Play Hikvision files in your browser
The footage Hikvision's recorders hand over, which most players refuse. Play it right here, with its sound, and keep it as an MP4 anyone can play. Nothing leaves your device.
Or drop it anywhere on this page
What you'll see
Your video starts playing the moment it opens, sized to fit your screen.
- Plays at once, sized to fit
- Play and pause • Drag the timeline
- Step frame by frame • Change the speed
- Export • Save as MP4 or MOV
About Hikvision
Hikvision, the world's biggest maker of security cameras, and the many brands that sell its recorders under their own names, export footage as .mp4 files that aren't MP4s: a header of 40 bytes that starts IMKH, then an MPEG program stream of H.264 or H.265 and G.711 sound, as a DVD keeps its own.
Windows' and phones' players go by the name, find no MP4 inside and give up, and VLC often plays the picture without its sound, or nothing at all. Hikvision's VSPlayer opens them on Windows, and footage handed to police, insurers and neighbors often arrives with no player at all.
Filepeek reads the header and the program stream with FFmpeg and lets your browser decode the picture, so H.264 plays everywhere and H.265 where your browser and device decode it, with its G.711 or AAC sound. Export saves a true MP4 that plays on any phone, cut to just the part you need.
Hikvision recorder export
.mp4
Format
- MIME type
- video/mp2p
- Made by
- Hikvision's recorders and cameras
Inside the file
- Header
- IMKH, 40 bytes
- Video
- H.264 or H.265
- Audio
- G.711 or AAC
- Container
- MPEG program stream
Opens in every browser
Filepeek plays Hikvision's exports in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, and H.265 where the browser and the device decode it. No browser plays them by itself.
- YouChromePlays through Filepeek
- YouEdgePlays through Filepeek
- YouFirefoxPlays through Filepeek
- YouSafariPlays through Filepeek
Apps that open Hikvision
- WindowsHikvision's VSPlayer and iVMS-4200 • VLC plays some
- MaciVMS-4200 for Mac • VLC plays some
- iPhone and iPadHik-Connect plays the recorder's footage, not the file
- AndroidHik-Connect plays the recorder's footage, not the file
Questions
Why won't my Hikvision MP4 play?
It's named MP4 but holds a program stream behind Hikvision's own header, which most players don't read. Drop it here and it plays, sound and all.
Can I turn it into a real MP4?
Yes. Choose Export, then Save as MP4, which plays on any phone or computer and can be cut to just the part you need.
Why does it play without sound?
Many cameras have no microphone, and some recorders keep G.726 sound, which Filepeek leaves out. G.711 and AAC, which most use, play.
Why does the picture not show?
Recordings in H.265 need a browser and device that decode it. Safari, and Chrome and Edge on most computers, do.