How to Transcode a Video using free Video Transcoder software for PC

Video transcoding is basically the process of converting videos from one digital encoding format to another. You can also call it Video encoding. This process includes the conversion of the video file format, video encoding format, and audio encoding format. Video transcoding plays a vital role in the modern world. If you want to live-stream your videos, you might need to transcode your videos to reach out to a wider audience. It is also required for making your video compatible with specific platforms.

Now, if you want to transcode your videos on Windows PC, how to do that? I am going to discuss several free video transcoder software that will help you encode your videos. Let us check out these tools.

How do I transcode an MP4?

To transcode an MP4 video, you can use any of the listed tools from this list. There are software like Handbrake, MediaCoder, and VCT – Video Converter & Transcoder that enable you to do that, You can even use the VLC media player for transcoding videos. Apart from that, you can use this free online tool called JS Video Converter. Check out the details one these video transcoders below.

Which is the best Video Transcoder for Windows?

JS Video Converter, HandBrake, VCT Video Converter & Transcoder, VLC media player, FFmpeg and MediaCoder are some of the best free video converter and transcoder software for Windows 11/10. Each offers a different feature set so you have to decide what’s best for you.

How to Transcode a Video using free Video Transcoder software in Windows 11/10

Here are the free software and an online tool to transcode a video in Windows 11/10:

JS Video Converter
HandBrake
VCT – Video Converter & Transcoder
VLC media player
FFmpeg
MediaCoder

Let us discuss the above video transcoder online tools and software in detail!

1] JS Video Converter

JS Video Converter is a free online video transcoder that lets you convert video encoding format. It lets you change the encoding format of a video as per your requirements. You can change a lot of other video parameters including video encoder, audio encoder, audio sample rate, audio quality, audio channels, video bitrate, video frame rate, and more. It provides all the encoding formats related to a specific video format. For example, in the case of an MP4 output video, you can select a video encoder from H.264 and MPEG-4. For WEBM out the video, you can select VP8 or VP9 video encoder. And, so on.

Additionally, it also lets you perform some video editing tasks. These tasks include video cutting, rotation, mirroring, cropping, etc. You can also change the video resolution. Let us now check out the steps to transcode a video using this free online tool.

How to transcode a video online using JS Video Converter

Here are the steps you can follow to change encoding format and transcode a video online:

First, open a web browser and go to the JS Video Converter website.
Now, select the input video that you want to transcode.’
Next, choose the output video file format from MP4, AVI, MOV, 3GP, WEBM, Adnoid Video, etc.
Then, select a video encoder and customize other video parameters.
After that, press the Convert button to start the video transcoding process.
when the process is completed, you can download the encoded video to your PC.

You can try this online video transcoder here at js-video-converter.com.

See: How to convert MOV video files to MP4 with these tools

2] HandBrake

HandBrake is a popular free and open-source video transcoder software for Windows 11/10. It lets you transcode a video from one digital encoding format to another. You can encode a video using encoders like H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, Theora, H.265, VP8., VP9, etc. It lets you customize a lot of video encoder options including framerate, encoder preset, encoder tune, encoder profile, encoder level, video quality, and more. You can also change audio parameters like audio codec, bitrate, audio channel, etc.

Apart from video transcoding, you can also do some video editing like crop a video, flip or rotate a video, change video resolution, add a border, and more. The advantage of using this software is that it lets you batch transcoder videos. So, you can import multiple video files and then encode them at a time.

How to transcode a video using HandBrake

These are the main steps to transcode a video using HandBrake:

Firstly, download and install HandBrake from its official website.
Now, click on the Open Source button and import a single video file or select a source folder for batch processing.
Next, go to the Summary tab and select an output video format.
After that, move to the Video tab and select video encoder and other options.
You can then customize various other options including audio codec, subtitles, create chapter markers, etc.
Finally, click on the Add to Queue button and then press the Start Encode button to initiate the video transcoding process.

It is one of the best free video transcoder software that lets you encode and convert videos. You can also convert videos to the particular web, android, Apple, Roku, Xbox, Playstation, and other video profiles. It also lets you preview the video within the software. You can download the installer or portable version of this software from its website.

Read: Best free Audio Format Converter software for Windows

3] VCT – Video Converter & Transcoder

You can also try VCT – Video Converter & Transcoder to transcode videos on Windows 11/10. As its name suggests, this software is entirely dedicated to encode and convert video formats on PC. It is completely free and open-source software. Here are the main steps to use this software:

Firstly, download and install VCT – Video Converter & Transcoder on Windows 11/10 PC.
Now, launch the software.
Next, go to the Transcode tab and first select the output directory.
After that, customize output options according to your requirements like Remove subtitle stream, Copy all audio and video streams, etc.
Then, drag and drop the input video files onto its interface and select the files from the right-hand side panel.
Finally, press the Start button to transcode video files.

