Video to WebM Converter

A simple, easy-to-use GUI application for converting video files (AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, etc.) to WebM format.

Features

• Clean GUI Interface - Easy to use graphical interface
• Simple File Selection - Click to browse and select video files
• Quality Control - Adjustable quality settings (CRF 20-40)
• Codec Selection - Choose between VP9 (better compression) or VP8 (faster)
• Progress Indicator - See conversion progress in real-time
• File Size Comparison - Compare original and converted file sizes
• Local Processing - Everything runs on your computer, no uploads
• Cross-Platform - Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Screenshots

Installation

Prerequisites

This project has no pip packages — see requirements.txt for details. You only need to install the following system-level dependencies:

1. Python 3.6 or higher

   • Check version: python3 --version
   • Download from: https://www.python.org/downloads/

2. FFmpeg (required for video conversion)

   Ubuntu/Debian:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install ffmpeg

   macOS:

   brew install ffmpeg

   Windows:

   • Download from: https://ffmpeg.org/download.html
   • Or use Chocolatey: choco install ffmpeg
   • Make sure FFmpeg is added to your system PATH

3. Tkinter (usually included with Python)

   If you get an error about tkinter, install it:

   Ubuntu/Debian:

   sudo apt-get install python3-tk

   Fedora:

   sudo dnf install python3-tkinter

   macOS/Windows: Already included with Python

Quick Start

No pip installation needed! Just run:

python3 video-converter-gui.py

Or on Windows:

python video-converter-gui.py

Windows shortcut: A WebM Converter.bat file is included in the src/ folder. Double-clicking it will launch the application directly without opening a terminal window — no command line required.

Usage

1. Launch the application

   python3 video-converter-gui.py

2. Select a video file

   • Click anywhere in the file selection area
   • Or click the "Browse Files" button
   • Choose your video file (MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV, etc.)

3. Adjust settings (optional)

   • Quality Slider: Lower CRF = higher quality (larger file)
     • CRF 20-25: High quality
     • CRF 26-32: Medium quality (recommended)
     • CRF 33-40: Lower quality (smaller file)
   • Codec:
     • VP9: Better compression, smaller files (recommended)
     • VP8: Faster encoding, larger files

4. Convert

   • Click "Convert to WebM"
   • Choose where to save the output file
   • Wait for conversion to complete
   • Download/use your WebM file!

Supported Input Formats

• MP4 (.mp4, .m4v)
• AVI (.avi)
• MKV (.mkv)
• MOV (.mov)
• FLV (.flv)
• WMV (.wmv)
• And many more video formats supported by FFmpeg

Understanding Quality Settings

CRF (Constant Rate Factor)

• Lower values (20-25) = Higher quality, larger file size
• Medium values (26-32) = Balanced quality and size (recommended)
• Higher values (33-40) = Lower quality, smaller file size

Codec Comparison

Feature	VP9	VP8
Compression	Better	Good
File Size	Smaller	Larger
Encoding Speed	Slower	Faster
Quality	Better	Good
Recommended	Yes	For quick conversions

Troubleshooting

"FFmpeg Not Found" Error

The application checks for FFmpeg on startup. If you see this error:

1. Make sure FFmpeg is installed
2. Verify it's in your system PATH:

   ffmpeg -version

3. If the command above doesn't work, reinstall FFmpeg and ensure it's added to PATH

"Conversion Failed" Error

• Check that the input file is a valid video
• Ensure you have write permissions for the output location
• Check the console/terminal for detailed error messages
• Try a different quality setting or codec

Tkinter Not Found

If you get "No module named tkinter":

• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install python3-tk
• Fedora: sudo dnf install python3-tkinter
• Windows/macOS: Reinstall Python from python.org

Slow Conversion

VP9 encoding can be slow, especially for:

• Large video files
• High resolution videos (4K, 1080p)
• Lower CRF values (higher quality)

Solutions:

• Use VP8 codec for faster encoding
• Increase CRF value (lower quality, faster encoding)
• Be patient - quality encoding takes time!

FAQ

Q: Is my video uploaded anywhere?
A: No! Everything happens locally on your computer. Your videos never leave your machine.

Q: What's WebM and why use it?
A: WebM is an open, royalty-free video format designed for the web. It offers:

• Excellent compression (smaller file sizes)
• High quality
• Wide browser support
• Open source and free

Q: Can I convert multiple files at once?
A: Currently, the app converts one file at a time. You can convert another file immediately after finishing one.

Q: How long does conversion take?
A: Depends on:

• File size and resolution
• Codec choice (VP8 is faster)
• Quality settings (higher CRF is faster)
• Your computer's CPU

Typical times: 1-5 minutes for a 100MB video on modern hardware.

Q: Can I cancel a conversion?
A: Not in the current version. You can close the application, but this may leave an incomplete output file.

Technical Details

Built With

• Python 3 - Core language
• Tkinter - GUI framework (included with Python)
• FFmpeg - Video conversion engine

How It Works

1. User selects input video file
2. Application spawns FFmpeg subprocess with specified parameters
3. FFmpeg converts video to WebM format
4. Progress is displayed in the GUI
5. Upon completion, output file is ready to use

FFmpeg Command

The application runs FFmpeg with these parameters:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -c:v libvpx-vp9 \
  -crf 30 \
  -b:v 0 \
  -c:a libopus \
  -b:a 128k \
  -vf scale=trunc(iw/2)*2:trunc(ih/2)*2 \
  -y output.webm

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for the full text.

Contributing

Found a bug? Have a feature request? Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request!

Credits

• Uses FFmpeg for video conversion
• Built with Python's tkinter library

Support

If you encounter issues:

1. Check the Troubleshooting section
2. Ensure FFmpeg is properly installed
3. Verify your Python version is 3.6+
4. Check that input video is valid and not corrupted

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