CONVERT Y4M → 3GP (Y4M to 3GP)
Fast, secure Y4M to 3GP conversion. No registration required.
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HOW TO CONVERT Y4M → 3GP
Drop the video file
Select a Y4M file. We read the container and stream descriptors to plan the conversion.
FFmpeg handles the repackage
When codecs align, FFmpeg rewraps the existing streams into a 3GP container — no quality loss, near-instant finish.
Retrieve the 3GP
The 3GP download is ready in seconds for stream-copy jobs, minutes for full transcodes.
Here is the short version — Y4M is a video container, so playback depends on the codec inside as well as the wrapper itself. Hence the need for 3GP. If you need a 3GP version of a Y4M clip for a social platform, a stock site or a CMS upload widget, this tool handles the job without re-rendering anything when it does not have to. The output is the same pixel data in a container the destination actually accepts. A quick refresher — Y4M is a video container, so playback depends on the codec inside as well as the wrapper itself. By contrast, 3GP is the mobile video container standardised by 3GPP for early smartphones.
Why convert Y4M to 3GP
Sending Y4M to someone on a non-matching operating system frequently leads to "file cannot be opened". 3GP avoids that by sitting in the middle of everyone's compatibility list. The repackage runs quickly and without generational loss when codecs already align.
Y4M vs 3GP — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
Y4M
- MIME type
- video/x-yuv4mpeg2
- Extension
- .y4m
- Pixel format
- YUV 4:2:0, 4:2:2, 4:4:4
- Header
- ASCII single line
- MIME Type
- video/x-raw-yuv
- Category
- Video Files
- Full Name
- YUV4MPEG2
- Conversion Engine
- FFMPEG
3GP
- Extension
- .3gp
- MIME Type
- video/3gpp
- Category
- Video Files
- Full Name
- 3GPP Video
- Conversion Engine
- FFMPEG
- MIME types
- video/3gpp, video/3gpp2
- Extensions
- .3gp, .3g2
- Container
- MPEG-4 Part 14 subset
- Video codecs
- H.263, MPEG-4 SP, H.264
- Audio codecs
- AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC
| Specification | Y4M | 3GP |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | video/x-yuv4mpeg2 | — |
| Extension | .y4m | .3gp |
| Pixel format | YUV 4:2:0, 4:2:2, 4:4:4 | — |
| Header | ASCII single line | — |
| MIME Type | video/x-raw-yuv | video/3gpp |
| Category | Video Files | Video Files |
| Full Name | YUV4MPEG2 | 3GPP Video |
| Conversion Engine | FFMPEG | FFMPEG |
| MIME types | — | video/3gpp, video/3gpp2 |
| Extensions | — | .3gp, .3g2 |
| Container | — | MPEG-4 Part 14 subset |
| Video codecs | — | H.263, MPEG-4 SP, H.264 |
| Audio codecs | — | AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC |
Y4M vs 3GP — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
Y4M Strengths
- Uncompressed raw YUV — codec benchmark truth.
- Dead-simple header.
- Universal codec development support.
Limitations
- Enormous file sizes.
- Development-only — not for consumption.
- No metadata beyond basic stream params.
3GP Strengths
- Extremely low bitrate and file size — great for 2G/3G networks.
- Universal playback in feature phones and early smartphones.
- Based on MP4 — easy to convert and handle with modern tools.
- Mandatory codec in every 3G device since 2001.
Limitations
- Tiny resolutions — rarely above 320×240 in practice.
- H.263 video is far behind H.264 in compression efficiency.
- Metadata support is minimal.
Quality & Compatibility
Resolution, frame rate and colour space are preserved end-to-end. If the 3GP container does not support some Y4M features (chapters, multiple subtitle tracks, DRM-protected streams), those are flattened or dropped with a warning. Hard-coded subtitles in the video frames always survive.
Tips for Best Results
- Embedded subtitle tracks convert between Y4M and 3GP when both containers support the same subtitle codec; otherwise burn the subtitles into the video first.
- For portrait (9:16) clips, make sure the 3GP encoder preserves the correct display aspect ratio — some players default to 16:9 if SAR is ambiguous.
- Long recordings (over an hour) benefit from chapter metadata; 3GP may not preserve Y4M chapters — check before relying on them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only when it has to. If the codecs inside Y4M (usually H.264 or H.265 for video, AAC for audio) are accepted by 3GP, we stream-copy — the bytes are repackaged into the new container with zero re-encoding and no quality loss. When the source uses a codec the target does not support, we transcode at a matching bitrate to keep the visual quality close to the original.
With stream copy, expect the job to finish in seconds to tens of seconds regardless of video length — the work is mostly rewriting the container. Transcoding is slower (roughly real-time: a ten-minute clip takes about ten minutes) because every frame must be decoded and re-encoded. The progress bar shows which mode applies.
Yes. Resolution, frame rate, colour space and bit depth are preserved by default; stream copy is literally bit-identical on these parameters. If you explicitly pick a lower bitrate or a different codec in Advanced, the output is rebuilt to those settings, but the default is always "match the source".
YUV4MPEG2
Source formatYUV4MPEG2 (Y4M) is a simple uncompressed video format that stores raw YUV pixel data with a minimal header. It is widely used as an intermediate format for video processing and quality benchmarking where no compression artifacts are acceptable.
3GPP Video
Target format3GP is a multimedia container designed for 3G mobile phones. It stores video and audio at low bitrates optimized for limited bandwidth. Many early mobile phone recordings use this format.
Going the other way? Convert 3GP back to Y4M with the same engine.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send 3GP files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for Y4M.
Embed in documents
Drop 3GP output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
3GP often produces smaller files than Y4M for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
Y4M vs 3GP — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
- 10 sec 1080p Y4M ~600 MB
- 1 min 4K Y4M ~14 GB
- 1-min MMS video (176×144) 300-800 KB
- 5-min phone clip (320×240) 5-15 MB
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Related comparisons
See these formats side by side to understand which fits your use case best.
Related Guides
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