How to Convert 4k .mov Video to .mp4 via FFmpeg?

GracelessGhost wrote on 1/2/2019, 10:11 PM

I use VEGAS Pro 16 (build 352) to edit videos from my iPhone. I have been using this FFmpeg technique to convert them from .mov files to .mp4 files.

I recently upgraded to an iPhone X and began filming in 4k instead of 1080p. However, the aforementioned technique doesn't seem to work with 4k videos.

For example, here is the media info of an iPhone 1080p video that I converted using FFmpeg.

Plug-In
  Name: compoundplug.dll
  Folder: C:\Program Files\VEGAS\VEGAS Pro 16.0\FileIO Plug-Ins\compoundplug
  Format: AVC
  Version: Version 16.0 (Build 352)
  Company: MAGIX Computer Products Intl. Co.

In contrast, here is the media info of a 4k video from the same iPhone that I converted using FFmpeg.

Plug-In
  Name: mxhevcplug.dll
  Folder: C:\Program Files\VEGAS\VEGAS Pro 16.0\FileIO Plug-Ins\mxhevcplug
  Format: Intel HEVC
  Version: Version 1.0 (Build 8532)
  Company: MAGIX Computer Products Intl. Co.

I used the same FFmpeg command for both conversions. Why is the plug-in different? VEGAS runs noticeably slower when I'm using the converted 4k videos.

For reference, here is the FFmpeg command that I used.

for %%a in ("*.mov") do ffmpeg -i "%%a" -vcodec copy -acodec copy "%%~na.mp4"

Comments

Former user wrote on 1/2/2019, 11:38 PM

This is because both videos have the same container (.mov) but may have different codecs (H264 for full hd videos and intel Hevec in 4k video for example).

Ffmpeg simply copies the video with the codec of the container (.mov) and place in a new container, in this case, the (.mp4) container, and that's the reason your videos are read in Vegas differently.

Vegas will use a different encoder or plugin depending on the codec or container. For example, in full hd video with container .mov but with H264 codec it will use the plugin compoundplug.dll and in the 4k video with container .mov but that has the codec intel Hevec it will use the plugin mxhevcplug.dll.

The slowness of 4k videos can have several causes, but the most common is the computer that can not play videos with such a high quality. Working with 4k videos requires a good computer with great processing power.

john_dennis wrote on 1/2/2019, 11:40 PM

"I used the same FFmpeg command for both conversions. Why is the plug-in different?"

The plug-in that Vegas uses is different because the codec in the containers are different. The 1080p file is encoded with AVC while the UHD file is encoded with HEVC. 

"VEGAS runs noticeably slower when I'm using the converted 4k videos."

Aside from the fact that the newer file is a higher pixel dimension requiring more processing to decode and preview, the HEVC codec is more difficult to decode.