6 Ways to Convert H264 to MP4 on Mac, PC and Android

H.264 is a popular video compression standard for high-definition digital video. An increasing number of people would like to watch movies, TV episodes, music videos, etc. encoded with H.264. Besides MP4, however, H.264 videos are also packaged in AVI, MKV, AVCHD, MPG, TS, M2TS, FLV, MOV, VOB, etc. Which is not compatible with popular mobile device and video editors like premiere. Another issue is that H.264 videos come in large size, occupying a good amount of space. To make H.264 videos more compatible and even smaller in size, you'd better convert H264 to MP4 format. How to convert H264 to MP4 and what're the best H264 converters for Mac, Windows, and Android? Move on to get details.

 

H.264 VS MP4

What is H.264?

H.264 also named MPEG-4 AVC or MPEG-4 Part 10. It is one of the frequently-used video codecs, which was jointly developed by the ITU-T and ISO/IEC. It's a well-known compression to encode high definition videos in relatively low bitrates. H.264 is widely applied to iTunes, online video streaming, HDTV, Blu-ray, HD DVD, AVCHD camcorders, and so on.

What is MP4?

MP4, also named MPEG-4 Part 14, is a digital multimedia container format to store a movie or video clip. It’s able to contain multiple videos, audio, subtitles, images, etc., and can be played on many devices, like iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Android, and more. MP4 is generally encoded with H.264/HEVC/MPEG-4 video codec and AAC audio codec.

To put it simply, MP4 is a container format, while H.264 is a video codec that requires a video container to host the encoded video. Commonly, H264 is pakaged in MP4 format, but some times it will also in AVI, MKV, MOV, AVCHD etc. format, in this situation, you need to convert the h264 video in MKV, AVI, MOV, or AVCDH,etc. to MP4 for better compatibility and smaller file size. 

The Best H.264 Encoder to Convert H.264 to MP4 (No Quality Loss)

Cisdem Video Converter for Mac is a powerful and feature-rich program that makes H.264 to MP4 conversion fast, simple, and trustworthy. Plenty of files can be converted simultaneously, even if they are not in the same format. Not only be it an H264 converter for Mac, but also a video downloader/editor/combiner and DVD ripper. Also, you can easily use Cisdem Video Converter to reduce the size of your h264 video.

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Main Features of Cisdem H264 converter:

• Accept a wide-arrange of video & audio formats

In addition to converting H264 to MP4, Cisdem Video Converter supports conversions between an impressive number of file formats, including 4K-capable codecs like H.265, H.264, MP4, HD MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV, RMVB, MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, AC3, WAV, etc.

• Offer a list of presets profiles for devices

It’s packed with a huge of optimized preset formats for iPhone, iPad, Xbox 360, PSP, iMovie, iDVD, Final Cut Pro, Walkman, etc.

• Rip or transcode DVD to digital formats

It can convert your homemade DVD to any formats, like MP4, MKV, AVI, etc. or the preset profiles for easy playback and sharing.

• Download online videos from the web sources

This H264 converter lets you download videos from popular sites, like Youtube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Crunchyroll, Hulu, Nico video, LiveLeak, Periscope, Wistia, Facebook, Twitter, MyVideo, FunnyOrDie, GodTube and more.

• Built-in basic editing tools

Before you convert H264 to MP4 on Mac, edit videos using the built-in video editor if needed. You can trim videos to delete unwanted segments, add external watermarks & subtitles, enhance video with special effects and filters, enable 3D effects, and so on.

• Reserved Video Quality

H264 video files can be converted to MP4 with 98% quality reserved.

• Compress Video File Size

Large-sized H264 or HD videos can be converted to MP4 and the size will be reduced by 40%-50%, or even more.

Steps to Convert H264 to MP4 on Mac via Cisdem:

Download the Cisdem H264 converter on Mac, then Install and fire up it.

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The software will bring you to the “Convert” tab by default.

Drag & drop the file or open the library (by clicking the button in the upper right corner) to import the H.264 file for conversion. In case of batch conversion of H.264 files, drag & drop multiple videos to the program.

Click the format icon to open up the format list. Choose MP4 from either of the “General Video”, “4K Video” (if your input video is 4K or higher), and presets category, depending on your requirement. Under these tabs, choose your favorite MP4 format for output.

Once you are satisfied with your selection, click the icon next to the format to go to the “Advanced Settings” window. Now you can choose the quality, codec, Bit Rate, Sample Rate, etc.

Select the destination folder. After that > click the button to start the conversion process of H.264 files to MP4 format.

