How to Convert M4V to MP4 on Mac, Windows 10/11, Online, Free

Summary: Can't play M4V files? Need to share your M4V files on social media or play them on other devices? Just convert M4V to MP4 on Mac or Windows! Read this post to learn how to convert M4V to MP4 online or offline by using some of the best M4V to MP4 converters.

As a member of the closed Apple ecosystems, M4V is constrained to play on iTunes and QuickTime Player in theory. However, there are bound to be times you want your M4V movies or TV shows to be available on an Android smartphone, Windows 10 PC, or other devices in your arsenal. Unlike the M4V file that can only be recognized by limited devices, MP4 can play on all prevalent devices and media players.

Thus, by converting M4V files to MP4, you can enjoy the favored iTunes movies or TV shows everywhere. The good news is we can easily convert M4V to MP4 by using VLC, HandBrake, and a few other offline and online M4V to MP4 converters. Keep reading. We are going to show you how to convert M4V to MP4 on Mac, Windows, and web by using some of the best M4V to MP4 converters.

Convert M4V to MP4 with VideoProc Converter AI (The Best Way)

VideoProc Converter AI is without a doubt the best M4V to MP4 converter available on Mac and Windows. Beginners can make usage of the tons of ready-made profiles to convert M4V to MP4 or other formats within a simple click. Advanced users are not left out in the cold either as this flexible video file converter provides with a raft of options to adjust the video parameters.

• (Bulk) convert M4V to MP4, MKV, AVI, and other 420+ formats
• Remux M4V to MP4 or other popular video formats without quality loss
• Unique support for level-3 GPU acceleration tech. 47x faster speed
• Easily customize the video properties and metadata information
• Also a video editor, online movie downloader, and video compressor

Follow the below steps to learn how to convert M4V to MP4 on Mac. Note: the PC version functions almost the same.

Step 1. Import the M4V Video(s)

After free download and install VideoProc Converter AI on your PC or Mac. Launch it up. Click on Video, hit + Video, and then you select one or multiple M4V files to this handy M4V to MP4 converter.

Step 2. Set MP4 as the Target Format

Navigate to the bottom of the main interface to find H.264 MP4, HEVC MP4, and a few other options that take MP4 as the container format. You can choose either of them to convert M4V to MP4 on Mac or Windows 10/11.

Tips:

• Hit Option. On the new panel, you can adjust quality, bitrate, resolution, sample rate, aspect ratio, etc.
• Hit Option > Edit Video, and then you can edit M4V files with rotate, trim, cut, crop, and other editing tools
• Hit Option > Name & Tag. You can change the title, genre, and other metadata info for the final MP4 file.

Step 3. Convert M4V to MP4

Once you've applied the needed settings, click on Done and hit RUN to start converting M4V to MP4 on Mac or Windows.

Tips:

• Check Use High Quality Engine to convert M4V to MP4 on Mac or Windows with great picture quality.
• Check NVidia/Intel/AMD to enable full GPU acceleration tech, so you can convert M4V to MP4 at 47x faster speed.
• Check Merge, if you want to convert multiple M4V files into one single MP4 file.

VideoProc Converter AI - This Magic Wand Can Handle the Conversion of 370+ Formats in a Snap!

Convert M4V to MP4 Online with Freeconvert

Freeconvert is a web-based functional video processor that can be used to compress or convert video, audio, ebook document, and picture files on Mac, Windows, and smartphones. Converting your video file from M4V to MP4 with it is a breeze thanks to the simple interface.

Step 1. Open up this online M4V to MP4 converter on your browser, hit Choose File. Select the M4V files for uploading.

Step 2. Hit the gray gear icon to enter a new panel named Video Options. It's the place to change video properties including video codecs, screen size, aspect ratio, and frame rate. Some nice editing utilities are available for cutting, rotating, flipping, and subtitling your videos.

Step 3. Hit Apply to All Files if you are converting M4V to MP4 online in batch. Otherwise, you just need to hit Apply Settings. Hit Convert to MP4 on the main page. Now Freecovnert begins to convert M4V to MP4 online.

Disadvantages of Converting M4V to MP4 with Freeconvert

• Too many pop-up ads.
• Take forever to convert M4V to MP4 when you're in a poor network environment.
• The M4V file with a size larger than 1GB is not accepted.
• Useless to transcode encrypted M4V movies, music videos, or TV series to MP4.

Convert M4V to MP4 Online with Cloudconvert

Cloudconvert, as its name implied, allows you to convert M4V files that are coming from Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrives, URL, or computer. It is a fairly simple online and free M4V to MP4 converter while still giving you all the necessary options to customize the output MP4 file.

Step 1. After you enter the official site of Cloudconvert, hit the red rectangle button to add up your M4V video.

Step 2. Expand the Convert to option and select MP4. This will activate the tool feature. Tap the tool icon to enter the Options panel. Here you can set Video Codec as x264/x265/copy, change the constant frame rate value, define the conversion speed, change the length and width of the M4V video, and more. Hit Okay to exit the settings.

