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When you convert a Profile 7 file to Profile 8.1 or HDR10, the Enhancement Layer is discarded. The backup feature lets you save this Enhancement Layer as a compact .dovi archive before conversion. Later, you can combine this archive with your converted file to rebuild the original Profile 7 file.

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Why Back Up?

By default, convert renames the original file to .bak.dovi_convert as a safety backup. This works, but it doubles your storage - a 60 GB movie creates a 60 GB backup. A .dovi archive stores only the Enhancement Layer, typically 10-25% of the original size. With this archive, you can delete the large .bak.dovi_convert file and still restore the original Profile 7 later. Typical archive sizes:
FEL TypeArchive SizeExample (60 GB source)
MEL (Minimal Enhancement Layer)Very small1 GB - 2 GB
FEL (Full Enhancement Layer)10-25% of original6 - 15 GB

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Creating Backups

You can create a backup either as a standalone operation or during conversion.

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Standalone Backup

Create an archive without modifying the source file: 
dovi_convert backup movie.mkv
This creates movie.dovi in the same directory as the source. To save the archive elsewhere: 
dovi_convert backup movie.mkv --output /backups/
The backup command works on single files only. For batch operations, use convert --backup instead.

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Backup During Conversion

Create a backup automatically when you convert: 
dovi_convert convert movie.mkv --backup
This creates movie.dovi before converting to Profile 8.1. The archive is saved in the same directory as the source file. You can combine this with the --output flag, which moves both the converted file as well as the backup archive to the specified output folder. The --backup flag works with both single files and batch mode (directories): 
dovi_convert convert /movies --recursive --backup
Batch backups can consume significant disk space. For example, backing up 50 movies creates around 500 GB of archives. Make sure you have enough free space before running batch operations with --backup.

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Combining with --delete

If you want to remove the original file after conversion but still have a way to restore: 
dovi_convert convert movie.mkv --backup --delete
The .dovi archive is preserved even when --delete removes the .bak.dovi_convert backup.
With --backup --delete, your only way to restore the original Profile 7 file is through the .dovi archive. Make sure the archive was created successfully before relying on this workflow. Verify before trust.

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Restoring Files

The restore command rebuilds a Profile 7 file from a converted file and its .dovi archive. 
dovi_convert restore movie.mkv
The command:
  1. Locates movie.dovi in the same directory
  2. Extracts the Base Layer from your current file
  3. Detects whether the file is Profile 8.1 or HDR10
  4. Sanitizes the Base Layer (removes any injected RPU if present)
  5. Rebuilds Profile 7 using the Enhancement Layer from the archive
  6. Remuxes with all original audio and subtitle tracks
  7. Verifies the result is valid Profile 7
The output is saved as movie.restored.mkv. The converted profile 8.1 file is not modified or deleted - you can remove it manually after verifying the restoration.
**Restore is a multi-step remux that processes a substantial amount of data. It can take several minutes, even on fast SSDs (and much longer on HDDs)

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Using Archives from Another Location

If you moved your .dovi archive to a backup drive: 
dovi_convert restore movie.mkv --source /Volumes/Backups/movie.dovi

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What Gets Restored

The restore process works on both Profile 8.1 and HDR10 files:
Current FileProcess
Profile 8.1Strips injected RPU from Base Layer, then rebuilds with original EL
HDR10Rebuilds directly with original EL (no sanitization needed)
The restore command works on single files only. There is no batch restore mode.

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Archive Format

The .dovi archive is an uncompressed TAR file containing a single el.hevc file (the Enhancement Layer). The format is intentionally simple:
  • No compression overhead (the video is already heavily compressed)
  • Fast extraction
  • Standard format readable by any TAR tool

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Troubleshooting

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Missing Backup Error

If the archive can’t be found: 
No backup found.
  Expected: /path/to/movie.dovi
  Hint: Use --source to specify an alternate backup location.
Use --source to point to the correct location.

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Verification Failure

If restore completes but verification shows the file is not Profile 7, the archive may be corrupted or from a different source file.

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Next Steps

backup command

Full command reference for creating archives

restore command

Full command reference for restoring files