Files with the .264 extension are intermediary files containing raw video footage. They're used for storing data that can be later converted to the standard H.264 video format.

Usually, .264 files are created by video ripping or video converting programs for storing chunks of data before compiling it into a single larger file. Videos of the .264 format cannot be viewed with most media players because they don't have any headers. This makes them unintelligible to most programs.

How to open .264 Files

Raw .264 files can be opened with almost any video splitting or video converting software available on the internet. Most of them are free and will do a good job at playing the video.

However, when it comes to converting .264 files to other, more player friendly formats, users have reported numerous errors. Some programs can't convert the entire video, only a part of it, others can't find the H264 start code in order to start the conversion and finally, some manage to do it but at a high quality cost.

To avoid all this, it's recommended to first convert .264 files to .avi ones and then changing them to your desired format.