Those are the days when processing multimedia files using computer systems was available only to companies specializing in this, as well as to the lucky ones who managed to acquire a powerful computer. It's hard to believe, but recently, some Pentium with a frequency of 166 MHz and a set of instructions MMX was considered an excellent solution, capable of working with sound and video stream with acceptable performance. Perhaps, it was then that the question “how to extract sound from a video on a home computer” arose for the first time, and correctly working software solutions were found. More than a dozen years have passed since then, but some of them still cope well with the once-set task.
Training
The first thing that is recommended for any work with the video stream is to pre-install a set of codec libraries.
Relatively speaking, they are tools by which the operating system and programs are able to process the data stream. Pay attention to the K-Lite Codec Pack. This decision contains all the most popular codecs. During installation, you can either independently specify the desired modules, or select the provided "optimal" mode. All versions (basic, advanced) are kept up to date and are completely free.
Virtual Dub: Living Alive
The program first appeared in 2006-2007 and became incredibly popular due to its simple interface, open source, high speed and low consumption of computing resources, as well as the absence of any significant flaws.
All this is largely due to the low-level code used to create the application. The target operating system is Windows of arbitrary bit depth. The last time the update occurred in 2013. Nevertheless, with its help, you can quite successfully extract sound from the video. The program is able to work with the vast majority of modern formats, as it uses not only built-in, but also codecs installed in the system itself. With all the add-ons, it occupies about 50 Mb of disk space; installation is not required. It is impossible to leave her without attention. Perhaps this is the easiest way to extract sound from a video.
After starting, you need to follow the menu header and select "Open video file ...". An explorer window will appear, with which you should point to the desired video located on the drive. The bottom row of buttons allows you to select the beginning and end of the desired fragment, focusing on time stamps. After that, it will remain to open the “File” section and click on “Save WAV Sound ...”. Repacking is not supported in this mode. In this way, you can not only extract sound from MKV video, but also from many other formats, including even exotic ones like flm from Adobe and PVN.
Sony Solution
The next noteworthy program is Sound Forge. Compared to the previous application, it has both advantages and disadvantages. The latter include, in particular, higher requirements for computing power and distribution on a fee basis.
On the other hand, usually there are no problems with how to extract sound from the video, since everything is as automated as possible.
After starting the program, select the "Open" item in the "File" header menu or immediately press the combination Ctrl + O. In the explorer window, you must specify the desired video. After that, you will have to wait until the frequency modulation is performed. The slower the computing system, the longer it will take. Further, everything is simple: the top row shows the storyboard, and the bottom shows the corresponding sound stream. Thanks to the visibility, you can easily determine the desired beginning and end of the future sound fragment. The possibility of selective extraction, as in this case, is not present in all solutions, therefore, when choosing a program, this point must be taken into account.
To select a part of the sound track, you need to hold down the left mouse button and, without releasing it, highlight a fragment with color. After that, press Alt + F2 and select the file type (format), quality in the "settings" section, name. An important point: you can select the right or left channel from the stereo stream. The final confirmation is the “Save” button.
On the Internet
In addition to the above methods, it is possible to extract sound from videos located on remote network servers, and not on the drive of the local computer. Moreover, with increasing speeds of access to Internet resources, it is becoming more popular. For example, everyone at least once wondered “how to extract sound from a video on YouTube.”
In fact, this seemingly insoluble problem is very easily solved. You only need to set up the browser on your computer just once - and you can literally “get” the soundtrack out of the video in just a couple of mouse clicks.
The service for downloading videos from YouTube and / or extracting sound from them is called SaveFrom_Net. It allows both manual work with the address bar, and using the plugin. The second method is more universal, therefore it will be the subject of discussion. Supported work with browsers on the Chromium engine, as well as Firefox, including the latest version of “Firefox”.
How to install a “miracle program”
To install the extension, you need to go to the online store, use the search, find SaveFromNet and agree to add the module to the browser. Do not confuse the solution for social networks with a complete program.
In the name of the "correct" extension is the word helper. For example, for Firefox, you need to click on the three menu bar in the upper right corner, open the "Add-ons" section and proceed to the "Get Add-ons" item. At the bottom of the page there will be a link to the store (you won’t need to buy anything there, but just choose).
For the Chrome browser, you will have to additionally install the Chameleon extension, and only then from Opera Add-ons take the SaveFromNet assistant. The detailed instruction is on the developer’s website of the same name. After that, there will be no more difficulties with how to extract sound from the video.
YouTube videos
A working installed extension adds an additional button to the screen with a YouTube clip. It is placed right under the video window, a little to the right of the voting icons. Regardless of the localization, the button is always signed as Download. A direct press starts loading the entire clip onto the hard drive. To select audio, click on the arrow next to the button and in the drop-down list specify the desired Audio format. Download is carried out in the folder prescribed in the global browser settings.
Those who have decided once and for all to deal with the question “how to extract sound from a video” are recommended to additionally install the Ummy Video Downloader auxiliary application. It is registered in the system and increases the number of available saved audio stream formats.
Network services
In addition to using the extension, you can use specialized online services. The principle of operation of such a system is simple: there is software on the remote server capable of performing certain actions with files downloaded by users. For example, consider how to extract sound from mp4 video using a site.
Despite the abundance of alternatives, they are all similar. You need to select “Video Conversion” in the interface, then upload the file from your computer to the server (the time taken depends on the speed of connection to the Network). Next, you need to specify what should be obtained "at the output" - video or just sound. The button "Convert" starts the process. A few minutes later, a link to download your sound stream is provided.
Summary
As you can see, there’s nothing complicated about how to get music out of a video. The methods that currently exist allow us to solve this problem exactly as it is more convenient for a computer user. It does not matter which one will be chosen, since the result is predictable. Regardless of whether preference is given to the flexibility of local programs or the simple interface of various network applications. Perhaps the only caveat is the availability of access to the Internet. If it is absent, then the selection problem ceases to be relevant, and only local solutions have to be used for file processing.