How to convert audio and video files

macOS comes with built-in media encoding functionality that lets you convert video to audio right in the Finder. There's a similar feature in QuickTime, too. The downside is it's fairly limited in that you can't pick what the resulting audio file will be, because it generates an M4A track by default.

While M4A works well for iTunes, you might want a little more control over the audio format you're getting. The most common scenario is converting video to MP3, and that's where Mac's built-in converter falls flat. Fortunately, there's a whole range of third-party apps that do the job. Our all-time favorite is Permute: it lets you convert just about any video to just about any audio with a simple drag-and-drop. Plus, it has iPhone ringtone as one of the options, so if you absolutely insist on a custom ringtone, you can finally have it without going through the quest of generating it in iTunes.

Anyway, here's how to convert MP4 to MP3, for example:

1. Open media converter and drag-and-drop the video file into the app.
2. Pick MP3 in the drop-down menu in the upper right corner.
3. Hit Start.

Permute is super fast, so you should have your audio in the same folder as the video file in no time. Go ahead and feed it some of your movies to see how well it works (you can try Permute converter free of charge for a week when you join Setapp, a subscription for Mac apps.)

Luckily, Permute has your back here as well. It can convert a video or audio file to a different format the same way it turns video into audio. In case you skipped the previous section, this is how you can convert music and movies with this media converter:

1. Open an app and drag-and-drop your file into it.
2. Select the resulting file format in the upper right corner.
3. Click Start.

Permute supports a few dozen video formats and over 10 for audio, which means it can handle pretty much any media file you throw at it. And by the way, if you're unsure which format you need in the end because all you want is for the file to open on your iPhone or Apple TV, Permute has you covered. You just pick "Apple TV" or "iPhone" as the resulting format and the app will figure out the rest. Long story short, make sure you give it a try, because a media converter simply doesn't get better than this.

In case you're just looking for a way to open a video with an uncommon extension, a more advanced player like Elmedia Player can be enough. It supports an impressive array of video and audio formats, so if your file can be played Elmedia will probably play it. Both Elmedia Player and Permute are free to try on Setapp, a subscription service with some 100+ Mac apps and a free trial week. After signing up, you'll get access to all the apps right away.