This tutorial was meant to teach you how to convert HD .mov trailers to .mp4, so they could be played on Sony’s PlayStation 3. In addition, a guide for converting trailers into iPhone/iPod touch compatible format has been added under the QuickTime Pro section.

There are multiple ways to convert the trailers you download, but I’m going to show you two ways.

Yamb

The first way would to be to download and install Yamb (Make sure to download version 2.0.0.8 w/ installer. Mirror). Yamb is a GUI freeware converter based on the command line tool, MP4Box.

After launching Yamb, the program should open up with the Creation section selected. From there, double-click on Click to create an MP4 file with multiple audio, video, subtitle and chapters streams.

Yamb - Action Selector

This will bring you to the MP4 File Creation screen. Hit the Add button and open the .mov trailer you have downloaded. Yamb will read the file and list the description for the audio and video codecs of the trailer in the Input box. Select the location where you want to save the file by hitting the Browse button. Before continuing, make sure that both the boxes have checks in them.

Yamb - MP4 Creation Screen

Hitting Next will begin the conversion process. This should only take a few seconds, but will vary by your CPU.

Yamb - Running Process

Hit the Finish button and select No to exit Yamb; select Yes to begin another conversion.

From here, the .mp4 file can be copied to a USB flash drive or burned to a CD/DVD; from there it can be copied over to the PS3’s HDD.

QuickTime Pro

The second way is to use QuickTime. QuickTime is the video player created by Apple Inc. Although QuickTime is free, to use the exporting feature requires QuickTime Pro, which is $29. If you don’t have QuickTime Pro, please use the first part of the tutorial, which explains how to use a freeware to convert the trailers.

QuickTime Pro

First, you would want to open up the trailer with QuickTime. From there, hit File, then Export… This will bring up the Export window. Enter the File Name you wish to save the trailer as. In the drop-down list under Export select Movie to MPEG-4.

QuickTime Pro - Save exported file as

Now hit the Options button, which will bring up the MPEG-4 Export Settings screen.

In the File Format drop-down list, select MP4. In the next drop-down list, select Video. Under Video Format, select Pass Through. All other settings below should gray out after selecting Pass Through.

QuickTime Pro - MPEG-4 Export Settings

Hit OK, and then Save to begin the Export process. This should only take a few seconds, but will vary by your CPU.

QuickTime Pro - Export Progress

From here, the .mp4 file can be copied to a USB flash drive or burned to a CD/DVD; from there it can be copied over to the PS3’s HDD.

iPhone/iPod touch

It’s also possible to convert HD trailers for playability on Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch using QuickTime. To do this, simply select Movie to iPhone under the Export drop-down list after navigating to File > Export. The Options button should become grayed out. Hit the Save button and the trailer will convert, creating a M4V file.

From here, transfer the M4V file into iTunes and sync your iPhone/iPod touch. Now you can enjoy trailers on-the-go!

Note: It doesn’t matter if you use the 480p, 720p, or 1080p version of a trailer/clip… the result will be the same (quality, resolution, etc…)

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