Share a recording where only video is allowed
WAV files are what you get from a studio session, a field recorder or a music program, and they are too big and too unusual for most sharing services. Video platforms and social apps will not accept them at all. Converting WAV to MP4 solves both problems at once: the MP4 holds your audio and a picture, uploads anywhere video is welcome, and is much smaller than the WAV.
Musicians use this to publish a new mix on YouTube, producers post a short preview on Instagram, sound designers show their field recordings, and podcasters put episodes on video platforms to reach more listeners.
Visual options
- An image of your choice, such as cover art, a photo of the recording location, or a logo.
- A plain background colour for a calm, simple look.
- A gradient if you have no picture ready.
- An animated waveform or frequency spectrum that moves with the sound, which keeps viewers watching.
Sizes and where to use them
| Option | Resolution | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 1920 x 1080 | YouTube, Vimeo, desktop viewing |
| 720p | 1280 x 720 | quick renders, messaging apps |
| Square | 1080 x 1080 | Instagram and Facebook posts |
| Vertical | 1080 x 1920 | Shorts, Reels, TikTok, stories |
Audio quality inside the video
MP4 files carry their sound as AAC, so the WAV is encoded once into AAC during rendering. Starting from uncompressed WAV gives the cleanest possible result, much better than making a video from an MP3. The size drops sharply too: a five-minute WAV of about 53 MB becomes a video of roughly 6 to 10 MB with a still image. Video sites will compress the audio again after upload, which is another reason to start from the best source.
Rendering runs in your browser, which takes time for long files. Choose 720p and a still image for the fastest result. Before converting, trim the start and end in the audio editor and set a good level with normalize. For more layout ideas, see audio to video.