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Have you ever had a video that you aren’t able to play no matter what you do? Maybe the issue is with its format. There’s a chance you can’t play the video because it’s of the wrong format. Converting videos to another format helps resolve compatibility issues so videos can play smoothly across devices. It is also done to change the video and audio codecs of video file.
Apart from these basic scenarios, we’ve explained some major reasons to change file format of video files. Read ahead to know more.
Major reasons to change video file format
Video conversion can be the only way out in some cases. Let’s discuss them below in detail.
1. Device compatibility issues
Often, you may face issues related to device compatibility when a video file is transferred from one digital device to another. It is because there are devices that prefer some exclusive file formats only and may reject others. For example, a digital camera saving its video files in a format might not be readable to media players on your mobile phone. In such cases, you’ll need to convert your video from one format to another, such as from MOV to MP4, MP4 to MP3 as MP4 is the most widely supported format nowadays. For older 3G devices, you’ll have to convert your video files to .3GP format.
2. File size needs to be reduced
Whenever you are trying to transfer a video file over the Internet, file size often needs to be reduced. For example, most of the mail services have a size limit of 25 MB and if your video file exceeds this limit, your email will not be sent. In such a case, you will need to convert your video file to a compressed version. Large video files also create issues while streaming or editing.
3. Bitrate needs to be improved
A bitrate is basically the number of bits per second. It is used to gauge the size and quality of a video file. The higher the bitrate of a video file, the better the quality. Perhaps the bitrate of your video file is not optimal for the platform you’re uploading it to, you’ll need to change it to other format.
Many media platforms recommend a suitable bitrate range for a video of a specific resolution to avoid any confusion. Even if you are posting your video on any other webpage, it is better to convert your video to a format with moderate bitrate so that it plays quickly for users viewing your videos.
4. Aspect ratio needs to be modified
The video you uploaded on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Facebook had the wrong screen resolution and aspect ratio. Doing so makes the video appear stretched out or blurry and may even cause visual distortion, which demands conversion to file format that restores the quality.
5. Video is not playing on phone
It is possible that the video you’ve received from someone or downloaded from somewhere is of the wrong format, that’s why it’s not playing on your phone. Smartphones (Android and iOS) are unable files of FLV, WMV, and MKV format so users convert them to compatible formats like MP4, MOV, 3GP, etc.
Best video format for different use cases
| Use case | Best format |
|---|---|
| Universal compatibility | MP4 |
| Easy editing | MOV |
| Smooth streaming | MP4/WebM |
| High quality video storage | MKV |
How to change a video file format?
Now that we know the reasons to convert video file format to another format, let’s talk about the best method to do so. Manual workarounds include VLC and online video converters, but they might not be helpful if you’ve multiple video files and there’s also privacy risk with online converter tools.
The easiest way to convert a video while preserving the original quality is by using a reliable Video Converter Tool. Kernel Video Converter is specially designed for video conversion without harming the quality of the video file. This advanced utility allows you to convert multiple video files to desired video format like MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, MPEG, and many more. Users also get the option to save their audio file separate from the video file.
Final note
Choosing the right video format is important to stream and share videos smoothly. Converting video format is also necessary for better compression, codec support, and compatibility across different devices. We’ve also suggested a solution to simplify video conversion for you. Hope this blog helped you understand how does converting video format improve your playback experience.
People also ask
A. This depends on your requirement and tasks. Although MP4 is universally compatible with all devices and for streaming and sharing, AVI is much better for video editing.
A. Yes video format and video codec are different things. A video format is a container that stores video like MP4, and video codecs determine how to encode or compress a video.
A. Yes, sometimes converting video files to another format fixes playback errors and other glitches disturbing the video streaming experience.
