Losslessly Edit MP4 Files on Windows/Mac: Ultimate Guide
15 August 2023 Senior Product Manager
Summary
Discover the best software and online tools to edit MP4 videos on Windows and Mac. Learn effective video editing techniques for social media platforms.
Table of contents
MP4 is a set of compression coding standards for audio and video information, formulated by the “Moving Picture Experts Group” (MPEG) under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Standard audio and video encoding. The full name of MP4 is MPEG-4 Part 14. It is a common video file packaging format. It is mainly used to store media information such as video, audio, still images, and subtitles. It is commonly used in network media, CDs, and TV broadcasts. Compatible with most portable devices and media players, MP4 is one of the most commonly used file formats.
Compared with other video file formats, the size of MP4 files will be smaller, because it can use different encoding algorithms for different objects, so as to further improve the compression efficiency. Since audio and video are compressed separately, it has high video quality after compression.
Uploading in MP4 format is supported on most streaming sites, such as YouTube and Vimeo. Additionally, MP4 is compatible with many streaming protocols including: HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS), HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), MPEG-DASH, Smooth Streaming. Users can watch video MP4 videos online without downloading the entire video file.
What are the advantages of using the MP4 format?
● The MP4 format is widely compatible with various devices (such as computers and mobile phones), streaming services and video editing software. It has the highest compatibility among video formats.
● Higher video quality after compression. Compressing files usually results in a loss of video quality and clarity, but has little effect on MP4.
● Unlike many video file formats, MP4 can be used with HTML5, and MP4 web video can be inserted in HTML5.
● MP4 is compatible with various streaming media protocols.
After understanding what is MP4, the following will introduce in detail some video editors that can edit MP4 losslessly on Windows and Mac.
There are many options for MP4 video editors, and each software will have different functions and have their own advantages and disadvantages. In order to allow everyone to make the right choice faster, the following will introduce several popular video editing software, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.
Renee Video Editor Pro It is a multi-functional integrated video recording and editing tool that integrates computer screen recording, video post-production and conversion. It can not only meet users’ needs for multimedia recording such as computer screens, playing videos, and sound sources, but also create more possibilities for further editing videos. You can not only add exclusive watermarks to recorded videos during the recording process; Further improve and optimize the content of the video during video editing, such as adding various types of transition effects, switching between different filter styles at will, and providing exclusive subtitles for independent images, etc.
The video editing interface of this software is simple, and the editing operation steps are very simple, even novices can quickly get started. In addition, Renee Video Editor Pro supports converting video/audio files to many different formats with wide format support.
Applicable operating system: Windows
Renee Video Editor Pro– Multi-function Screen Recording Software
Easy to use Customize the recording window and finish the screen recording on one click.
Automatic recording plan Set the recording start time for not missing exciting content.
Special recording effects Recording rate switching, customizable watermarks, mouse special effects, screenshots during recording, etc.
Device Simultaneous Recording Record the screen and the camera at the same time.
Multifunction Edit the video and convert the video format.
Easy to use Customize the recording window and finish the screen recording on one click.
Automatic recording plan Set the recording start time for not missing exciting content.
Special recording effects Recording rate switching, customizable watermarks, mouse special effects, screenshots during recording, etc.
advantage:
- Complete functions, a variety of editing tools can meet most of the video editing needs.
- Screen recording function, record all videos and content on the computer screen without limitation.
- Editable audio files.
- Support all mainstream video/audio format output.
- The operation is simple and suitable for novices.
shortcoming:Only Windows OS is supported.
Avidemux is a free and open source video editing software. Its main features are simple user interface design and easy operation. It is one of the best video editing software for beginners. The software provides video format conversion, video cutting, resizing video, adding subtitles, color correction and other functions. Avidemux software can edit or convert various video formats, such as MP4, DVD, MPEG, AVI, etc.; it can also edit audio in various formats, such as WAV, MP3, AAC, etc.
Compatible OS: Windows, Mac, Linux
advantage:
- The software operation interface is concise and suitable for novices to use.
