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How to convert videos to different formats

How to convert videos to different formats
Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

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Converting videos from one file type to another may sound like some sort of technical nightmare but actually. It is a lot easier than you’d think. There are a million and one reasons you might need to do it too. You may want to upload your video to the internet or maybe that video you took on your iPhone is too large as you now have a camera that can capture in 4K.

Whatever the reason doesn’t matter as there are a lot of great programs out there that can help you take a video saved as one format and convert it into another. We’ll now walk you through the best of them and show you just how easy it can be to convert video files.

Video converters

Unlike with pictures, there is no single file type for video that everybody uses. There is no JPG of video, and instead, there are many different video formats including MP4, AVI, MOV, WMV, MKV, MPEG, WebM, AAC, and FLV to name but a few. This is how to convert them all into each other.

iMovie

iMovie for Mac offers a rather robust entry-level video editing suite for all budding movie makers fortunate enough to have a Mac. iMovie has a plethora of cool features that will allow you to take your home movies and camera phone recorded videos and bring them all together into a polished final product.

Another of the key features iMovie has to offer is the video conversion tool. With this tool you simply need to import the video file of your choice and add the video to your storyboard. From there you need to hit Share and then choose File. This will then give you the option to save the video with a new name, new resolution, new quality, level, and a new file format.

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MiniTool Movie Maker

We like MiniTool Movie Maker here at Softonic because gives away a lot of great video editing features for free. Furthermore, as well as offering anybody looking to make their first movie the tools they need to do so, the app also lets you make your videos for free without having to display a watermark, like most other free video editing apps, do.

The video converter on MiniTool Movie Maker allows you to convert almost all different video file types and even gives you the option to edit the videos you’re converting too by adding various elements such as subtitles or filters. It is easy to use too. You simply import your video and set your target format and the app does the rest.

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Total Video Converter

This app for Android offers a quick and simple video conversion solution for mobile users. There’s also a Windows version of the program and a version for Apple Macs too. Sadly, however, there’s no iOS version available at the moment so iPhone users can’t use this program to convert their videos.

Converting videos on mobile couldn’t be easier. When you open the app, it will automatically show you all the video files you have on your device. This means you don’t have to go searching around your device or copying and pasting files from one place to another. The app just shows you everything you need right there in one place. From there it is simply a case of selecting the video you want to convert and the format you want to convert it to and then hit Convert. The app will do the rest. The app converts files quite quickly and also offers a video player too so that you can watch the videos you’re converting too.

Total Video Converter Download now
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Online Video Converter

As well as showing you the best apps for Android, iPhone, Windows, Linux, and Mac for converting videos, we thought it would also be helpful to show you the best website for converting videos too. Online-Convert is an absolute beast of a site that will help you convert almost any type of file, not just videos. Here you can easily convert Word files to PDF and vice versa as well as easily converting software, images, eBooks, audio, and more.

We’re here though for video and the process couldn’t be simpler. All you need to do is go to the site and find the Video Converter box. There you need to open the drop-down menu and select the type of video file you want to convert your video into. Once you’ve done that, click Go, upload your video, and then hit Start Conversion. There are more advanced video conversion settings you can play around with, but these are optional. This method can be as simple or as complicated as you like.

VLC Media Player

VLC converter MP4

VLC Media Player is the internet’s favorite video and media player. It can play almost every type of video format and codec and barely breaks a sweat while other video players would struggle or simply crash. VLC is the don and always has been. VLC also offers a pretty robust video conversion solution too, which we’ve gone into in greater detail before.

The video conversion process on VLC Media Player couldn’t be easier. If you open the program and go to the Media menu, you’ll see the Convert/Save button. You simply need to click this and then click the Add button to select the video file you want to convert. After that, you click Convert and select the destination of the converted file, the file name, and the new file type. As you’d imagine with VLC there are an awful lot of compatible file types here for you to choose from. From there it is as simple as hitting Start.

VLC media player download free ►
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Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney is a news reporter for Softonic, keeping readers up to date on everything affecting their favorite apps and programs. His beat includes social media apps and sites like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat. Patrick also covers antivirus and security issues, web browsers, the full Google suite of apps and programs, and operating systems like Windows, iOS, and Android.

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