Note: Cisdem Video Converter is an H.264 encoder for Mac. If you desire to convert H264 to MP4 on Windows PC, you are capable of trying Any Video Converter (AVC), YAMB, and Video Converter Factory Pro out.

Tip: Trim H.264 video in to clips

If you just need a shorter part of the video for editing, uploading, or emailing. you can use the trim function of Cisdem Video Converter.

How to Convert H264 to MP4 with Freeware (No Watermark)

#1 VLC Media Player

VLC should be one of the best free H264 converters you can take into consideration. Don't be misled by its name, it’s not just a video player software but a video & audio transcoder. It’s available on multiplatform- Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.

Steps to Convert H264 to MP4 with VLC:

1. The first step is to download and install VLC H.264 encoder or run it if it's already installed.
2. Go to “File” > “Convert > Stream…” to open the “Convert & Stream” dialog.
3. Click “Open media…” to import the H.264 video.
4. Choose “Video- H.264 + MP3 (MP4)” profile.
5. Click “Save as File” > “Browser” to choose where you wish to save the converted file, enter the name and click on "Save".

Note: On Mac, the output video will be in M4V format. To produce a genuine MP4 format, make sure you check the "Keep original audio track" box under the “Audio codec” tab. And finally, rename the output extension from M4V to MP4. Your MP4 video should work normally and be compatible with various MP4 players.

#2 Handbrake

Handbrake is a decent H.264 encoder that has been around for over many years. It has the ability to convert the most common multimedia files and DVD/BluRay sources to MKV/MP4/presets for devices. It works on Windows (7, 8.1, 10), macOS (10.11 or later) and Linux as well.

Steps to Convert H264 to MP4 with Handbrake:

1. Visit https://handbrake.fr/, then download and install the latest stable version.
2. Launch Handbrake, import H.264 video by either dragging & dropping it to the main window or clicking the “Open Source” button in the top left corner.
3. Choose MP4 as output video format.
4. You can switch to the “Video” tab to choose H.265 as a video encoder as well as change other settings. (Optional)
5. Click “Browse” to select a location to save the converted file.
6. Click “Start” on the top toolbar to process conversion using the Handbrake H.264 converter.

How to Convert H264 to MP4 Online (No Watermark)

#1 Online-convert.com

Video.online-convert.com is an all-around online converter that can convert video, audio, image, eBook, document, and more. This online H264 converter boasts optional settings, which lets you tweak the video and audio parameters.

Steps to Convert H264 to MP4 Online through online-convert.com:

1. Visit https://video.online-convert.com/convert-to-mp4.

2. Drag an H.264 video to the green area, or click “Choose Files” to browser local H.264 video.
3. Modify the video bitrate, video codec, file size, and more other settings (optional).
4. Click “Start Conversion”.

#2 Zamzar.com

Zamzar is a powerful web-based service for file conversions. As same as online-convert.com, this H.264 encoder is also dedicated to conversions between many file types. Zamzar makes working easier with a few mouse clicks.

Steps to Convert H264 to MP4 Online with Zamzar.com:

1. Open Zamzar official site.

2. Click the “Add Files…” button to upload the H.264 video.
3. Click “Convert To” and select MP4 format from the dropdown list.
4. Click “Convert Now” and check the overall conversion/upload progress below.
5. Once completed, it will bring you to the "All Done" page. Click the “Download” button to save your converted video file.

How to Convert H264 to MP4 on Android?

Media Converter is an open-source and FFmpeg-build converter for Android that aims to convert all sorts of media formats to other popular ones like MP4 (MPEG4/H264, AAC). You can also specify the output file parameters of this H264 converter. Besides video conversion, it empowers you to crop/rotate video, extract audio to make a ringtone as well.

Steps to Convert H264 to MP4 on Android:

1. Install and run Media Converter on your Android.
2. Import the H.264 video you want to convert.
3. Next, you will see three options. For more advanced adjustment, tap the “EXPORT MODE…” option.
4. Tap on “Output Profile”, and from the drop-down list, select “mp4 (mpeg, aac).
5. Specify the video duration, crop video, and change its quality and resolution.
6. Choose the output destination folder and rename it.
7. Tap the “CONVERT” button.

Wrap up

In the above article, we have discussed how to convert H264 to MP4 on Mac, Windows, and Android. If you are looking for an easy way, the online H264 converters are enough. But if you find an easy yet professional, reliable method, the program like Cisdem Video Converter is the best out of the lot. It ensures batch conversions between different formats, preserving the original quality.