Why muting takes seconds here
A video file holds the picture and the sound as separate streams inside one container. To remove the sound, nothing about the picture needs to change: the tool simply writes a new file containing the picture stream and leaves the sound out. With the default Same as the original format, the picture is copied byte for byte, so even a long clip is done in about the time it takes to read the file, and the quality is exactly what you started with.
Some tools re-encode the whole video when you mute it, which is slow, softens the picture and often changes the format without asking. Copying avoids all of that.
When to pick MP4 or WebM instead
Keeping the original format is right most of the time. Choose a different one when the silent video has to play somewhere the original does not:
- MP4 (H.264): plays on every iPhone, Android phone, Windows PC, Mac and website. Pick this for an iPhone HEVC video going to a Windows PC or an older TV, or for an MKV or AVI file. If the picture is not already H.264 it is re-encoded, which takes roughly as long as the video plays on a computer, and longer on a phone.
- WebM: for websites that ask for it. VP8 and VP9 video is copied; anything else is re-encoded to VP8.
If you want to convert as well as mute, the video converter has the same "Video only" option alongside its other choices.
Common reasons to mute a video
- Background chatter, traffic or wind noise that spoils an otherwise good clip.
- Music you do not have the rights to, before posting a video publicly.
- A private conversation that was picked up while filming.
- A product or property clip for a website, where silent video looks cleaner and plays automatically.
- Preparing a clip to add your own music or voice-over in an editing app.
What stays and what goes
The picture, resolution, frame rate and rotation all stay exactly as they were. Every sound track is removed. Details stored by the phone, such as where and when the video was filmed, are not copied, which is sensible before sharing. Your original file is never changed, so you can always go back to it.
Want the opposite, just the sound? Use video to MP3. Need it shorter as well? Cut it with the video trimmer, which can also drop the sound while it cuts. Too big to send? The video compressor fits it under a size you choose.
The engine behind this tool
Video and sound are processed by FFmpeg, the open-source engine behind most of the world's video software, compiled to run inside your browser as ffmpeg.wasm. It is downloaded from this site (about 31 MB) the first time you use a video or audio tool, and your browser keeps it for next time. FFmpeg and ffmpeg.wasm are free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2 or later; their source code is at github.com/ffmpegwasm/ffmpeg.wasm.