Step 3. Tap the Convert button to enable this online M4V to MP4 converter starting to transcode or remux M4V to MP4 online.

Disadvantages of Converting M4V to MP4 with Cloudconvert

• The conversion speed is highly impacted by the current network condition.
• A free account is constrained to make 25 conversions per day.

Convert M4V to MP4 with VLC

VLC media player, designed as a multiple media player, is also capable of accomplishing simple video conversion, compression, and edits jobs. Then can VLC convert M4V to MP4 on Mac or Windows? The answer is: Yes, absolutely. Here's how:

Step 1. Go to the official site of the VLC media player to download and install this free M4V to MP4 converter on Mac, Windows 10/11, or Linux.

Step 2. Click on the VLC icon on your computer to launch it up. Go to its top menu, click on File, and hit Convert/Stream.

Step 3. Choose Open media on the pop-up panel. Pick up the source M4V file and then select Convert/Save.

Step 4. Navigate to the drop-down list of Choose Profile to find out a few presets provided by VLC.

Since you need to convert M4V to MP4, there you should choose Video – H.264 + MP3(MP4) or Video – H.265 + MP3(MP4). The previous option high better compatibility, while the latter can minimize the storage space taken by the output MP4 file.

Advanced users can click on Customize to enter the Profile edition panel. There you can change the bitrate, quality, frame rate, resolution, filters, and many other properties.

Note:

We don't advise beginners to customize the output formats as there are some video and audio codecs only wrapped by particular containers, but VLC media player won't exclude the incompatible video codecs from the available codec lists. This may lead to plenty of errors. For instance, you are allowed to choose the VP8 codec when you choose MP4 as the capsule format, but VP8 should only be included d in the WebM container. Finally, you're going to get an unplayable video file.

Step 5. Click on Save as File. Select Browser to set an output folder. Hit Start to start converting M4V to MP4 on Mac or Windows for free by using VLC.

Disadvantages of Converting M4V to MP4 with VLC

• Consum over 80% CPU resource when the conversion comes with the change in the codec.
• Lack presets for specfic devices or socia medias.

Convert M4V to MP4 with HandBrake

HandBrake is an open-source and cross-platform program. With an extensive list of conversion features, it is one of the most feature-rich video converters in the market. So can HandBrake convert M4V to MP4 on Mac or Windows? Yes. HandBrake not just lets you convert M4V to MP4, but also allows you to transcode MP4, MKV, and a lot of other videos to M4V on all major operating platforms.

Step 1. Install this free M4V to MP4 converter. Open it up. Select the folder that holds M4V files or the individual M4V file.

Step 2. HandBrake prefers to save output file with .m4v file extension name, especially when the file comes with AV3 audio, SRT subtitles, or chapter markets. Thus, we need to force HandBrake to always use .mp4 file extension name. Click on HandBrake on the upper left, choose Preference, and select .mp4 as the default MP4 extension.

Step 3. Go back to the main interface of this free M4V to MP4 converter, choose MP4 File as the Format. If necessary, you can hit Dimensions to change the video length and width pixels, choose Filters to denoise/deblock/rotate M4V videos, tap Video or Audio to change codec related parameters…

Step 4. Hit Browse to designate the output folder. Hit Start to start converting M4V to MP4 on Mac, Windows, or Linux.

Disadvantages of Converting M4V to MP4 with HandBrake

• May eat up your CPU and memory resource when you convert the M4V to H.265 MP4 or MPEG-2/4 MP4.
• The non-user-friendly interface is reminiscent of some 80S things.
• You are only allowed to convert M4V to MKV, MP4, and WebM.

Convert M4V to MP4 with Prism Free Video Converter

Prism Free Video Converter comes with an easy to navigate exterior which enables you easily transcode or remux from M4V to MP4. A standout feature of Prism Free Video Converter is the support of GPU acceleration tech. And this allows you to turn M4V to H.264/H.265/MPEG4 MP4 without blasting up the CPU resource. It's quite unfortunate that this free video converter only works on Windows, but hey, it's free, so we can't judge.

Step 1. Click on Add Files to feed in the source M4V files from your computer to this greate M4V to MP4 converter.

Step 2. Navigate to the bottom of the main interface and find the option box of Output Format and choose .mp4. This will lead you to a new File Options panel. There you can change the compressor from the default H264 to H265 or MPEG4. Since H264 is one of the most compatible formats, you can keep this value as default.

If you want to change the video resolution, hit Video Output Options, and change the value of Width and Height.

Step 3. Tap OK to confirm the settings on the File Option panel. Click Browse to choose the folder used for holding the exported MP4 file.

Step 4. Hit Convert to start converting M4V to MP4 on Mac or Windows 10/11 with Prism Video Converter.