If you want to simply convert video format, move to the Convert tab and follow the instructions to batch convert videos. It also lets you record IP camera streams. You can download it from sourceforge.net.

Read: Best free Audio Format Converter software for Windows

4] VLC media player

VLC media player can be another alternative to transcode videos on Windows 11/10 PC. It is a feature-rich free and cross-platform media player that also lets you change the encoding format of videos and convert them. Using it, you can batch transcode videos to save your time and effort. Let us discuss the steps to transcode videos using the VLC media player.

How to transcode videos in VLC media player

Here are the main steps to transcode videos using the VLC media player on Windows 11/10:

Download and install the VLC media player.
Launch this media player.
Go to Media > Convert.
Add the source video files.
Click on the Convert button.
Select a video profile with desired encoding format.
Edit the profile if needed.
Select output video folder.
Press the Start button to transcode the input videos.

Let us elaborate on the above steps now!

Firstly, download and install the VLC media player on your Windows PC. And then, launch this media player to encode videos using it.

Now, go to its Media menu and click on the Convert/ Save option’ it will open up a dialog window. Here, you can add one or more source video files whose encoding format you want to change. And, press the Convert/ Save button.

Next, from the Profile drop-down options, select the desired video format with the required encoding format. For example, H.264 + MP3 (MP4), H.265 + MP3 (MP4), WMV + WMA (ASF), VP80 + Vorbis (WebM), etc.

If you want to make changes to the selected profile, click on the Edit selected profile button present beside the Profile.

You will then be able to select the video codec, video resolution, video filters (mirror, posterize, invert, motion blur, etc.), audio codec, and many more output video options.

Finally, you can enter the output location and then click on the Start button to start encoding selected video files.

So, this is how you can easily transcode a batch of videos in the VLC media player.

See: How to create Animated GIF from a video file using VLC.

5] FFmpeg

Want to transcode a video using the command-line interface? You can try FFmpeg. It is a popular free and open-source video processing software that is command-based. It lets you enter a simple command to encode and convert video format easily. Let us check out the steps to transcode videos using FFmpeg.

How to transcode a video using FFmpeg through the command-line interface

These are the steps to convert the encoding format of a video using a simple command:

Download FFmpeg.
Extract the FFmpeg folder.
Open the CMD in the extracted folder.
Type a video transcoding command.
Press the Enter button to execute the command.

Let us discuss the above steps in detail!

Firstly, download FFmpeg software from its official website and then extract the ZIP folder using Windows built-in compress tools or Unzipper freeware. Now, open the extracted folder and move to the bin sub-folder where the FFmpeg.exe file is present. Simply open the Command Prompt here in this folder.

After that, in the command prompt, write a similar command like the following:

ffmpeg -i test.mp4 -c:v h264 -c:a mp3 output.mov

In the above command, the –c:v tag is used to specify the video encoding format (H264, VP9, H265, etc.), while the -c:a is used to mention the audio encoder. The test.mp4 and output.mov are the input and output videos, respectively.

Write the command and press the Enter button to start transcoding the video. It will take a while and when the process is completed, the output is stored at the specified or in the source FFmpeg folder.

FFmpeg is a great command-based video transcoder using which you can also resize videos, rotate videos, play RTSP stream, etc.

See: Use FFmpeg Batch A/V Converter to convert video and audio files.

6] MediaCoder

MediaCoder is one more free video transcoder software for Windows 11/10. This software comes in both portable as well as installer editions. Download whichever version you prefer and then transcode your videos through it.

It is handy free software that lets you batch transcode videos from one encoding format to another. It supports several encoding formats to transcode videos, such as H.264, H.265, VP8, VP9, Theora, Xvid, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, and more. Besides video encoding format, you can customize a variety of output parameters like video bitrate, audio encoding format, video container, audio sample rate, and more.

Here are the steps to change the encoding format of videos using MediaCoder:

First, download and install MediaCoder on your Windows PC. You can also download its portable version that works without installation.
Now, launch this application.
Next, click on the Add button to import one or multiple video files to this software.
After that, go to the Video tab and select an encoding format.
Then, you can move to other tabs and customize other video options.
Finally, click the Start button and it will start encoding videos in bulk.

Download it from mediacoderhq.com.

That’s it!

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