- Support Windows, Mac, Linux operating systems.
shortcoming:
- Not as many editing features as other video editors.
- It may be necessary to download additional codecs to edit uncommon video and audio file types.
iMovie was developed by Apple Inc. in 1999 and is available for free on iOS and Mac devices. With iMovie editing software, you can view, edit, and share movies on your Mac computer. Before editing a video, the file needs to be imported first. If you want to import from iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, you can use AirDrop to wirelessly transfer video to Mac computer. In addition to basic video editing features, it also features video enhancements, color correction tools, and 15 trailer templates to choose from.
If you are looking for a video editor that is free to use, easy to operate, and has a variety of editing functions, then don’t bother to consider iMovie software.
Compatible OS: Mac
advantage:
- Simple software interface, easy for novices to learn.
- There are a variety of professional trailer and theme templates in the software.
- Rich audio tools.
- Support direct sharing to all Apple devices.
- 4K video is supported.
shortcoming:
- For professional users, editing features are limited.
- Import and render times take longer.
- Lacks multicam, run tracking and 360-degree capabilities
- Does not support Windows operating system
Kdenlive (KDE Non-Linear Video Editor) is an application created by KDE developers to edit videos in a non-linear manner and based on the MLT framework. The software supports a variety of image, video and audio formats, and video formats support MOV, AVI, WMV, MPEG, XviD, FLV formats, etc. In addition, it supports outputting videos with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios. Kdenlive has deficiencies in user-friendliness (especially for novice users), and its operation interface is relatively complicated. However, the video editing functions are relatively complete, which can meet the editing needs of most users. Kdenlive is a free and open source video editor that supports many different operating systems.
Compatible OS: Windows, Mac, FreeBSD, Linux, Ubuntu
advantage:
- It is free and open source software.
- A large number of free plugins are available.
shortcoming:
- Not very friendly for novice users.
- The interface design is a bit dated.
- Software version updates are slow
VSDC video editing software includes a variety of basic editing functions, such as splitting, merging, trimming, variable speed, transition effects, subtitles, etc., and also provides some advanced editing functions, such as color correction, masking tools, a complete multimedia suite, Chroma key function and visible audio waveform etc. The basic version of VSDC is free, and some advanced features need to purchase the professional version to use. In addition to editing video, the software also supports editing audio files. The video formats it supports include MP4, AVI, MKV, MPG, WMV, and FLV, etc.
Applicable operating system: Windows
advantage:
- 4K video editing is supported.
- Mainly for ordinary video editors, video operation is relatively simple.
- In addition to video editing tools, there are also video recording and screenshot tools.
- Free version download available
shortcoming:
- There are no 360-degree, motion tracking, or multi-cam editing features.
- Unable to play video in main window.
- Only supports Windows operating system
If you don’t want to download video editing software on your computer, then you can try online video editing tools that don’t require downloading to quickly edit MP4 video files.
Kapwing is a free online video editing tool, which has common video editing functions such as rotating video, adding text, resizing video screen, cropping video and so on. In addition, it also supports various types of video formats, such as MP4, MOV, AVI, 3GP and many more.
Online link: https://www.kapwing.com/tools/free-video-editor
Fastreel is a free online video editor with a minimalist user interface that makes editing videos very easy. Fastreel offers a versatile toolkit that you can use to quickly edit MP4 videos. You can crop video, rotate video, delete unwanted video clips, add watermark, change video speed, etc. in just a few simple steps. Plus, you can use the ready-made templates provided by the site to quickly create videos. Fastreel supports uploading video and graphics files into editing projects. You can use JPEG, PNG, GIF, MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, and WMV as input file formats. However, it should be noted that the size of each file cannot exceed 500 MB.
Online link: https://www.fastreel.com/video-maker.html
Clipchamp offers free-to-use MP4 video editing tools, video compression tools, video conversion tools, and Webcam recording tools. In addition to simple editing functions such as trimming and cropping, it also has green screen special effects and rich video templates. The free version of ClipChamp Online Video Editor lacks some advanced features, but it’s easy to use and fast, making it a good choice for simple videos. The online editor works with Google Chrome and the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser, but not with the Mozilla Firefox browser.
