from the last decade has a hardware decoder for 8-bit H.264, so clips play and scrub smoothly almost anywhere. That is why GoPro, Apple and others have offered it as the Most Compatible option.
How it works in practice
At 4K, action cameras usually record H.264 somewhere between 60 and 100 Mbps, and 1080p at lower rates. Files go into an MP4 or MOV container. On a GoPro you can tell by the file name: clips starting with GH are H.264, while GX marks HEVC.
Many cameras restrict H.264 to the less demanding modes. Higher resolutions such as 5.3K, very high frame rates and 10-bit profiles typically switch to HEVC automatically, because H.264 would need an impractically high bitrate or lacks hardware support in the camera. If a mode grays out after you pick H.264, that is the reason.
What to watch out for
For the same visual quality, H.264 needs roughly twice the Bitrate of HEVC. At a fixed data rate that shows up in hard scenes: snow, spray, gravel and leaves can break into blocks during fast motion. If your camera offers a high bitrate setting, use it when recording H.264.
Be wary of 10-bit H.264 from mirrorless cameras. It is technically valid, but most phones and many laptops cannot decode it in hardware, so it plays poorly where ordinary H.264 is effortless. And every extra re-encode loses a little detail, so export once at a generous bitrate rather than converting files back and forth.
How RawClip handles it
H.264 is one of the two codecs RawClip accepts, alongside H.265, so GoPro GH files, older DJI clips and Most Compatible iPhone videos upload without any conversion. They can share an order with HEVC footage from other cameras, and the AI cuts everything into one highlight delivered as MP4 in 4K and 1080p.