GIF to MP4/M4V: Convert Video from GIF(Animated GIF) to MP4/M4V(MPEG-4 Video) with River Past Video Cleaner, GIF2MP4/M4V converter, conversion

What is GIF?

Animated GIF is not really a video format. It is a sequence of GIF frames stringed together. Due to the 256-color limitation of GIF, the color is dithered. The compression is not that great, so the file size tend to be large given the frame rate and resolution.

However, since GIF is supported by all web browsers without any add-on, it is a great way to create small video thumbnails. Generally, the resolution should be kept small (80x60, for example), the frame rate should be kept low (4 fps, for example), and the duration should be kept under a few seconds.

Animated GIF is not really a video format. It uses 256-color GIF compression, with low quality and relatively large files. It is not suitable for video playback. However, since it is supported by all web browsers without any add-on's, it is a great format for video thumbnails and should be used for this purpose only.

To convert from animated GIF to a regular video file, you need to have Apple QuickTime installed.

What is MP4/M4V?

A video compression standard planned for late 1998. MPEG-4 extends the earlier MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 algorithms with synthesis of speech and video, fractal compression, computer visualisation and artificial intelligence-based image processing techniques.

MPEG.ORG is an excellent source for additional information on MPEG format and usage.

To encode MP4 video, you will need River Past MPEG-4 Booster Pack in addition to your video software. Do not forget to have the latest QuickTime installed.

Additional Requirements

To convert from GIF(Animated GIF) to MP4/M4V(MPEG-4 Video) video with River Past Video Cleaner, you must have River Past MPEG-4 Booster Pack installed.

Launch River Past Video Cleaner

Once River Past Video Cleaner is installed properly, launch Video Cleaner.

Add File

Click on the "Add File" button on the tool bar. The standard file open dialog appears. Select "GIF - Animated GIF (*.gif)" in its "Files of type" combo box.

Select the file you want to convert and click "Open". The file will be added to the conversion file list.

Note: To convert from Animated GIF files, you must have Apple QuickTime installed.

River Past Video Cleaner

Select output format

Use the setting panel on the bottom of the window to control the output format. Click on the toggle to the left of the "Output Format" label to expand the panel. Select "MP4 - MPEG-4" as the "File Type".

Troubleshoot

If you have MPEG-4 Booster Pack installed, but don't see M4V as an output option, you have a problem with QuickTime installation.

Please make sure you have the latest QuickTime installed. Occasionally, QuickTime may be corrupted due to conflict with some other software. In any case, reinstalling QuickTime should fix this problem.

Note: To convert to MP4 (MPEG-4) video files, you must have Apple QuickTime installed.

Note: The MPEG-4 Booster Pack must be installed for the "MP4" output option to show.

Change Video Settings

Click on the toggle to the left of the "Video Settings" label to expand the panel.

Select "Specify" under "Size" and/or "Frame rate" to enter the video resolution and/or frame rate.

You can change the compressor, quality, size, and frame rate of the video.

The bitrate is in the unit of kbit/second. Use this formula to calculate the video size per minute:

Video size/minute (KByte/second) = bitrate / 8 * 60.

Change Audio Settings

Click on the toggle to the left of the "Audio Settings" label to expand the panel.

Select the audio compressor for the conversion. Depending on the compressor, you may also change the sample rate, channel (stereo or mono), bits/sample, and bitrate.