FLV (Flash Video) was the format of web video players for many years, and plenty of old downloads, archives and screen recordings are still FLV or F4V files. Browsers and phones no longer play them. Converting to MP4 keeps them watchable.
How to convert FLV to MP4
- Upload the FLV or F4V file (up to 2 GB).
- Keep Convert to: MP4 and Conversion: Automatic.
- Download the MP4.
Three kinds of FLV
- H.264 FLV (most later Flash video): the video and the AAC or MP3 sound are copied into the MP4 unchanged. No quality is lost and the conversion is quick.
- Sorenson Spark (FLV1) and On2 VP6 FLV (older files): the video is re-encoded to H.264. MP3 sound is copied; other sound becomes AAC.
- F4V: a Flash variant of MP4. Its streams are copied into a standard MP4.
The result shows which case your file was, and what was copied or re-encoded.
Tips
- Old Flash videos are often small, for example 320 × 240. They keep their size; nothing is enlarged.
- If a copied H.264 FLV doesn't play on an old device, convert again with Always re-encode.
- To go the other way, choose FLV as the output: the video is written as H.264 with AAC sound in an FLV file.
- FLV files cut off during download may not convert completely; the result says so when the file is damaged.
More about what this tool reads and writes: Video Converter.