Increase the Volume of MP4 and Other Video Formats in One Minute

Sometimes when playing local videos (such as MP4, AVI, MKV and other format files) on a computer, we find the volume is particularly low and almost inaudible, even with both the player and system volume turned to the maximum.

This is because the video editor didn't adjust the volume to an appropriate level during production.

Is there a way to increase the video's own volume to an appropriate level so it can be easily played without adjusting the system volume?

Using video editing software like Adobe Premiere or CapCut? It seems unnecessary to go to such lengths for just a volume issue.

There are some online tools that can adjust the volume of videos. Using these tools requires uploading the video file, adjusting it, and then downloading it back to your computer. If you're only dealing with a few small files, this isn't too troublesome. However, if you need to process many videos or if the files are particularly large, the upload and download process can be time-consuming and consume a lot of bandwidth. Not to mention the risk of privacy leaks.

Recently, I encountered the same low volume issue while watching a set of course videos, but I solved it in just one minute. Here, I’ll share my method with you. By using ffmpeg, a lightweight local software, you can adjust the video volume with just one command.

Install ffmpeg

ffmpeg is a powerful, open-source software for recording, converting, and streaming audio and video. It supports multiple platforms.

For Windows, here is the latest release of ffmpeg essentials.

You can find other versions and platforms on the official ffmpeg download page.

The downloaded file will be a compressed package. Extract it to your specified path, such as C:\Program Files\ffmpeg\, to complete the installation.

Use ffmpeg to Increase Video Volume

In the file manager, locate the video file you want to modify. Right-click in the blank area of the folder containing the file and select "Open in Terminal".

Then enter the command:

"C:\Program Files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i "input.mp4" -af volume=12dB -vcodec copy "output.mp4"

Explanation of the command:

• "C:\Program Files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe"
  This part specifies the path to the ffmpeg.exe file. Adjust this to the correct path based on where you extracted ffmpeg.

• -i "input.mp4"
  This part indicates the input file. Replace input.mp4 with the video file you want to modify.

• -af volume=12dB
  This part controls the volume adjustment parameter. 12dB means increasing the volume by 12 decibels. You can adjust this according to your needs. If the volume parameter is set to a number, it represents the volume multiplier. For example, volume=2 will double the original volume.

• -vcodec copy
  This part means not to change the encoding of the video stream. Since we are only modifying the audio stream, the video stream remains unchanged.

• "output.mp4"
  This part specifies the output file name. Generally, keep the file extension the same as the input file. In this example, both are in mp4 format.

Execute the command, and the program will start processing. The entire process is done locally, so it's fast and doesn't involve network transfer. After a short wait, you'll have the edited video file.

Now, play the new video and check if the volume is satisfactory.

More Features Await You

ffmpeg is a very flexible audio and video editing tool capable of handling tasks like format conversion and audio-video mixing.

If you’re interested in other features, you can search for more information online or read the ffmpeg documentation.