Today, we decided to explore some online video converters that will make the task of downloading videos from Twitter easier. But before we start, let's see what these restrictions are.
What are the restrictions?
Unlike Facebook and Instagram, Twitter doesn't allow you to upload just about any video. One of the most important aspects to note is that the file size cannot exceed 512MB and the duration cannot exceed two minutes and twenty seconds (140 seconds). Additionally, the media file must be in YUV4:2:0 pixel format and must have a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1200 (or 1200 X 1920).
File size cannot exceed 512 MB
The most important rule is that videos must be in MP4 or MOV format when downloading from mobile. This means that if you have files in MKV or AVI formats, you will need to convert them first.
As for downloading from browser, Twitter allows you to download MP4 video file (container) using H264 video codec and AAC audio codec. Read our guide to video and audio codecs.
To note
How to Overcome Twitter's Video Restriction
In this section, we will discuss three online tools to help you with this task. These three lenses have different purposes and you can choose one of them according to your needs.
1. Online Conversion
Online Convert is an all-in-one tool that gives you plenty of options. Not only can you choose files from your PC, but you can also choose files from Dropbox or Google Drive. Moreover, you can also convert your videos to GIF. The most notable feature of this tool is that you can even select the required frame rates for your output file. This comes in handy when you have high resolution content in your hands with high frame rates.
You can also convert your videos to GIF
To use this tool, you just need to download the file. If you're uploading from Google Drive or Dropbox, you'll need to grant permissions first. Next, choose the appropriate frame rates and video presets. Setting to enter start time and end time is optional. With that done, hit the Start Conversion button and the optimized file will be ready in a few minutes.
The good thing about this online conversion is that you can download the video as a zip file, if you need to email it later. Also, you can directly upload to Google Drive and Dropbox.
As we mentioned earlier, Online Convert is a toolkit that deals with almost all Twitter video restrictions.
2. Video cutter
Video Cutter's job is simple: cut videos to a specified length. But even the web version of Twitter lets you do just that. So why go the extra mile?
Well, as not evocative of its name, Video Cutter has some extra features hidden up its sleeves. On the one hand, you can choose the quality of your output file (1080p, 720p and 480p) as well as the file format.
So, if you have an AVI file, you can quickly convert and download it. Moreover, it also allows you to crop your videos to the image format allowed by Twitter.
To note
3. Smaller video
Video Smaller is the tool you should use if you are only looking to reduce your file size. This tool claims to reduce video size with minimal quality loss. Unlike Online Convert, it doesn't have the file conversion feature, so you need to make sure the file you download is in MP4 format.
What it has is a neat scaling tool with which you can resize the video frame width depending on the orientation. Also, if you want it to be without audio, the option to do so is also available.
After converting a file, Video Smaller tells you the compression percentage as well as the output file size. To convert a file, choose the start and end point after uploading, then click Cut. Depending on the size, the background process may take a little time.
Similar to Online Convert, you can choose to save the file to Google Drive or Dropbox for later use.
Everything is ready ?
This is how you can download videos from Twitter without any problem. For videos captured using the phone's camera, this isn't a big deal as the default format is usually MP4 and is usually in the standard 1920 x 1200 resolution. It's not so easy to take videos directly from DSLRs because the resolution and file format may be different.