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How Windows Movie Maker Save MP4 File

Liza Brown
Liza Brown Originally published Sep 09, 22, updated Dec 10, 24

If you are a Windows user and you are looking for a free video editor, Windows Movie Maker is a great application. Windows Movie Maker comes pre-installed in older Windows versions though it has been discontinued in the latest Windows versions. However, if you are using the latest Windows versions, you can install MiniTool Movie Maker instead. If you are editing your video in Windows Movie Maker, you should know how to save your video in MP4 format.

MP4 file format is the most used video file format, and hence, you should know how to save Windows movie maker mp4 file. Otherwise, you won't be able to play your video on regular video players on different devices. This is because not all video players support the native Windows Movie Maker file format, but they support MP4 format as it is very common. In this article, we will illustrate the steps for Windows Movie Maker how to save as MP4 file.

In this article
  1. Steps to Save Windows Movie Maker Video as MP4
  2. Windows Movie Maker Alternative to Save as MP4
  3. Related FAQs of Movie Maker

Part 1. Steps to Save Windows Movie Maker Video as MP4

There are two scenarios you may come across while dealing with Windows Movie Maker MP4 situation. First, you might be editing your video on Windows Movie Maker, and you want to save it in MP4 format. Second, you might have received a video file saved in the native Windows Movie Maker file format and you want to convert it to MP4 file format. In the second scenario, you must opt for a Windows Movie Maker to MP4 converter such as VideoConverterFactory.

For the first scenario where you are editing your video on Windows Movie Maker, the solution is simple. This is because the default file format to save a video file on Windows Movie Maker is MP4. There are other options available such as WMV, but if you opt for the recommended settings, you can easily save your video file in MP4. Here are the steps for Windows Movie Maker to mp4 file format.

Step1Launch Windows Movie Maker on your PC. Create a new project and import your video clips. Split, trim, join, add transitions, effects, and titles as per your requirements.

Step2When you are done editing your video, go to Home tab> Save Movie button available on Share section.

windows movie maker save movie

Step3Instead of clicking on Save Movie button, click on the small triangle icon on Save Movie button. Click on Recommended for this project option. You can hold your mouse pointer on the option for a few seconds before clicking to check out the different parameters of your video file that you are going to save.

recommend for this project

Step4The Save Movie dialog box will open on the screen. Go to the Save as type section and make sure it is selected for "MPEG-4/ Vide File". MP4 is the abbreviation of MPEG-4. Finally, click on Save button and your video file will be saved in MP4 file format as per the destination you have chosen.

save movie maker as mp4

Part 2. Windows Movie Maker Alternative to Save as MP4

We have already stated that Windows Movie Maker from Microsoft has been discontinued in Window 10 and Windows 11. Instead, there is a basic video editor available under Photos app. Therefore, if you are looking for a Windows Live Movie Maker MP4 alternative, we recommend Wondershare Filmora.

Wondershare Filmora is a professional video editor where you can edit your videos like a pro and save your edited video as MP4 file format. You get more features on Filmora in comparison to Windows Movie Maker as it is a premium video editor. In fact, Filmora is easy to operate thanks to its super intuitive user interface. Here are the steps to export a video as MP4 format.

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Step1Download and install Wondershare Filmora. Click on New Project option on the welcome screen. Drag and drop your video clips into Project Media folder. Thereafter, bring them onto the timeline.

click on new project option

Step2Edit the video clips, add effects and animations as well as titles. Once your editing is done, click on Export button.

edit the video clips

Step3Select MP4 file format on the left corner and specify the file name. Select the destination folder from Save To and other parameters as required. Finally, click on Export button.

click on export button

Related FAQs of Movie Maker

  • What format does Movie Maker save as?
    The default file format of Windows Movie Maker is MP4. There is also an option to save video file as WMV format.
  • How do I convert a movie maker file to MP4?
    If you want to convert a movie maker file to MP4 file format, you can open the file in Windows Movie Maker and save the file as MP4. You can also use a video converter such as VideoConverterFactory to convert a movie maker file to MP4.
  • Where does Movie Maker save files?
    By default, Windows Movie Maker saves video files under My Documents or Documents folder as per Windows operating system you have on your PC. If it is not available there, you can check My Videos or My Pictures folder on your hard drive under User folder hierarchy.

If you are using Windows Movie Maker on your PC, we have stated how you can save your video file as MP4 format. We have also stated how to convert Windows Movie Maker file to MP4 format easily. We have also recommended the best Windows Movie Maker alternative as Wondershare Filmora where you get more video editing features as well as wide range of video file formats.

Liza Brown
Liza Brown Dec 10, 24
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