If you have the footage in which only the sound has all the meat, you might want to remove the visuals from the clip and keep only the audio track to save some space on your storage media. Because the videos nowadays are usually in MP4 format, and the most commonly used audio type is MP3, it becomes imperative to learn how to convert MP4 to MP3.
It is also important to know which tools are best for such kind of conversion and what benefits and downsides they come with if installed on your PC.
That said, here, you will learn how to convert video to audio using six extremely popular and widely used programs.
| 1 - Filmora | 2 - VLC media player | 3 - Audacity |
| 4 - QuickTime | 5 - Media Converter | 6 - Video to MP3 Converter |
Watch a Video First to Take a Quick View of These Programs
For Win 7 or later (64-bit)
For macOS 10.14 or later
1 Filmora - [Windows, Mac, iPhone & Android]
A product by Wondershare that is one of the most versatile development organizations, Filmora, is available for Windows and Mac platforms. The tool is a full-fledged post-production program that many professionals use because it is lightweight and due to its simple UI and not-so-steep learning curve.
The instructions given below explain how to convert video to audio with Filmora:
Step 1: Import Source Media
Launch Wondershare Filmora (a Windows computer here used here), click anywhere inside the Media window present at the upper-left section, and select and import a source video file to the program.
For Win 7 or later (64-bit)
For macOS 10.14 or later
Step 2: Add Media to Timeline
Drag the imported footage to the Timeline at the bottom of the window. Optionally, right-click the media in the Timeline itself, and click Detach Audio to separate the audio track from the video. Trim off the unwanted sections from the clip if need be.
Step 3: Convert Video to Audio
Click EXPORT from the top-center of the window, go to the Video tab on the Export box, select MP3 from the bottom of the Format list in the left pane, choose other preferences by clicking the SETTINGS button from the right, and click EXPORT from the bottom-right corner.
Benefits of Using Filmora
Some of the advantages of using Filmora to convert video clips to audio are:
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Easy audio separation from the video
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Ability to export videos directly to audio
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Ability to adjust the audio and remove the background noise
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Ability to record voice and integrate it into the audio clip
Disadvantages: Doesn’t have many audio formats for exporting.
Supported Audio Formats: At the time of this writing, Filmora supports only MP3 audio format while exporting directly.
For Win 7 or later (64-bit)
For macOS 10.14 or later
2 VLC Media Player [Windows, Mac & Linux]
A well-known application that supports almost all media formats and is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms, the VLC media player has its built-in Converter that can transcode your video clips to audio for free.
The steps given below explain how to convert video to audio with VLC media player:
Step 1: Import Source Video
Launch VLC media player, click Media from the menu bar at the top, and click Convert / Save from the menu. Make sure that the File tab is selected on the Open Media box, click Add from the right side of the File Selection field, and click Convert / Save from the bottom.
Step 2: Select Output Format and Preferences
On the Convert box, make sure that the Convert radio button is selected, choose an audio format from the Profile drop-down list, optionally click the Settings (Wrench) icon present next to the drop-down list itself, choose other output preferences for the audio and click Save to get back to the Convert box.
Step 3: Choose Output Folder and Convert
Click Browse from the Destination section to select an output folder, enter a name for the exported file in the Destination file field, and click Start to convert audio to video with VLC media player.
Benefits of Using VLC media player
Some advantages that VLC offers include:
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Doesn’t require any other application to be installed for conversion
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Makes the process quite simple and absolutely free
Disadvantages: Doesn’t have editing tools to manipulate the clips before converting.
Supported Audio Formats: VLC media player supports OGG (Vorbis), MP3, and FLAC format while exporting.
3 Audacity [Windows, Mac & Linux]
Audacity is yet another cross-platform tool that is specifically dedicated to audio formats and is also used by many professionals to produce industry-standard audio clips. Even though Audacity is an open-source and free program, some new users may find it challenging to understand the interface.
The steps are given below explain the process of converting video to audio with Audacity:
Step 1: Install Supported Tools
Assuming that Audacity is already installed on your PC, to import video files to the program, go to https://lame.buanzo.org/#lamewindl and download and install ffmpeg for Windows for Audacity if it is not already installed. You can do a quick online search for other platforms and see if your copy of Audacity needs the tools or plugins required to import the videos.
