3 Easy Ways to Convert M4V to MP4 and Vice Versa

M4V is a video container format developed by Apple. Although M4V is very similar to MP4, it is not as widely supported as MP4. Many media players, video editing software and devices don't support this format. This is the primary reason to convert MP4V to MP4, the latter being one of the most widely supported and compatible video formats. This article will show you how to easily convert M4V videos to MP4 on Mac and Windows and what to do if the M4V videos are DRM-protected.

The best way to convert M4V to MP4

A professional M4V to MP4 converter can help you efficiently convert your M4V videos to MP4 format. In this part, you will find the best M4V to MP4 converters for macOS and Windows users and how to use them.

On Mac and Windows

iFunia Video Converter allows you to easily convert M4V to MP4 and vice versa without quality loss. In addition, its supported input and output formats includes all other popular video as well as audio formats such as AVI, FLV, WMV, AVCHD, WebM, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, 3GP, DivX, AMV, VOB, MKV, AAC, MP3, OGG, etc. This app fully supports both Mac and Windows systems, so that you don't need to look for another converter when you switch to another computer device.

Main Features of iFunia Video Converter:

• Convert videos and audios between 400+ formats
• Download videos from YouTube, Vimeo and 1000+ other sites
• Support 4K video conversion and download
• Batch video conversions and batch online video downloads
• Extract audio from local and online videos
• Rip DVDs, including ones with high copy-protection
• Do basic video editing such as cropping, rotating and watermarking, etc.
• Cut or merge the file length based on personal usage

Above is a list of its main features which are useful in many ways. For example, if you have a video that is incompatible with an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android phone, game console, media player or video-editing app, iFunia Video Converter can provide the best solution. Just use it to easily convert the video to a supported format. It's that easy.

Free Download macOS 10.11 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7

Instructions on converting M4V to MP4 on Mac (Windows users can refer to them):

Step 1. Add M4V files 

Download and install iFunia Video Converter. Launch it. Import one or multiple M4V files by dragging and dropping.

Step 2. Select MP4 as the output format

Click the Format button, and the Format & Advanced Settings dialog box will show up. Select the output format you need. To convert M4V to MP4, we select .mp4 as the export format.

Step 3. Start converting M4V to MP4 on Mac 

Click the Convert button, and the conversion will start immediately.

Tip: Before you convert M4V to MP4, you can also use this tool to edit the video if needed. You can do basic editing, such as trimming, cropping, rotating, watermarking, adding effects or subtitles, etc.

Alternative ways for M4V to MP4 conversion

#1 Convert M4V to MP4 online

You can convert M4V to MP4 online for free. However, many online converters will embed a watermark to the converted file, which causes inconvenience. CloudConvert allows watermark-free conversion. It also has a Chrome extension.

Step 1. Go to https://cloudconvert.com/m4v-to-mp4.

Step 2. Click the Select Files button to upload a local M4V file.

Step 3. After the video is completely loaded, click the Start Conversion button in the bottom.

#2 Convert M4V to MP4 using open-source software

Commonly used open source software apps are VLC and HandBrake.

1. VLC

Can VLC convert M4V to MP4? Yes. VLC is more than just an open-source media player. The basic video conversion feature that this app offers makes it more versatile. Bellow you can find the steps on how to use VLC to convert M4V to MP4 for free.

Step 1. Launch VLC on your computer.

Step 2. From the top menu bar, select File > Convert/Stream.

Step 3. In the Convert & Stream dialog box, click Open media button to import an M4V file. You can also add a file by dragging and dropping.

Step 4. From the Choose Profile dropdown list, select Video - H.264 + MP3 (MP4).

Step 5. Click Save as File and then click Browse to edit the details about the file.

Step 6.On the new dialog box, select a folder and name the converted file, and  select a location on your hard drive to save the converted file. Once done, click Save. Remember to change the file extension as .mp4 manually when you fill in the name.

Step 7. Click Save again to start the conversion process.

2. HandBrake

This is another open-source app that can convert M4V to MP4. In addition to M4V and MP4, it also permits users to convert M4V files to MKV and WebM format. If you are not familiar with container formats, video codecs and things alike, you may get a little overwhelmed by the features and options this app has offers.

Step 1. Open HandBrake. Drag an M4V file into this app. Or, you can also add a file by clicking Open Source in the upper left corner of the interface.

Step 2. By default, MP4 is selected as the output format. In this case, we don't need to change it. To select a different format, just click the Format drop-down list.

Step 3. Click the Start button on the top toolbar. The conversion will start. You can stop, pause and resume the process anytime you want.

#3 MediaCoder

MediaCoder is also a powerful assistant to help you convert M4V to MP4 for free. In addition to doing the conversion from M4V to MP4, it is also able to convert videos and audios between other formats, such as WebM, F4V, FLV and MOV. It can also work as video compressor and an audio extractor. It can work perfectly on Windows XP and later, including Windows 10.

Step 1. Install MediaCoder on your computer. Open it. Click the Add icon to import an M4V video.

Step 2. Under the Preview tab, you can easily preview the video. Go to the Container tab and click it. From the Container drop-down list, select MP4.

Step 3. Click the Start icon at the top of the interface. The conversion process will start.

Can you convert iTunes DRM-protected M4V videos to MP4?

As mentioned above, Apple developed the M4V format. This format is almost exclusively used for movies, music videos and TV shows downloaded from the iTunes Store and can be opened by iTunes and QuickTime Player.

Files in this format are potentially protected by FairPlay, which is Apple's digital rights management (DRM) technology. A DRM-protected M4V file is encrypted. Only authorized iTunes and Apple products can have access to it. Before converting DRM-protected M4V videos, you need to remove DRM first. The good news is the removal can be done easily with DRM removal software such as Requiem. It's okay to remove DRM and convert M4V to MP4 as long as the converted files are for personal use only. So, the answer is yes.

Currently, the DRM-protected video contents on iTunes are movies and TV shows. Music videos from the iTunes Store are in .m4v, but they are DRM-free.

M4V vs. MP4

Below is a comparison table of the M4V format and the MP4 format. You can learn about the similarities and differences between the two formats and understand why it's common to convert an M4V video to MP4.

Conclusion

M4V to MP4 converter software like iFunia Video Converter and MediaCoder can help you efficiently transform your M4V videos to MP4 or other needed formats and do some other cool things such as downloading online videos and compressing large files. If you don't want to install any software, you can convert M4V to MP4 online. Once your M4V videos are converted to a widely supported format, you can smoothly play them on any of your devices or media players without problem.