Record, save and/or convert video in mp4 format?

Question

I have the following problem - I am trying to create an app that records video, then save it to the camera roll and after that I am uploading that video to the web. The problem is that the only supported format is "mp4", but my videos are "mov".

So my question is how to save video from camera in "mp4" format, or save it in "mov" and then convert it to "mp4".

Here's my code:

this is how I open the camera:

picker = [[UIImagePickerController alloc] init];
picker.sourceType = UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypeCamera;
picker.delegate = self;
picker.showsCameraControls = YES;
picker.allowsEditing = YES;
picker.mediaTypes = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects: (NSString *) kUTTypeMovie, nil];
[self presentViewController:picker animated:YES completion:nil];

this is how I save the video:

NSString *mediaType = [info objectForKey: UIImagePickerControllerMediaType];

if (CFStringCompare ((__bridge_retained CFStringRef) mediaType, kUTTypeMovie, 0) == kCFCompareEqualTo)
{
    NSString *moviePath = [[info objectForKey:UIImagePickerControllerMediaURL] path];
    videoURL = info[UIImagePickerControllerMediaURL];

    if (UIVideoAtPathIsCompatibleWithSavedPhotosAlbum(moviePath))
    {
        UISaveVideoAtPathToSavedPhotosAlbum(moviePath, self, nil, nil);
    }
}
[nextScreenButton setTitle:@"ПРОДЪЛЖИ" forState:UIControlStateNormal];
[self dismissViewControllerAnimated:YES completion:nil];

Thanks in advance!

Rahul Patel · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-11T04:30:01.470

You are doing right thing.. Now you need to convert this mov file to mp4 as below.

NSString *mediaType = [info objectForKey: UIImagePickerControllerMediaType];
NSString *videoPath1 = @"";
if (CFStringCompare ((__bridge_retained CFStringRef) mediaType, kUTTypeMovie, 0) == kCFCompareEqualTo)
 {
   if (UIVideoAtPathIsCompatibleWithSavedPhotosAlbum(moviePath))
   {
         NSString *docDir = [NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES) objectAtIndex:0];
         NSString *moviePath = [[info objectForKey:UIImagePickerControllerMediaURL] path];
         videoPath1 =[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@/xyz.mov",docDir];
         NSURL *videoURL = [info objectForKey:UIImagePickerControllerMediaURL];
         NSData *videoData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:videoURL];
         [videoData writeToFile:videoPath1 atomically:NO];
       //  UISaveVideoAtPathToSavedPhotosAlbum(moviePath, self, nil, nil);
   }
 }

    AVURLAsset *avAsset = [AVURLAsset URLAssetWithURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:videoPath1] options:nil];
    NSArray *compatiblePresets = [AVAssetExportSession exportPresetsCompatibleWithAsset:avAsset];

    if ([compatiblePresets containsObject:AVAssetExportPresetLowQuality])
    {
        AVAssetExportSession *exportSession = [[AVAssetExportSession alloc]initWithAsset:avAsset presetName:AVAssetExportPresetPassthrough];
        NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
        videoPath = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@/xyz.mp4", [paths objectAtIndex:0]];
        exportSession.outputURL = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:videoPath];
        NSLog(@"videopath of your mp4 file = %@",videoPath);  // PATH OF YOUR .mp4 FILE
        exportSession.outputFileType = AVFileTypeMPEG4;

      //  CMTime start = CMTimeMakeWithSeconds(1.0, 600);
      //  CMTime duration = CMTimeMakeWithSeconds(3.0, 600);           
      //  CMTimeRange range = CMTimeRangeMake(start, duration);            
      //   exportSession.timeRange = range;        
      //  UNCOMMENT ABOVE LINES FOR CROP VIDEO   
        [exportSession exportAsynchronouslyWithCompletionHandler:^{

            switch ([exportSession status]) {

                case AVAssetExportSessionStatusFailed:
                    NSLog(@"Export failed: %@", [[exportSession error] localizedDescription]);

                    break;

                case AVAssetExportSessionStatusCancelled:

                    NSLog(@"Export canceled");

                    break;

                default:

                    break;

            }
             UISaveVideoAtPathToSavedPhotosAlbum(videoPath, self, nil, nil);
            [exportSession release];

        }];

    }
[nextScreenButton setTitle:@"ПРОДЪЛЖИ" forState:UIControlStateNormal];
[self dismissViewControllerAnimated:YES completion:nil];