Step 2: Import Source Video
Go to file> Open from the menu bar and select and import the video that you want to convert to audio.
Step 3: Convert Video to Audio
Make the required manipulations to the audio, go to file> Export, and choose your preferred audio format from the list. Choose a destination folder and other output preferences on the Export Audio box, and click Save to convert video to audio with Audacity.
Benefits of Using Audacity
Some benefits that Audacity offers include:
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Granular editing and fine-tuning of audio tracks
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Wide range of output preferences
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Ability to produce industry-standard outputs
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Offers plethora of options and tools to add various effects to the sounds
Disadvantages: Some new users may find it challenging to understand the interface. Audacity also needs additional tools to be installed to support video files as inputs.
Supported Audio Formats: Audacity supports almost all major audio formats including MP3, OGG, WAV, etc.
4 QuickTime [Mac]
QuickTime is the default media player that comes along with macOS and is installed automatically. Being a proprietary of Apple Inc., QuickTime natively supports all the formats developed by the company, along with some other most popular file types such as MP4, MP3, etc.
To convert a video file to audio with QuickTime on Mac, you can follow the instructions given below:
Step 1: Import Source Video
Launch QuickTime on your Mac computer, go to file from the menu bar, click Open File, use the box that opens to locate and select the video that you want to convert, and click Open from the bottom-right corner.
Step 2: Convert to Audio
Click file again, go to Export this time, and then click audio Only from the sub menu that appears. On the next box, enter a name for the output file in the Export As field, choose a destination folder from the Where drop-down list, optionally click the drop-down button from the right side of the Where field to configure other preferences, and click Save to convert video to audio with QuickTime.
Benefits of Using QuickTime
Some advantages of using QuickTime to convert video to audio include:
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Mac users don’t need to install any third-party conversion tool or additional plugin
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Conversion process is easy and almost seamless
Disadvantages: Doesn’t give any option to choose an output format and doesn’t allow editing the clips either.
Supported Audio Formats: By default, QuickTime player converts videos files to M4A audio format.
5 Media Converter – video to mp3 [iPhone]
Among several iOS apps that have been developed for video to audio conversion, Media Converter – video to mp3 is one of those that has decent star ratings and user reviews. The app is around 66MB in size and can be obtained from the App Store.
The process on how to convert video to audio with Media Converter is explained below:
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Launch Media Converter
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Import the source video to the app
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Choose Extract Audio from the Conversion Type menu
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Select your preferred output audio format
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Begin the conversion process
Benefits of Using Media Converter
A couple of advantages of using Media Converter to convert video to audio are listed below:
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Eliminates the use of PC or laptop
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Can be obtained easily
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Can be used even while moving
Disadvantages: Doesn’t have the flexibility of granular editing as it is there when using a computer program.
Supported Audio Formats: The audio formats that Media Converter supports include MP3, M4A, OGG, WAV, FLAC, etc.
6 Video to MP3 Converter [Android]
With around 4.5-star rating on Play Store, Video to MP3 Converter is another app that can convert your video files to audio right on your Android smartphone. In addition, the app also allows basic video trimming that may come in handy while making the entire clip more informative by removing unwanted sections from it.
You can learn how to convert video to audio with Video to MP3 Converter by following the instructions given below:
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Launch Video to MP3 Converter
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Import the source video clip from your Android smart device’s storage
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Trim the footage to keep only the important part
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Set output preferences
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Extract the audio from the video
Benefits of Using Video to MP3 Converter
Some advantages of using Video to MP3 Converter include:
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It supports every popular video format such as MP4, 3GP, WMV, etc.
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Has simple UI
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Offers various audio bitrates to choose from while exporting
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Allows basic trimming
Disadvantages: Doesn’t have many editing options thus, no granular manipulations can be done to the media files while using the app.
Supported Audio Formats: Video to MP3 Converter supports MP3 formats at this writing.
Conclusion
Learning how to convert MP4 to MP3 is a simple process, and as long as you have a decent computer or an iOS or Android smartphone, you can extract the audio in the format of your choice from the video clips almost instantly. Furthermore, if you are a professional and want to prepare media clips for the clients or your channel, using advanced tools like Wondershare Filmora or Audacity would give you the best conversion experience.
For Win 7 or later (64-bit)
For macOS 10.14 or later