4 Best Ways to Convert H.264 to MP4

Leawo Video Converter is an HD video converter and audio converter combo to convert video and audio files between various formats, along with internal video editor, file merger, etc. Covnert video and audio files for various media players and portable devices.

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Summary:

  • Though H.264 has brought great improvements in high quality video coding with smaller file size, there are still multiple limitations that restrict H.264. Check out the 4 best H.264 to MP4 converters in this post to convert H.264 to MP4 to play H.264 files on more devices and players.

As a high-quality compression method, H.264 could encode HD videos in low bitrates, which means H.264 files will come with HD quality but at smaller file size. However, H.264 files also get drawbacks such as compatibility issue. H.264 files are generally applied to iTunes, online video streaming, HD DVD, Blu-ray, etc., not compatible with regular media players like your smartphones, tablets, etc. In such case, you get the need to convert H.264 to MP4 files, since MP4 is the most compatible file formats, at even smaller file size, and supports multiple subtitles and audio tracks that are lacked in H.264 files. The below guide would show you how to convert H.264 to MP4 files with some of the best H.264 converter tools.

h264 to mp4

Batch Convert H.264 to MP4 Using Leawo Video Converter

To convert H.264 to MP4 files, professional H.264 to MP4 converters always come as the first choices. Among so many H.264 to MP4 converter software tools, Leawo Video Converter offers the easiest solution by bulk converting H.264 files to MP4 format. It enables you to add multiple H.264 files and then batch convert H.264 files to MP4 files in only a few clicks. It enables you to set MP4 format as output format and then apply the MP4 output format to all H.264 file conversions in one click.

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The below guide would show you how to convert H.264 to MP4 file with Leawo Video Converter.

Step 1: Add source H.264 files

Download, install and kick off Leawo Prof. Media on your computer (Video Converter is a module built in Leawo Prof. Media). Then click the Video Converter module to enter the Convert part. Click “Add Video” button to browse and load source H.264 files from your computer.

add source h264 file

Step 2: Set MP4 as output format

Click the “Output Profile” button and then on the drop-down menu choose “Change” option to enter the Profile panel, where you could select MP4 Video as output format from the “Format >Common Video” group. Remember to check the “Apply to all” on the drop-menu for batch H.264 to MP4 conversions.

set h264 as output format

Step 3: Set output directory and start converting

After setting MP4 as output format, click the green “Convert” button to call out the sidebar, where you need to set output directory and then click the bottom “Convert” button to start converting H.264 files to MP4 in batch. You then only need to wait for the H.264 to MP4 conversion tasks complete.

set output directory

Convert H.264 to MP4 Using FFmpeg

Can FFmpeg convert H.264 to MP4 file? Of course, yes. FFmpeg has been widely popular for people to convert media files between different formats, especially for those developers. It is a totally free media encoder that works on macOS, Windows, Linux, BSDs, Solaris, etc.

The below guide would show you how to convert H.264 to MP4 via FFmpeg in detail.

Step 1: Download and install the latest version of FFmpeg on your computer.
Step 2: Open the Command-Line interface: for Windows, click the “Start” button and then type “cmd” to search; for Mac, press “Command + Space”, search “Terminal”, and then press “Enter” button.
Step 3: Enter the command: ffmpeg -i h264file (replace the h264file with your file path) output.mp4

enter command in ffmpeg

Step 4: After the command is put, press the “Enter” button to start converting H.264 file to MP4 file.

You then only need to wait for the conversion to complete. FFmpeg offers totally free H.264 to MP4 conversion solutions. However, for regular users, it is a little complicated for installing and using. You need to master a bunch of command lines to realize the media conversions with FFmpeg, while other professional H.264 to MP4 converters require no technique knowledge. Meanwhile, it is comparatively slow in conversion.

Convert H.264 to MP4 Using VLC Media Player

VLC, far more than a single media player, is another free H.264 video converter that could help you convert H.264 file to MP4 or other formats. It enables you to transcode videos between different formats for totally free on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.

Check the below guide to learn how to convert H.264 to MP4 with VLC media player:

Step 1: Download and install VLC media player, and then run it.
Step 2: Open “File > Convert / Stream…” option.
Step 3: Click “Open Media…” on the “Convert & Stream” interface to load H.264 file.
Step 4: Choose “Video – H.264 + MP3(MP4)” as output format in the “Choose Profile” section.

choose output format in vlc

Step 5: Click the “Browse” button to set output directory in the “Choose Destination” section.
Step 6: Finally, click the “Save” button to start converting H.264 file to MP4.

Though VLC media player offers free H.264 to MP4 video conversions, it lacks of batch conversion and provides only a few output formats. No H.265 video codec option is available. Some users have reported audio missing issue in H.264 file conversion.

Convert H.264 Video to MP4 Online

Online converters should be a top choice if you convert H.264 file to MP4 format occasionally. Most online video converters are free to use and require no download and installation. There are quite a few online video converters to help you convert H.264 to MP4 online, such as online-convert.com, Zamzar.com, etc.

The below guide would show you how to convert H.264 to MP4 online with Zamzar.com.

Step 1: Open Zamzar.com website on your browser.
Step 2: Click the “Add Files…” button to browse and upload source H.264 file.

add file in zamzar

Step 3: Select MP4 as output in the “Convert To” drop-down menu after uploading H.264 file.
Step 4: Click the “Convert Now” button afterwards.
Step 5: Zamzar will start converting H.264 to MP4 online, and redirect you to a new page that allows you to download the converted file.
Step 6: Click the “Download” button and then set download directory.

Though online H.264 to MP4 converters are free to use, some of these online video converters might require you to register if the file size is too big or even limit file size to be less than 150MB. The entire online H.264 to MP4 conversion is slow and the success rate is low. If you convert media files frequently, free online converters are actually not recommended.

Conclusion

Here in this guide, we have introduced several effective solutions to help you convert H.264 files to MP4 format, which have their own advantages and disadvantages. The free solutions, including FFmpeg, VLC media player and online video converters, are free to use but are obviously not perfect for media converters. They are more recommended for occasional video conversions. If you need extra features during H.264 video conversions, such as subtitle adding, video editing, applying 3D effect, etc., professional video converters like Leawo Video Converter are much better.