Convert Video to another Format
Just because you have a video clip doesn't mean it's automatically ready to use (in the format you need). Sometimes it's necessary to convert from one format to another. This is helpful when you want a uniform look throughout the movie. For example, when you make a video using clips that are saved in lots of different formats and qualities, it will be noticeable in the final version. A simple and quick way around that is to pick a format and convert all the clips in the project to that format.
- With your video on the timeline click the orange Make Video button. Note: you can also initiate this process from the menu Project > Save as video file.
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This will open the Make video interface where you can set destination, filename, format, and quality of your video clip before you render it.
- Since we're going to convert the video from its current format into a different one, look for the three-letter extension that appears after the filename. In the Make video dialog you can choose one of the supported formats and the quality of the saved video. Higher quality means a larger file.
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Choose the format you need. The most common container is MP4; MKV, AVI, WMV, and animated GIF are also available (GIF is suitable only for short clips at a modest resolution). For MP4 and MKV you can select the HEVC (H.265) codec — the file is usually smaller at comparable quality. If your graphics card supports hardware encoding, enable hardware acceleration; when several encoders are available (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel), select which one to use in the dialog.
- Now give your movie a filename and select the quality to render at (this relates to video compression levels).
- All that's left is to click the Go button and your video will begin rendering. Once the rendering process is complete, your new video should be in the format you chose.
- To learn more about the different formats check out our Video Editing Glossary.
Back to Video Editing Guide.
