We know that WhatsApp only allows 30 seconds video in status message and if we need to put a video of more than 30 seconds, we need to select that file again and move the bar past first 30 seconds, to upload the rest. But, what if the video is of 3 minutes and we need to select 30-second parts for 10 times? Time consuming and you may not be able to accurately select the 30-second parts.
Yesterday, I checked a popular app in Google Play Store to split the video into 30-second clips, but after uploading the clips, I wasn’t able to play them and also others. It was a failure. So, I started exploring things to cut the video in the PC and ended up with the following short ffmpeg command, which did the work nicely at a blazing fast speed (5MB file in a few seconds). I then copied them onto my mobile and uploaded in WhatsApp status.
Command:
ffmpeg -i FileName.mp4 -acodec copy -f segment -segment_time 30 -vcodec copy -reset_timestamps 1 -map 0 FileName%d.mp4
Change the FileName to your file’s name and .mp4 extension to your file’s extension, i.e., flv, avi, etc. You can change the value 30 in “-segment_time 30” to split the videos into any seconds or minutes you want. It might be useful in other situations.
If you aren’t aware what ffmpeg is, it’s a free command line tool to record, convert, edit and stream audio and video files. You can get it here: https://www.ffmpeg.org/
It’s a standalone one and if you want to integrate it into the command line, you need to do the following. Following applies to Windows systems only.
Get the 32 or 64 bit version here https://ffmpeg.zeranoe.com/builds/, extract the files into a directory, say ffmpeg, and place it in the C:\Program Files directory. If you are a Windows 10 user, then in search type “system variables” and click the item “Edit the system environment variables”
At the bottom right corner, click the button that reads “Environment Variables.” It pops up a window with two sections named User Variables and System Variables. in the “System Variables” section, double click “path”
Then, click “New” and enter this: C:\Program Files\ffmpeg\bin
That’s all. Now go to command line window and type “ffmpeg” and you will be welcomed with a brief configuration of ffmpeg.
If you are on a PC that has older version of Windows, then right click on “My Computer” and then select:
Properties > Advanced System Settings > Advanced tab > Environment Variables
In Windows 7, all the variables are listed in a single string separated by a semicolon. Simply go the the end of the string, type a semicolon (;), then paste C:\Program Files\ffmpeg\bin
exelente thanks