3 Best Tools for Converting MP4 to M3U8

  For most of the users, MP4 is not a strange format to contain video while M3U8 is rarely seen in our daily life not just because of its less-widely used scenes but the more complexity of its file format. M3U8 files are the basis for the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) format. However, converting MP4 to M3U8 is not as complex as you think. The key is to find an appropriate converter to do that.

Part 1: Converting MP4 to M3U8 with Website
Part 2: Converting MP4 to M3U8 with Software
Part 3: Converting MP4 to M3U8 with ffmpeg
Part 4: Compaison of 3 Solutions Converting MP4 to M3U8
Bonus: How to Download M3U8 as MP4?

Converting MP4 to M3U8 with Website

  Contents on the website covers the widest range of information though it doesn’t guarantee that everything is at an expertise level. The solution of converting MP4 to M3U8 with the online video converter emphasizes more on the speed of conversion than the elaboration of the converting process. You don’t need to install any app to your PC. It is a time-saving as well as space-saving solution for you to convert files.

  The Online-Converter enables the user to convert MP4 to M3U8 without losing the quality of the original files.

Step 1: Run the official website for Online-Converter and add your desired MP4 file into the program with the built-in “Add file” button found on the interface.

Step 2: Select M3U8 as the targeted format for output. Activate the conversion process by clicking the “Convert” button and just wait for the result of the conversion.

 

Converting MP4 to M3U8 with Software

  What are the features of a converter the user concerns? I believe the ranges of formats that can be selected from to transform your files and the speed of conversion should be on the list. The Aicoosoft Video Converter is a perfect converting software to convert videos/audios of any format out of the selectable 1000 media formats. The conversion speed of the software can be as high as 30X attributed to the built-in multi-core processor and the GPU accelerator. As a bonus function of the software, it also supports to download videos from thousands of video sharing websites. The process of the conversion is not complex at all.

Step 1: Install and launch the program version that is compatible with your PC. The welcoming page of the software is as shown.

 

Step 2: Add video file into the program. You can click the “Add files” button in the top left corner or drag the file from the designated position and drop it into the program.

 

Step 3: As the targeted output format is the M3U8, choose the corresponding output format from the output format selecting list. As soon as you confirm the format for conversion, click “Convert” button to start the conversion process.

 

  The bottom bar displays some essential features of the converter. You can choose to shut down the computer after all tasks completed and enable the GPU acceleration while converting. The output file can be checked from the designated position shown on the output folder.

 

Converting MP4 to M3U8 with ffmpeg

   Another solution to convert MP4 to M3U8 is more difficult than the other two solutions. It is the ffmpeg, a software free to handle file formats of video, audio and other multimedia files. Differs with the other two solutions, ffmpeg convert MP4 to M3U8 by processing the commanding lines input by the user. It applies to all kinds of conversion including MP4 to M3U8, MP4 to AVI, AIFF, FLV and many other formats you can name. ffmpeg works perfectly on macOS but limits for some specific Windows devices like Windows 10. Once you find that the ffmpeg is not working on your PC, maybe it is just because of the Windows version. The conversion process is simple but professional.

Step 1: Open up your terminal and install the package manager Homebrew for OS X. If you haven’t had it on your PC, you can run the following command to install it.

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

Step 2: When finishing the installment of the Homebrew, run the following command codes to install the ffmpeg.

Brew install ffmpeg

Step 3: Now you can use the ffmpeg to convert the files. What you need to do is to enter the command line shown below and click the enter button for the system to respond to your request.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -profile:v baseline -level 3.0 -s 640x360 -start_number 0 -hls_time 10 -hls_list_size 0 -f hls index.m3u8

  The interface of conversion process will look roughly like the graph below.

 

Compaison of 3 Solutions Converting MP4 to M3U8

   Too many words’ narration might make you feel confused for making a wise decision of picking the best solution. So we have made a table for listing out some key aspects on rating the upsides and downsides of three solutions. Hope it can help you to make a reasonable decision.

	Online-Converter	Aicoosoft Video Converter	FFmpeg
Conversion speed	Average fast	Conversion speed of 30X	Average fast
Available video resolution for converting	Up to 4k, 1080p	Up to 4k, 1080p	It all depends on the quality of the original file
Multiple languages supported?	Multiple languages supported	Multiple languages supported	Multiple languages supported
Free to edit the video	Yes and easy to operate	Yes and easy to operate	Yes but requires for professional operations on executing the commanding lines
Convert multiple files in a batch	Yes	Yes	No
Various video formats to be selected for converting	Yes	Yes	Yes
Other features worth checking out	Functions as a video converter	Besides operating as a video converter, it can also operate as a video downloader	Functions as a video converter
Supported devices	Windows and MAC	Windows and MAC	Windows and MAC

  Through the aforementioned comparisons items in the table, we can draw a conclusion that the first two solutions are much simple than the FFmpeg without paying much efforts in entangling with the commanding lines. However, if someone is top-notch personnel in information technology and want to have fun with the commanding lines, FFmpeg is good for him.

 

Bonus: How to Download M3U8 as MP4?

  The solutions mentioned above have the function to convert the video from one format to another. Is there one solution which can incorporate the features of downloading and converting as a whole? Leawo Video Downloader can perform as a powerful video downloader and transform the downloaded video into another format with its built-in converter.

  For downloading the live videos, it offers two solutions, including directly inputting the live video URL or live video M3U8 link. YouTube Live video, Instagram Live video and many other kinds of live videos are supported to download with only one click. How does this software work to download M3U8 as well as convert it into MP4?

Firstly, download and install the Leawo Prof. Media to your pc. Since Leawo Video Downloader is one subroutine of Leawo Prof. Media, you should download the Leawo Prof. Media at first. The homepage of the latest version Leawo Prof. Media is shown as below.

 

Secondly, from the displayed modules on the homepage, find out the Video Downloader and click it. The program will lead you to a new interface where you can input the direct live video URL or live video M3U8 link onto the location bar to search for the desired videos.

  The program supports downloading videos up to 4K and 1080p. 4K video downloading error frequently occurs in other downloader can be well solved by the Leawo Video Downloader.

Thirdly, the program will detect the downloadable live videos for your reference. Just select the one you like to download. Attributed to the advanced video loading technology and hardware acceleration technologies, the downloading speed could be at 6X higher. As soon as the video is downloaded, you can check it from the “Downloaded” panel.

  Right-click the downloaded video and select the option of “Add to Convert”.

 

Fourthly, the program will switch to the Leawo Video Converter with the video waiting for conversion on the main interface. Click the “Edit” button to select the targeted output format and then start the conversion process by clicking the “Convert” button.

 

 

  Owing to the high download and conversion speed, the whole process takes only a few seconds. Conversion between conventional video formats makes no difference with conversion between live video formats. Take the commonest video formats AVI and MP4 as example, conversion between AVI and MP4 is like taking a walk in a park.

  You don’t have to worry about how to download a video of HD or ultra-high resolution and convert it into any formats you want. With the Leawo Video Downloader, you can enjoy thousands of high quality videos as well as view them in freewheeling formats.