The VideoLAN Forums

Dear all,

I have the following:

• 3Gb MP4 (without audio), 1920x1080, 25fps, bitrate 2kbit/s

• 130Mb MP3, bitrate 128kbit/s

I want to merge them into 1 video with audiotrack. Expecting the final file to be ~3.2Gb (as a sum of video + audio). As a result i have a 6Gb(!) videofile, which (ridiculous!) is not opened by VLC itself.

I choose Convert, add video file and audio file (via extended options checkbox) and use the following settings:

Profile: H.264 + MP3 (MP4)
Video Codec: keep original track
Audio Codec: Mpeg 4 Audio (AAC)

And of course i have AAC switched ON: Settings -> Codecs -> Videocodecs -> FFmpeg -> Strictly follow standards -> -2.

What am i doing wrong? I just want to keep the original quality/size of the video, but insert sountrack there.

Thank you!

Audio Codec: Mpeg 4 Audio (AAC)

Didn't you say MP3 and not AAC ?

Didn't you say MP3 and not AAC ?

Well, first of all - good news: the final file size is reasonable now (~3.2Gb) and readable by VLC. Possibly i've mistaken somewhere yesterday, my bad then.

However this good result was achieved with:

• AVI chosen as the destination file (yesterday i tried to make an MP4, because initial videofile is an MP4)

• MP3 chosen as an audio codec (yesterday i tried AAC)

So looks like i just packed my initial videofile without any changes together with MP3 track into 1 AVI container, correct? Which works, but i will highly appreciate help with the following:

• Is it OK to choose AVI as the resulting file, if you're satisfied with the initial video quality/size and just want to pack it into 1 file with audio?

• Why didn't AAC work for me yestarday, while i've chosen it as a codec and prior to that - switch it on in VLC settings?

• Is it true, that AAC is better than MP3, because MP3 is not played on certain devices, while AAC is almost always compatible with any device?

Thank you!

AVI is not good for H.264, you should use MP4 container.

H.264 + AAC is a perfect combo for MP4, however there are reports about conversion issues with latest versions of VLC.
Try with a nightly build:
https://nightlies.videolan.org
Or use a dedicated video tool such as AviDemux:
http://avidemux.sourceforge.net

AAC is usually considered transparent at a lower bitrate than MP3. For instance, 128 kbps is enough for AAC where MP3 would need 160 kbps for a similar listening experience.
However MP3 is the most compatible of any codec that I know. Even Windows 95, which is now 25 years old, could natively play MP3 whilst the very first version of AAC cames two years later.