Video Files: A Practical Guide

MP4 vs WebM vs MOV, and how to choose encoder settings.

Published 2025-09-05 • Reading time ~8–12 min

Picking a Video Format

Use this:
  • Universal playback: MP4 (H.264 + AAC)
  • Smaller web files: WebM (VP9/AV1 + Opus)
  • Editing intermediates: MOV/ProRes
Tuning tips:
  • CRF ~23 (H.264) for balanced quality; lower = better.
  • Preset “fast/faster” for speed vs. size trade-off.
  • Use yuv420p for broad compatibility.

Using the Video Converter

  1. Load a video. Choose MP4/WebM.
  2. Set resolution/FPS, CRF, preset, and audio options.
  3. Optionally trim start/duration or rotate.
  4. Convert and download. Progress updates during transcode.