Thanks, mate, this works. Only one thing more - the .mp4 video file lasts only 3 seconds, how to make it long like the .mov file? — scourGINHO, Nov 29 '13 at 11:02
Please see my edited answer.. I commented range part. It will works — Rahul Patel, Nov 29 '13 at 11:05
Thanks, last thing - it saves two videos in my photos album, how to make it save only the mp4 video file? — scourGINHO, Nov 29 '13 at 11:09
Now it saves only the mp4 file, but it doesn't appear in photo album. How to save it there? — scourGINHO, Nov 29 '13 at 12:19
This works fine! Thank you, mate. But there's another problem - I save one video, then can't save another video. It says: Export failed: Cannot save. Where is the problem? I think it's not because of the name of the file, cause my files are named public%d, where %d is integer value that is different every time I open the camera. — scourGINHO, Nov 29 '13 at 13:44
I written code for conversion and storing that file.. Now there might some logical mistake mate.. Please check line by line. You will solve definitely.. — Rahul Patel, Nov 29 '13 at 13:48
Can't follow this at all. You have videoPath1 defined inside an if statement and you user that outside. That code does not compile. Can you please update with an answer that at least compiles. — lostintranslation, Apr 10 '15 at 20:29
Why do u check for low quality condition, AVAssetExportPresetLowQuality? — Hong Zhou, Aug 27 '16 at 03:48

Jigar Thakkar · Answer 2 · 2017-07-13T12:11:28.110

Here is the code to convert mov video into mp4 for swift

func encodeVideo(videoURL: NSURL)  {
let avAsset = AVURLAsset(URL: videoURL, options: nil)

var startDate = NSDate()

//Create Export session
exportSession = AVAssetExportSession(asset: avAsset, presetName: AVAssetExportPresetPassthrough)

// exportSession = AVAssetExportSession(asset: composition, presetName: mp4Quality)
//Creating temp path to save the converted video


let documentsDirectory = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true)[0]
let myDocumentPath = NSURL(fileURLWithPath: documentsDirectory).URLByAppendingPathComponent("temp.mp4").absoluteString
let url = NSURL(fileURLWithPath: myDocumentPath)

let documentsDirectory2 = NSFileManager.defaultManager().URLsForDirectory(.DocumentDirectory, inDomains: .UserDomainMask)[0] as NSURL

let filePath = documentsDirectory2.URLByAppendingPathComponent("rendered-Video.mp4")
deleteFile(filePath)

//Check if the file already exists then remove the previous file
if NSFileManager.defaultManager().fileExistsAtPath(myDocumentPath) {
    do {
        try NSFileManager.defaultManager().removeItemAtPath(myDocumentPath)
    }
    catch let error {
        print(error)
    }
}

 url

exportSession!.outputURL = filePath
exportSession!.outputFileType = AVFileTypeMPEG4
exportSession!.shouldOptimizeForNetworkUse = true
var start = CMTimeMakeWithSeconds(0.0, 0)
var range = CMTimeRangeMake(start, avAsset.duration)
exportSession.timeRange = range

exportSession!.exportAsynchronouslyWithCompletionHandler({() -> Void in
    switch self.exportSession!.status {
    case .Failed:
        print("%@",self.exportSession?.error)
    case .Cancelled:
        print("Export canceled")
    case .Completed:
        //Video conversion finished
        var endDate = NSDate()

        var time = endDate.timeIntervalSinceDate(startDate)
        print(time)
        print("Successful!")
        print(self.exportSession.outputURL)

    default:
        break
    }

})


}

func deleteFile(filePath:NSURL) {
guard NSFileManager.defaultManager().fileExistsAtPath(filePath.path!) else {
    return
}

do {
    try NSFileManager.defaultManager().removeItemAtPath(filePath.path!)
}catch{
    fatalError("Unable to delete file: \(error) : \(__FUNCTION__).")
}
}

Swift 3

func encodeVideo(_ videoURL: URL)  {

    let avAsset = AVURLAsset(url: videoURL, options: nil)

    let startDate = Foundation.Date()

    //Create Export session
    exportSession = AVAssetExportSession(asset: avAsset, presetName: AVAssetExportPresetPassthrough)

    // exportSession = AVAssetExportSession(asset: composition, presetName: mp4Quality)
    //Creating temp path to save the converted video


    let documentsDirectory = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.documentDirectory, .userDomainMask, true)[0]
    let myDocumentPath = URL(fileURLWithPath: documentsDirectory).appendingPathComponent("temp.mp4").absoluteString
    let url = URL(fileURLWithPath: myDocumentPath)

    let documentsDirectory2 = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)[0] as URL

    let filePath = documentsDirectory2.appendingPathComponent("rendered-Video.mp4")
    deleteFile(filePath)

    //Check if the file already exists then remove the previous file
    if FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: myDocumentPath) {
        do {
            try FileManager.default.removeItem(atPath: myDocumentPath)
        }
        catch let error {
            print(error)
        }
    }



    exportSession!.outputURL = filePath
    exportSession!.outputFileType = AVFileTypeMPEG4
    exportSession!.shouldOptimizeForNetworkUse = true
    let start = CMTimeMakeWithSeconds(0.0, 0)
    let range = CMTimeRangeMake(start, avAsset.duration)
    exportSession.timeRange = range

    exportSession!.exportAsynchronously(completionHandler: {() -> Void in
        switch self.exportSession!.status {
        case .failed:
            print("%@",self.exportSession?.error)
        case .cancelled:
            print("Export canceled")
        case .completed:
            //Video conversion finished
            let endDate = Foundation.Date()

            let time = endDate.timeIntervalSince(startDate)
            print(time)
            print("Successful!")
            print(self.exportSession.outputURL)
            self.mediaPath = self.exportSession.outputURL?.path as NSString!
            //self.mediaPath = String(self.exportSession.outputURL!)
        // self.mediaPath = self.mediaPath.substringFromIndex(7)
        default:
            break
        }

