FLV is an Adobe® file format, commonly referred to as “Flash video,” that contains synchronized audio and video streams. Macromedia® was the original developer, and Adobe® has updated to a newer version, F4V, based on MP4, which is in turn based on the Apple® QuickTime® standard. MP4, Part 14 of the MPEG-4 standard, is distinguished from M4A, which is an audio only format, by its ability to include both audio and video in its files.
FLV is a popular format, used for most online videos. With the introduction of the iPad® by Apple® in 2010, however, an appliance that does not handle Flash®, an increased need to convert FLV to other formats has arisen. MPEG-4, the international standard under which MP4 was created works on iPad®, so this, among other reasons, may give people a particular reason to convert FLV to MP4.
Software programs, called “video converters” are used to convert FLV to MP4. They are available both for free and to purchase. Some of them offer a variety of export options besides MP4, such as AVI (Audio Video Interleave), iPod®, PSP (PlayStation Portable), and WMV (Windows Media Video). In addition, some offer conversion for files other than FLV.
To begin your plan to convert FLV to MP4, you need to locate at least one FLV file. This could be a file that you created in Adobe® Flash® or a file downloaded from Google Video®, MySpace®, Reuters.com®, Yahoo!®, or YouTube®, all of which use the FLV format. Then, you will need to load it or them into the converter, following the instructions. Finally, you will be able to choose the resulting file type, which may be conveyed by "Save As" or "Export" or some other name.
In addition to making the choice to convert FLV to MP4, you may have other choices available to you as well. For example, you may be able to change the video size, the bit rate, and the frame rate. For the audio, you may be offered a choice of codecs, sample rates, bit rates, and stereo or mono channels.