MP4 vs GIF
GIF uses a palette of at most 256 colours per frame, binary transparency and 10 ms timing. Video gradients may show banding; short frame durations are rounded.
Video and animation
MP4
MP4 stores video and optional audio in a container; the codec determines how the video is compressed.
Explore the format
Convert MP4 to
Input: SDR H.264/AVC video in MP4. HEVC and AV1 input are not supported in this release.
Marked paths may need steps such as flattening, rasterization, tone mapping or animation loss.
Convert to MP4
Input: SDR H.264/AVC video in MP4. HEVC and AV1 input are not supported in this release.
Marked paths may need steps such as flattening, rasterization, tone mapping or animation loss.
About MP4
MPEG-4 Part 14
Input: SDR H.264/AVC video in MP4. HEVC and AV1 input are not supported in this release.
MPEG-4 Part 14 uses the ISO base media file format. An .mp4 extension does not identify its codec: H.264, HEVC, AV1 and other codecs can use this container. Compatibility depends on both the container and the browser’s decoder.
Convert short SDR video clips to animated images locally. Presentation order, variable frame durations and rotation are read from the video. Audio and container metadata are discarded. Browser colour conversion produces sRGB display pixels; this is not HDR preservation.
Animated GIF, APNG and WebP become silent H.264 video for sharing and playback. One animation cycle is exported; loop counts are not stored as automatic MP4 repetition. Transparent pixels are composited on the chosen background. H.264 is lossy and cannot restore detail already lost.
Limits: 16 MiB input/output, 200 frames, 32 million total output pixels, 1 million pixels per frame and 4 MP coded video input. Default longest side: 640 px, without upscaling. Larger files may be slow; performance depends on your device and browser. Use a shorter or smaller clip when a limit is reached.
Missing colour tags use browser decoder defaults; displayed colours may differ.
Key capabilities
Animated GIF, APNG and WebP become silent H.264 video for sharing and playback. One animation cycle is exported; loop counts are not stored as automatic MP4 repetition. Transparent pixels are composited on the chosen background. H.264 is lossy and cannot restore detail already lost.
History of MP4
MPEG-4 Part 14 uses the ISO base media file format. An .mp4 extension does not identify its codec: H.264, HEVC, AV1 and other codecs can use this container. Compatibility depends on both the container and the browser’s decoder.
MP4 compared
Different formats, different trade-offs. Choose for the image and the workflow.
MP4 vs PNG
APNG stores lossless RGBA8 frames with rational timing. It can be much larger than MP4. An opaque video remains opaque; conversion does not remove its background. APNG uses the PNG format identity and .png extension here.
MP4 vs WebP
Animated WebP supports full alpha and lossy or lossless image compression. Timing is rounded to milliseconds. Lossless mode preserves decoded display pixels, not the original compressed video or HDR.
MP4 FAQ
Is audio retained?
No. MP4 to animation drops audio; animation to MP4 creates a video without an audio track.
What happens to transparency?
H.264 output is opaque: choose the background colour. APNG and WebP can retain animation alpha, but conversion from ordinary opaque video cannot create it.
Which browsers work?
A secure browser with WebCodecs and the required decoder or H.264 encoder is necessary. Support varies by operating system and hardware. Unsupported codecs produce a clear error; there is no server fallback.
What limits apply?
Use short clips within the limits shown above. Static PNG and WebP are not accepted as animation input. HDR, alpha video, zero-duration animation frames and unsupported colour spaces are rejected.