    })


}

func deleteFile(_ filePath:URL) {
    guard FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: filePath.path) else {
        return
    }

    do {
        try FileManager.default.removeItem(atPath: filePath.path)
    }catch{
        fatalError("Unable to delete file: \(error) : \(#function).")
    }
}

Giving you reputation is not enough for this answer. Amazing. Thanks. — Numan Karaaslan, Dec 26 '17 at 16:13

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:33

Here you can specify video type, quality and output url for compress video.

See below methods:

- (void) saveVideoToLocal:(NSURL *)videoURL {

    @try {
        NSArray *documentsDirectory = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
        NSString *docPath = [documentsDirectory objectAtIndex:0];

        NSString *videoName = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"sampleVideo.mp4"];
        NSString *videoPath = [docPath stringByAppendingPathComponent:videoName];

        NSURL *outputURL = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:videoPath];
        NSLog(@"Loading video");

        [self convertVideoToLowQuailtyWithInputURL:videoURL outputURL:outputURL handler:^(AVAssetExportSession *exportSession) {

             if (exportSession.status == AVAssetExportSessionStatusCompleted) {
                 NSLog(@"Compression is done");
             }
         }];
    }
    @catch (NSException *exception) {
        NSLog(@"Exception :%@",exception.description);
    }
}


//---------------------------------------------------------------

- (void)convertVideoToLowQuailtyWithInputURL:(NSURL*)inputURL outputURL:(NSURL*)outputURL handler:(void (^)(AVAssetExportSession*))handler {
    [[NSFileManager defaultManager] removeItemAtURL:outputURL error:nil];
    AVURLAsset *asset = [AVURLAsset URLAssetWithURL:inputURL options:nil];
    AVAssetExportSession *exportSession = [[AVAssetExportSession alloc] initWithAsset:asset presetName:AVAssetExportPresetPassthrough];
    exportSession.outputURL = outputURL;
    exportSession.outputFileType = AVFileTypeMPEG4;
    [exportSession exportAsynchronouslyWithCompletionHandler:^(void) {
        handler(exportSession);
    }];
}

Yes, you can compress video using AVAssetExportSession. Here, I saved compress video to document directory of application. You can check detail working of this in this code.

If you have still issues, then refer this and this.

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered May 13 '20 at 05:11

Swift 5 code to convert video into mp4 in Swift

First you need to import this

import AVFoundation

then you can write this code and pass the URL into it.

func videoConvert(videoURL: URL)  {
    let avAsset = AVURLAsset(url: videoURL as URL, options: nil)
    let startDate = NSDate()
    //Create Export session

    let exportSession = AVAssetExportSession(asset: avAsset, presetName: AVAssetExportPresetPassthrough)
    // exportSession = AVAssetExportSession(asset: composition, presetName: mp4Quality)

    //Creating temp path to save the converted video
    let documentsDirectory = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.documentDirectory, .userDomainMask, true)[0]
    let myDocumentPath = NSURL(fileURLWithPath: documentsDirectory).appendingPathComponent("temp.mp4")?.absoluteString
    let url = NSURL(fileURLWithPath: myDocumentPath!)

    let documentsDirectory2 = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)[0] as NSURL
    let filePath = documentsDirectory2.appendingPathComponent("VideoConvert.mp4")
    deleteFile(filePath: filePath!)

    //Check if the file already exists then remove the previous file
    if FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: myDocumentPath!) {
        do {
            try FileManager.default.removeItem(atPath: myDocumentPath!)
        }
        catch let error {
            print(error)
        }
    }
    //URL
    print(filePath!.absoluteString)
    exportSession!.outputURL = filePath
    exportSession!.outputFileType = AVFileType.mp4
    exportSession!.shouldOptimizeForNetworkUse = true
    let start = CMTimeMakeWithSeconds(0.0, preferredTimescale: 0)
    let range = CMTimeRangeMake(start: start, duration: avAsset.duration)
    exportSession!.timeRange = range
    exportSession!.exportAsynchronously(completionHandler: {() -> Void in
        switch exportSession!.status {
            case .failed:
                print("%@",exportSession!.error ?? "Failed to get error")
            case .cancelled:
                print("Export canceled")
            case .completed:
                //Video conversion finished
                let endDate = NSDate()
                let time = endDate.timeIntervalSince(startDate as Date)
                print(time)
                print("Successful!")
                print(exportSession!.outputURL)
            default:
                break
        }
    })
}

For calling the function you can go with

videoConvert(videoURL: fileUrl!)

or

self.videoConvert(videoURL: fileUrl!)

then you will get the video converted and stored into the document directory with name VideoConvert.mp4

Thanks for the @Jigar Thakkar answer.

Record, save and/or convert video in mp4 format?

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