Get the sound from a video
Published · Updated 2 min read
Getting the sound from a video is useful in many cases: keeping an interview without the picture, listening to a lecture while walking, keeping the music of a performance, or reusing a voice in another edit. The tool pulls the audio track out of the video in the format and quality you choose, and the original video stays untouched.
Choose the format
Four formats are offered. MP3 is the most widespread: it plays everywhere, on a phone, a computer or a car, and stays light. AAC is a close relative, a little more efficient at equal quality, very common on recent devices. OGG is a free format appreciated on the web and in some games. WAV compresses nothing: the sound keeps its full quality but the file becomes much bigger. You choose it to rework the sound in editing software, not to send it by email.
Understand the bitrate
The bitrate, expressed in k (kilobits per second), tells how much information is kept for each second of sound. The higher it is, the more faithful the sound and the heavier the file. Five values are offered, from 96 k to 320 k. For a voice, 96 k or 128 k are more than enough. For music, 192 k is a good compromise, and 320 k comes close to the maximum quality of MP3. As an order of magnitude, for a 20-second video, MP3 at 128 k weighs about 300 KB and MP3 at 320 k about 800 KB, two and a half times more. In WAV, the same duration exceeds 1.5 MB.
When the video has no sound
Some videos have no audio track: a screen capture, an animation, a recording made with the microphone off. The tool then produces no file and warns you that the video may contain no audio track. Nothing is damaged: the video is simply silent.
What it is used for
Keeping an interview without the picture, listening during a trip to a lecture or podcast recorded as video, reusing a voice in an edit, or giving a light file to someone who does not need the picture: the sound alone weighs far less than a video.
Check the result
Listen to the start and the end of the file you get, then compare its length with the video's: they should match. Keep the original video until you have checked the sound.
To change the format of the sound afterwards, see Convert audio.
Frequently asked questions
- Which format should you choose to get the sound from a video?
- MP3 plays everywhere and stays light, so it is the simplest choice. AAC gives similar quality for a slightly lower weight. WAV keeps everything but weighs much more.
- Which bitrate should you choose?
- For a voice, 96 k or 128 k are enough. For music, 192 k is a good compromise, and 320 k comes close to the maximum quality of MP3.
- Is the original video modified?
- No. The tool creates a new audio file and the video stays intact.
- Why is no file produced?
- The video probably contains no audio track, for example a screen capture made without a microphone. The tool tells you so.