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Coming Soon: This feature is currently in development. The documentation below describes the planned functionality.
dovi_convert creates space-efficient .dovi archives that allow you to restore your original Profile 7 files bit-for-bit, even after converting them to Profile 8.1 or HDR10.

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Why use archives?

A full backup of a 60 GB movie takes another 60 GB. A .dovi archive is significantly smaller because it stores only the essential Dolby Vision data:
  1. Enhancement Layer (EL) - The track containing the difference between the base layer and the full 12-bit signal
  2. RPU Metadata - The dynamic brightness information
Typical savings:
  • MEL (Minimal Enhancement Layer): Extremely small (~200 MB - 1 GB)
  • FEL (Full Enhancement Layer): Larger, typically 10-25% of the original file size (e.g., 6-15 GB for a 60 GB movie)
This allows you to keep bit-exact backups of your entire library without doubling your storage requirements.

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Creating a backup

You can create a backup snapshot either before conversion or while converting.

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Standalone Backup

Create a snapshot without modifying the video file: 
dovi_convert -backup "Movie.mkv"
This creates Movie.dovi in the same directory.

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Backup during conversion

Create a backup automatically when you convert to Profile 8.1: 
dovi_convert -convert "Movie.mkv" -backup
Or when stripping Dolby Vision to clean HDR10: 
dovi_convert -convert -hdr10 "Movie.mkv" -backup
Another feature that’s coming soon

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Restoring files

Restoration is a “purist” process. It ensures the output is identical to the original source, regardless of whether your current file is Profile 8.1 (with injected RPU) or plain HDR10. To restore a file: 
dovi_convert -restore "Movie.mkv"
The tool will:
  1. Locate Movie.dovi
  2. Extract the Base Layer from your video
  3. Sanitize it (remove any injected RPU if present)
  4. Mux it with the original Enhancement Layer from the archive
  5. Remux everything with your audio and subtitle tracks

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Restoring from a different location

If you moved your .dovi archive to a backup drive, point to it explicitly: 
dovi_convert -restore "Movie.mkv" -source "/Volumes/Backups/Movie.dovi"
Bit-exact restoration: The process separates metadata from video essence to guarantee the restored file is identical to the source.