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Need help?How to Convert Images to Video Online
- Upload Your Images: Click "+ Add Files" or drag images onto the page. xconvert accepts 35+ input formats including JPG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, AVIF, TIFF, BMP, GIF, PSD, and RAW camera files (Canon CR2/CR3, Nikon NEF, Sony ARW, Adobe DNG, Fujifilm RAF, Olympus ORF). Drop a whole folder to load hundreds of frames in one shot.
- Pick Output Format and Codec: Choose a container (MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, AVI, MPEG, TS/M2TS, WMV, OGV, FLV, 3GP). MP4 with H.264 is the universal default; pick H.265/HEVC for ~30-50% smaller files at the same quality, VP9 or AV1 for royalty-free web delivery, or MJPEG/lossless for archival masters.
- Set Duration, Merge Mode, and Background: Use the "Duration" dropdown to choose how long each image displays (1/60 second up to 10 seconds per frame — that's a 60 fps timelapse at the low end down to a 0.1 fps slow slideshow). Toggle "Merge images" to stitch every upload into one video, or "Video per image" to export one clip per photo. Set "Background Color" (black/white/custom) for letterboxing when aspect ratios don't match, and pick a resolution preset (1920x1080, 1080x1920 for Reels/TikTok/Shorts, 3840x2160 for 4K) or enter custom Width x Height.
- Choose Compression and Convert: Pick "Quality Preset" (Very High recommended) for the fastest path, "Constant Quality" to target a specific CRF (lower = better; 18-23 is visually lossless for H.264), or "Constraint Quality" to cap file size. Click Convert. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared.
Why Convert Images to Video?
Social platforms now treat video as a first-class content type — Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Facebook Reels all use the same 9:16 vertical format at 1080x1920, and algorithms surface video far more aggressively than static carousels. Stitching photos into a video gets your photography in front of more eyes, lets you add motion and music, and unlocks features (looping, autoplay, sound) that static images don't support.
- Social slideshows for Reels, TikTok, Shorts — One vertical 1080x1920 export plays on all three platforms without re-editing. Drop 30 photos at 1.5 seconds each and you have a 45-second Reel ready to upload.
- Timelapse from interval-shot photos — Trigger a DSLR or Insta360 every few seconds, then stitch the frames at 1/24 or 1/30 second per frame for cinematic 24/30 fps timelapse. xconvert reads RAW directly so you skip the JPEG export step in Lightroom or Camera RAW.
- Real-estate and product walkthroughs — Convert a Matterport-style photo sequence into an MP4 you can email or embed without forcing buyers to install a viewer.
- Photography portfolio reels — Export an MP4 or MOV slideshow for client delivery, conference loops, or trade-show booths where a player without a slideshow app needs to run unattended.
- Wedding and event highlight reels — Combine engagement-shoot photos into a pre-ceremony screen loop, or assemble guest snapshots from a shared album into a single recap video.
- Animation and stop-motion — Render a frame-by-frame animation by setting Duration to 1/24 second (24 fps cinema) or 1/12 second (12 fps for a hand-drawn feel) and merging in order.
Output Container Comparison
| Container | Default Codec | Best For | Browser Playback |
|---|---|---|---|
| MP4 | H.264 / H.265 | Universal — social, mobile, web, email | All browsers (H.264); HEVC has Safari 11+ full support, Chrome 107+ / Edge / Firefox 137+ partial (GPU-dependent) 1 |
| MOV | H.264 / H.265 | Final Cut Pro, iMovie, QuickTime | Safari natively; others depend on codec |
| WebM | VP9 / AV1 | HTML5 video, royalty-free web | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera; Safari 14.1+ for VP9, 16.4+ for AV1 |
| MKV | H.264 / H.265 / AV1 | Archival, multiple audio/subtitle tracks | Limited browser support; great for VLC / desktop players |
| AVI | Xvid / MPEG-4 | Legacy Windows editors, older DVD pipelines | Not natively supported in modern browsers |
| MPEG / TS / M2TS | MPEG-2 | DVD authoring, broadcast workflows, AVCHD-style cameras | Specialty / desktop only |
| WMV | WMV1 / WMV2 | Legacy Windows Media playback | IE / Windows Media Player; modern browsers no |
| OGV | Theora / VP8 | Wikipedia, fully royalty-free distribution | None by default — Chrome and Firefox both dropped Theora; never Safari |
Codec & Duration Quick Guide
| Setting | Choose For | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| H.264 | Maximum compatibility — every device made since ~2010 plays it | Larger files than H.265/AV1 at equal quality |
| H.265 / HEVC | ~25-50% smaller than H.264 at the same quality; modern Apple/Android default | Decoding needs hardware support on Windows; older Intel HD GPUs may fail silently 1 |
| AV1 | Best compression for web; royalty-free | Slower to encode; playback needs Chrome 70+, Firefox 67+, Edge 75+, Safari 17.4+ |
| VP9 | Royalty-free WebM, used by YouTube | Not natively played in Safari before 14.1 |
| MJPEG / Lossless | Frame-perfect archival or editing intermediate | Massive file sizes (10-20× H.264) |
| Duration 1/30 sec | 30 fps timelapse (city traffic, weather) | Need ~300 photos per 10 seconds of video |
| Duration 1/24 sec | 24 fps cinematic timelapse | Need ~240 photos per 10 seconds |
| Duration 2-3 sec | Standard photo slideshow pacing | Allows time to read captions or absorb each image |
| Duration 5-10 sec | Kiosk loop, presentation slides | Long enough for narration or detailed inspection |
| CRF 18 | Visually lossless H.264/H.265 | Larger file; recommended for source masters |
| CRF 23 | Default — high quality, reasonable size | Good balance for web upload |
| CRF 28-30 | Smaller file for messaging / email | Visible compression artifacts on flat areas |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my video play back too fast or too slow?