Online link: https://clipchamp.com/en/
As a web application tool, Online Video Cutter is very convenient when cutting small video files, the editing operation is simple, and it can even be used as a Chrome extension. The function of this video editing tool is relatively simple, but the website design is simple and can be used for free. You can upload videos from your computer or Google Drive, or paste the video link directly into Online Video Cutter. Online Video Cutter supports almost all video formats, but the uploaded video file size cannot exceed 4GB. In addition to cutting and splitting videos, you can also crop and rotate videos.
Online link: https://online-video-cutter.com/
The video editing software and online video editing tools introduced above can meet the different editing needs of different groups of people. If you want to have a video editing tool with more complete functions, then I recommend you to use Renee Video Editor Pro. The following will take this software as an example to describe the common methods of editing MP4 videos.
1 , merge video files
With Renee Video Editor Pro, you can also quickly merge multiple video files, and it supports merging between videos in different formats. The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Download and install Renee Video Editor Pro, then open the software and select (Video Editing Tool).
② After entering the video editing interface, click (Add Files) to import the video files to be merged. Then check the (Merge all files into one) option to merge all imported files into one file.
Optional operation: You can also add some transition effects between the merged videos, click the (+) sign in the “No Transition” after the video, and choose to add your favorite transition effects.
③ After completing the above operations, select the required file format in the output format column, and then click the (Start) button to save.
2 , crop/flip/rotate video files
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open the software, click (Video Editing Tools) > (Add Files) to import video files.
② Click (Rotate and Crop), and after entering the page, you can choose (rotate 90 degrees to the right), (mirror left and right) and (mirror up and down) according to your preferences. In addition, you can also manually adjust the size of the video cropping area.
3. Add video effects
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Download and open Renee Video Editor Pro, select (Video Editing Tool).
② After entering the video editing interface, click (Add File) to import video files.
③ Click (Special Effects), and you can choose (Add Filter Effects), (Add Zoom Effects) and (Add Volume Effects) under the video.
4. Add video watermark
Sometimes in order to prevent the video from being stolen or altered, we need to add our own exclusive watermark to the video. The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Download and open Renee Video Editor Pro, select (Video Editing Tool).
② After entering the video editing interface, click (Add File) to import video files.
③ After entering the (Watermark) editing page, you can choose (Add Text Watermark), (Add Image Watermark), (Add Video Watermark) and (Add Graphic Watermark), or (Remove Watermark).
5. Add background music to the video
In video production, we often add background music to the video, which can better enhance the atmosphere. The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Download and open Renee Video Editor Pro, select (Video Editing Tool).
② After entering the video editing interface, click (Add File) to import video files.
③ Click (Music), and after entering the editing interface, you can choose (Add Audio to Video) to import audio files, or choose (Add Sound to Video) to dub the video. If you are not satisfied with the added audio or sound, you can click (Reset) . In addition to adding audio and dubbing, you can also check (remove video original audio) in the lower right corner to mute the video.
6. Add subtitles to the video
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Download and open Renee Video Editor Pro, select (Video Editing Tool).
② After entering the video editing interface, click (Add File) to import video files.
③ Click (Subtitle), select the position of the subtitle, and then click (+) in the lower left corner. Then, if there is a subtitle file corresponding to the video, please select (load subtitle file); if there is no corresponding subtitle file, please select (create subtitle file).
④ After creating the subtitle file, you can edit the subtitle in the pop-up “Notepad”. The subtitle display time corresponds to the video time. You only need to arrange the time, then delete the English subtitle below and replace it with the upper subtitle. After adding subtitles, you can choose the appropriate subtitle color, font and effect, and click (OK) to save the settings. After completing the above operations, select the required file format in the output format column of the main editing interface, and then click the (Start) button to export the video.
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