F4V to OGV converter
Convert F4V to OGV in seconds, free and unlimited. No upload, no sign-up, no watermark: your video never leaves your device.
Last updated
Quick answer: To convert F4V to OGV, add the F4V file to the iHateFiles F4V to OGV converter and press Convert. The conversion runs in your browser, so the file is never uploaded, and it is free with no sign-up, watermark or size limit. F4V is a format most software has stopped opening. OGV is not.
Should you convert F4V to OGV?
Yes. F4V is a format most current software no longer opens, so converting it is the reliable way to keep watching it. OGV is a reasonable target; MP4 is the safest.
The picture is re-encoded
An F4V usually holds H.264 video with AAC sound in a Flash wrapper. This writes Theora video with Vorbis sound into the OGV. Both sides are compressed with loss, so this is a second generation: leave the quality at its default or higher, because the encoder is working from F4V artefacts rather than the original.
Expect a larger OGV
OGV uses Theora video, an older and less efficient codec than an F4V normally holds. Matching the look takes more bytes, so the file grows. Do it for compatibility with whatever needs OGV, not to save space.
Where the OGV will play
OGV plays on Firefox, Chrome and VLC, but not Safari or most phones.
F4V and OGV side by side
| F4V | OGV | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the file | H.264 video with AAC sound in a Flash wrapper | Theora video with Vorbis sound |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossy |
| Carries sound | Yes | Yes |
| Plays on | Needs converting first | Firefox, Chrome and VLC, but not Safari or most phones |
| Here | Read only | Read and write |
What usually goes wrong
About the F4V. Renaming .f4v to .mp4 very often just works, because it already is one.
About the OGV. At the same file size Theora looks clearly worse than H.264, so re-encoding an old OGV will not recover detail that was never captured.
How to convert F4V to OGV
- Add your F4V file. It is read from your disk and stays there.
- Check the settings. The output format is already set to OGV.
- Press convert and the OGV file is saved back to your device.
Questions
How do I convert F4V to OGV?
Open this page, add your F4V file, and press convert. The file is decoded and re-encoded by your own browser and saved back to your device. Nothing is uploaded.
Is this F4V to OGV converter free?
Yes, completely. There is no account, no sign-in, no watermark and no daily limit, because there is no server doing the work. Your own device does it.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. There is no upload endpoint. The conversion runs inside this browser tab, so your file never leaves your device. You can open your browser's network panel and watch: nothing carrying your file is sent.
Is there a file size limit?
No fixed limit. Because the work happens on your machine there is no server quota. The only ceiling is your own device's memory, which for video means very large files may be slow.
Will converting to OGV lose quality?
OGV is a lossy format, so some detail is discarded. The quality control on this page decides how much. The default is set high enough that most people cannot see the difference.
Can I convert several F4V files at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like and they are converted one after another, then offered as a single ZIP.