The "Duration" setting controls seconds per frame, not frames per second. If you want a 24 fps timelapse, pick "1/24 second" per frame (each photo shows for ~0.042 seconds). If you want a leisurely slideshow, pick 3-5 seconds per frame. A common mistake is leaving the default 5-second duration on a 600-photo timelapse — that produces a 50-minute video instead of the 20-second clip you expected.
Can I use RAW camera files directly, or do I need to export JPEGs first?
Drop RAW files in directly. xconvert reads Canon CR2/CR3, Nikon NEF, Sony ARW, Adobe DNG, Fujifilm RAF, Olympus ORF, Panasonic RW2, Pentax PEF, and Sigma X3F. This skips the round-trip through Lightroom or Camera RAW when you just need a quick timelapse preview. For color-graded output, export to TIFF or 16-bit PNG from your RAW editor first.
Should I pick H.264, H.265, or AV1?
H.264 plays everywhere — phones, smart TVs, ten-year-old laptops, every browser. H.265 (HEVC) cuts file size by roughly 25-50% at the same quality and is the default on modern iPhones, but Safari is the only browser with full HEVC support; Chrome (107+), Edge, and Firefox (137+) have partial support that depends on system GPU decode and can fail silently on older Intel HD Graphics or cloud VMs 1. AV1 has the best compression and is royalty-free, but encoding is slower. For social media uploads, pick H.264 MP4 — the platforms re-encode anyway, and H.264 guarantees the upload won't be rejected.
What resolution should I export for Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts?
All three use 1080x1920 (9:16 vertical) at up to 60 fps. Pick that preset and you have a single file that works everywhere. Keep critical content (text, faces) inside the central 900x1400 safe zone so platform UI chrome — captions, the like button, the username — doesn't cover it. For square posts, use 1080x1080; for traditional widescreen YouTube, 1920x1080.
How many images do I need for a 10-second timelapse?
At 24 fps you need 240 photos, at 30 fps you need 300, and at 60 fps you need 600. The formula is straightforward: frames per second × seconds = total photos. For longer subjects (sunsets, plant growth, construction), set your camera's intervalometer to take a shot every 5-10 seconds for hours, then stitch them at 24-30 fps in one pass here.
My images are different sizes — how does the converter handle that?
Pick a target resolution (or "Keep original" to use the first image's size). Smaller images get letterboxed with the "Background Color" you select (default white) so the video keeps a consistent frame size. Larger images are scaled down. For best results, batch-resize to one resolution first using image resizer, or pre-crop using crop image.
Can I add background music to the video?
This tool focuses on the image-to-video step. To add a soundtrack afterward, export the silent video, then use a desktop video editor (DaVinci Resolve, iMovie, CapCut) to lay music over the video track. Keep music tracks royalty-free if you're posting to YouTube or Reels — platform-side music detection will mute or strike copyrighted audio.
Why is my exported file so much larger than I expected?
A 4K (3840x2160) 30-fps H.264 video at the default CRF can run 50-80 MB per minute. Three things shrink it: drop to 1080p for social (resolution alone cuts size by ~4×), switch to H.265 or AV1 (another 30-50% smaller), or raise CRF from 23 toward 28 (smaller but visibly more compressed). For email or Slack attachments, target 1080p H.264 at CRF 26-28 and you'll comfortably fit under a 25 MB Gmail attachment cap.
Can I make a video from a single image?
Yes — drop one image, set Duration to the length you want (say, 10 seconds), and pick "Merge images." You'll get a static MP4 of that length. Useful for placeholder videos, podcast cover loops, or YouTube uploads where the audio is the focus.