Disadvantages of Converting M4V to MP4 with Prism Free Video Converter

• The option to define specific values for video bitrate, sample rate, and other properties are absent.
• Lack of support for generating 9:16, 1:1, and many regular aspect ratios.
• Slow response when I convert the H.264 M4V file to another codec like MPEG4 MP4.

Convert M4V to MP4 with FFmpeg

Very probably, you've already got benefit from FFmpeg though you might not have heard about it before. This is because a lot of open sources and commercial programs including VLC media player, HandBrake, and FFworks are using FFmpeg behind the screen.

Step 1. Install this free M4V to MP4 converter on Mac or Windows.

On Mac:

• Running the below code line on your Terminal:
• $ /usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl –fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
• Enter $ brew install ffmpeg on the Terminal to install FFmpeg on Mac.

On Windows:

• Go to the FFmpeg download site on your browser. Hit the blue Windows, hit Windows builds from gyan.dev to acquire the links for different versions of FFmpeg Windows build. You can click on either one of the available variations to download.
• Extract the contents included in FFmpeg.exe with 7zip.
• Go to your system directory which usually could be found on the C: folder, create a new folder and name it as FFmpeg.
• Paste all the files extracted from the FFmpeg.exe to the newly created FFmpeg folder.
• Go to My Computer, choose Properties, hit Advanced system settings, click on Environmental Variables, and choose New. Here you need to define the variable name as Path, and set the Variable value as C:/FFmpeg/bin.
• Once you finished the steps, hit OK.

Step 2. If you are converting M4V to MP4 on Windows, press Windows Key and R, enter CMD to launch up the Command Prompt in administrator mode, input ffmpeg-version and tap Enter.

If you are converting M4V to MP4 on Mac, press on Space and input clear to clear the Terminal.

Step 3. Hit the space, input cd, press space, and then paste the path of the source video there. Press Enter again.
Enter ffmpeg -i input.m4v out.mp4, then press Enter. For instance, the name of my source file is test. Then there I should input ffmpeg –i "test.m4v" out.mp4.

Disadvantages of Converting M4V to MP4 with FFmpeg

• As a command-line tool that doesn't come with GUI, FFmpeg is not for non-engineers.

What Is the Best M4V to MP4 Converter

The best M4V to MP4 converter should be the one that suits your specific needs best. Thus, usually, you need to take your budgets, skill level, the current and further demand into consideration to find the best M4V to MP4 converter.

In my experience, VideoProc Converter AI is the best option in most cases because it's easy and fast to use, and can convert M4V to MP4 on Mac and Windows without ruining the picture quality. VLC media player is more recommended for people who used to utilize the program to watch media or made simple conversion jobs. FFmpeg is the friend of programmers and tech-savvy. If you are a beginner, you have a stable and fast internet connection, and you simply need to convert a small M4V file to MP4, then it's worthy to try out online M4V to MP4 converters.

Check the below comparison table to fast know the differences and similarities between these M4V to MP4 converters.

FAQ

Is M4V the same as MP4?

M4V doesn't equal MP4. M4V can be regarded as the derivation of MP4 that shares some similarities with MP4. For instance, they are container formats used for MP3, AAC, AC-3, and other audio codecs. Both are capable of holding the H.264 video codec, etc.

What is the difference between M4V and MP4?

M4V vs MP4 - Proprietor/Developer
M4V: Apple.
MP4: MPEG (Motion Pictures Expert Group).

M4V vs MP4 - Video Formats Supported
M4V: H.264.
MP4: H.265/HEVC, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, MPEG-4 ASP, and MPEG-2 Part 2, etc.

M4V vs MP4 - Supported Devices or Media Players.
M4V: Apple devices, iTunes, and QuickTime Player.
MP4: Almost all popular devices and media players including iPhone, Samsung phones, computers, and VLC media player, etc.

How to view M4V on Windows 10?

Though M4V videos theoretically only play on Apple devices, there are still chances that you can view them with Windows Media Player. Thus, you should first try out playing M4V with that Windows built-in media player. If it doesn't work, you need to convert the M4V movies to MP4 format on Windows 10 by using an M4V to MP4 converter.

How to convert M4V to MP4 on Mac?

To convert M4V to MP4 on Mac, you need a decent video converter. VideoProc Converter AI and HandBrake are the best 2 showcases of such tools. Here I demonstrate how to convert M4V to MP4 on Mac with VideoProc Converter AI since it's is easier than HandBrake.

• 1. After this functional M4V to MP4 converter on Mac, open it up and hit Video > +Video to import the M4V video.
• 2. Choose H.264 MP4 as the Target Format and hit Run.

Can I manually change a .m4v to .mp4 by changing the extension name?

It depends. It's possible to turn some unprotected .m4v files into mp4 files by simply renaming the extension name from .m4v to .mp4. However, this won't work for converting protected m4v files. Worse still? You're on the risk of damaging the original file permanently.