StaxRip HEVC Encoding: How to Cut Video File Sizes in Half for Free

Bloated MP4s and AVIs filling your drive? StaxRip re-encodes them to H.265 for free, and most files come out around half the size with no difference you will see on a normal screen.

StaxRip is a free, open-source Windows app that drives the x265 encoder for you, so HEVC encoding becomes a series of clicks instead of a command line.

This guide takes one video from start to finish in ten steps, using the settings StaxRip already picks for you wherever they are the right ones.

Step 1: Download and Unpack StaxRip

Download StaxRip and unpack the 7z archive into a new, empty folder - Windows 11 can open it directly, or use 7-Zip.

There is no installer: StaxRip is portable, so it never touches the registry. When you update later, unpack the new version into a fresh folder rather than over the old one, as the developers advise.

Step 2: Choose Where Settings Live

Run StaxRip.exe. On the first launch it asks where to keep its settings.

Pick the first option, a Settings folder inside StaxRip's own folder - StaxRip marks it as recommended, and it keeps each version's settings separate. Choose the AppData option only if Windows will not let you write to the StaxRip folder.

Step 3: Open Your Video

Right-click the empty Source box at the top left and choose Open, then pick the single-file option and select your video.

StaxRip reads the file and fills in the details - length, size, bitrate, resolution, frame rate and audio tracks. A 4K HDR file can take a little longer while it reads the colour information.

Step 4: Check the Encoder Is x265

The encoder panel on the right is titled with the encoder in use. Left-click that title to see the list - x265 is ticked by default, and it is the right choice for HEVC.

The same list holds x264, the AV1 encoders and the graphics-card encoders (NVEncC for NVIDIA, VCEEncC for AMD, QSVEncC for Intel). More on those in the tips below.

Step 5: Pick MKV or MP4

The container is the label at the top right of the same panel. Click it to switch between MKV, the default, and MP4.

Keep MKV for files you watch on a PC or a media server - it holds several audio and subtitle tracks without fuss. Choose MP4 for phones, browsers and smart TVs; the picture is identical, only the wrapper changes.

Step 6: Set the Quality

This is where the file size is decided. The x265 panel has six settings, and only the first one usually needs touching.

Quality is x265's CRF value with a friendly name. A lower number means better quality and a bigger file, and the default, 20 - Low, is a sensible place to start despite its modest-sounding name.

Preset is how hard x265 works. Leave it on Medium; Slow squeezes a little more out of each megabyte but takes noticeably longer, and the faster presets cost quality.

Tune stays on None for most videos. Pick grain for old film you want to keep grainy, or animation for cartoons and anime.

Leave AQ-Mode (2: AQ enabled with auto-variance), DV Profile and Range as they are. DV Profile only matters for Dolby Vision sources, and Range is taken from the source.

Step 7: Keep or Convert the Audio

Each audio track has a Copy/Mux link beside it. Leave it as it is to copy the original sound untouched, which is the best choice when the source audio is already AAC, as it is in most phone videos.

To convert it, click Copy/Mux and pick a profile - AAC plays on almost everything. Use Edit beside it to change the bitrate if you want a smaller file.

Step 8: Add the Job

Check the settings once more before you start: a job that runs for hours with the wrong quality is the most common waste of time in encoding.

Then click Add job at the bottom right. The job goes into StaxRip's job list and encoding begins.

Step 9: Watch the Progress

The processing window shows the percentage done, frames per second and the size so far. x265 is thorough rather than quick, so a full-length film on the Medium preset is an evening's job on most PCs, not a few minutes.

The When finished do menu at the bottom can shut the PC down after the last job, which suits overnight runs. If a job fails, open the Log (F8) - the reason is near the end.

Step 10: Check the Result

Open the new file and skip to the start, the middle and the end. Sound that drifts out of sync or washed-out HDR colours show up quickly if anything went wrong.

To confirm an HDR encode kept its HDR information, open it in MediaInfo and look for HDR format and mastering display lines in the video section.

Playing Your HEVC Files

VLC, MPC-HC, PotPlayer and mpv carry their own HEVC decoders and play StaxRip output straight away - our roundup of the best HEVC players compares them.

Windows' own Photos and Media Player apps need Microsoft's decoder, which you can get free as HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer.

StaxRip Feels Like Too Much? Two Simpler Options

StaxRip shows hundreds of options most people never touch. If you only need a quick conversion now and then, there is an easier route.

• X HEVC Encoder. A small portable app with presets such as Archival, Streaming and HDR/4K that drives x265, Kvazaar or your graphics card - it needs FFmpeg beside it.
• HandBrake. The well-known middle ground, with good presets and versions for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Not sure which suits you? Our StaxRip vs HandBrake comparison goes through it. StaxRip stays the better tool for filtering, cleaning up noisy or interlaced footage and long batch jobs.

Tips for Better Encodes

• Stay with CRF. The Quality setting gives the best picture per megabyte - use a two-pass bitrate mode only when a file must hit an exact size.
• 10-bit is already on. StaxRip's default x265 profile encodes in 10-bit, which looks smoother in skies and shadows even from an 8-bit source, and modern HEVC players handle it.
• Clean up problem sources first. In the VS Filters list on the left, QTGMC fixes interlaced footage and DFTTest calms noisy phone video - clean video compresses better than any encoder setting can manage.
• Graphics-card encoders are faster, not better. NVEncC, VCEEncC and QSVEncC finish in a fraction of the time, but x265 gives a smaller file at the same quality - use the GPU for speed and x265 for keepers.

Quick questions