Ask LH: How Can I Merge Multiple Video Files?


Dear Lifehacker, I was hoping you could help me with a problem I’ve had for a little while now. I have a couple of movies and video files (your standard .AVI, .MP4, .MKV) that are split into two separate files. Obviously doing so makes the files easier to transport, but it plays havoc with my media library, and I’d love a quick and easy way to merge the files into one. I’m using a Mac, I’ve been looking for ages, but surely there’s a free option to do this, right? Thanks, Splitting Up

Movie File picture from Shutterstock

Dear SU,
Have you tried combining the video files in QuickTime? To do this, open Part 1 of the movie in QuickTime and move the scrubber/scroll bar to where the video ends. Then drag and drop the ‘Part 2’ file into the nominated position. To finish, simply close the QuickTime window and save when prompted — your combined movie file should then be good to go.

Alternatively, there are a number of free video conversion tools for MacOS that will also do the trick. VIDEOtoolbox is a suite of three free applications for MKV, AVI and MP4 files. Download the required app and select the ‘join’ option under Tools. Another popular option is mpeg streamclip available for both Mac and Windows. In addition to MPEG, it also supports the following file formats: VOB, PS, M2P, MOD, VRO, DAT, MOV, DV, AVI, MP4, TS, M2T, MMV, REC, VID, AVR, M2V, M1V, MPV, AIFF, M1A, MP2, MPA and AC3.

Does anyone else have a solution that they swear by? Share your tips in the comments section below.

Cheers
Lifehacker

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