DSLR cameras have become more common these days. Not only professional photographers, but a lot of amateurs and hobbyists also have DSLR cameras and camcorders. However a general problem faced by most of us is the storage size of the photos and video footages from DSLR cameras.They are mostly very big. This makes sharing files difficult.
Another general problem is that most of the raw camera footage will not play on other video playing devices like LED TVs, mobile phones etc. A good solution is to convert video to MP4 format, which is one of the popular video formats supported by almost all devices.
There are so many video editing softwares to convert the video to MP4 format. It is always helpful to know the type of video you are working with. Different camera brands support different video formats, each with different file sizes, quality and different compatibility with various devices. So here is a list of most popular camcorder file formats.
Table of Contents
1. AVCHD
Advanced Video Codec High Definition is capable of capturing high-quality videos. It allows video recording at various resolution ranges including 1080p, 1080i and 720p. Its file extensions are MTS, M2TS.
2. MPEG2
This high-quality format is compatible with most of the computer media players and can be easily burned to a DVD. It has a large file size and therefore takes more time to upload or share the video. Its file extensions are EVO, MP4, MPEG, QT, MOV, VOB and IFO.
3. H.264 or MPEG4
It is one of the popular formats that is capable of supporting HD and standard video recording. It is a compressible format. The file extensions include MP4, M4P, M4B, M4R, M4V, M4A, DIVX, EVO, F4V and FLV.
4. DV & HDV
This format was designed to store the digital video on magnetic tapes. HDV is the high definition version. This format occupies too much space in the disc. Its file extensions are AVI, QT, MXF, MOV.
Some of the camera manufacturers provide a built-in system in their camcorders, which allows you to convert the video formats after recording them. For example in Canon camcorders, there is a built-in function that converts AVCHD videos to MP4 format. A detailed tutorial on how to convert the video in the camcorder itself is provided by Canon support at https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/index?page=content&id=ART143579
Even if your camera doesn’t have a built-in conversion feature, there are a lot of other softwares that convert video to MP4. One such software is the HandBrake, which is an open source and free transcoder software. It can convert video from nearly any format.
Steps to convert video to MP4 format using HandBrake:
Step 1: Download and install the HandBrake program by visiting their official site.
Step 2: After installing, load the program.On the left panel. You will find options to open the video file that you want to convert or you could drag the video file and drop it directly into the program.
Step 3: Once the video file is loaded, the program will automatically set the presets. In the Summary tab, set the format to MP4 and in the dimensions tab, set the preferred resolution. There are other options including Filters, Video, Audio, Subtitles and Chapters. You could edit the output video quality and the encoding time and quality in the Video tab.
Step 4: When all settings are in place and the video is ready to be encoded, click the browse button on the bottom right corner. Navigate to the desired folder and give a name to the output video and click Save.
Step 5: After that, you could click the Start Encode button at the top or the Add to Queue button which adds your video to the Queue. Then the video can be viewed by clicking the Queue button and you can hit Start Queue to encode. (Queue function is used to encode multiple files at a time)
Some other popular softwares that convert video to MP4 are MPEG Streamclip, Wondershare Uniconverter, WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe, Any Video Converter and XAVC Video Converter.
MPEG Streamclip
If you are looking for a powerful and free converter, editor and a video player, MPEG Streamclip might be the right choice. It can encode your video files to many formats and offers other basic editing features like cut, trim and join. Once downloaded and installed, you simply need to set the desired settings & format and export the video.
Wondershare Uniconverter
Wondershare Uniconverter is an easy-to-use video editor software that comes with great compression abilities. It can compress videos with customizable settings so that they are playable on mobile devices. The video can also be shared on social media and serve other purposes. It lets you compress big files like 8K videos and also supports batch processing.
This program also has screen recording facilities, with which you can record your work and make tutorials. Additionally, it lets you burn DVDs and Blu-ray discs. The elegant and intuitive interface design converts your videos to user-friendly formats with just a few clicks
WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe
WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe lets you transcode any video to any format. It has efficient editing tools, with which you can trim, merge and crop videos. It’s advanced compression kernel reduces the video file size upto 90% without degrading the video quality.
You can import videos shooted on any device and convert them to desired formats with this software. The software has a GPU acceleration capability which processes and encodes high quality videos without overusing the CPU.
Any Video Converter
Any Video Converter is compatible with over 200 video formats. It converts videos 30 times faster than traditional converters, while preserving 100% video and audio quality of the original file. It can convert DVD, CD and Blu-ray to any other formats and vice versa.
It also lets you burn the converted files to discs. With Any Video Converter, you can edit videos in just a few clicks and it also provides a screen recorder feature which even lets you record online videos.
