If your video file won't load into InqScribe, your best bet is generally to try converting the file.  For most users, we recommend the free and easy to use HandBrake tool.


HandBrake

https://handbrake.fr/
HandBrake is a well-known, trusted, and free conversion software available for Mac, PC, and Linux. Since it's a software, you won't need to upload or download your video to a website (unlike Online-Convert below). Everything is done locally on your machine and you don't need an internet connect to convert files. HandBrake supports batch file processing, which comes in handy if you're planning on converting multiple media files. The drawback is that video conversion is limited to MP4 and MKV outputs. However, if your goal is to convert a video into an InqScribe-compatible format, the MP4 container will work just fine. Here's a simple step-by-step guide to HandBrake:

  1. Download and install HandBrake from their website.
  2. Open HandBrake and you will prompted to select a "Source". Select the video or audio file you wish to convert by dragging it on the app, or select "Folder" to convert multiple videos, or "File" to convert a single videos. 
  3. Select where you'd like to save the new transcoded file by clicking "Browse" in the Destination section. By leaving it blank, it will save automatically the default HandBrake location (depending on the version of HandBrake and your operating system, it might be the desktop or a video folder).
  4. Select the Format of the transcoded file from the popup menu. For video, you'll have two options, MP4 and MKV. MP4 will work best with InqScribe.
  5. You can edit various settings such as the frame rate, bit rate, and codecs of your media file with the other tabs. Adjust them to your liking.
  6. Click "Start Encode" and your file will begin converting. HandBrake will notify you when the converted file is finished. It will then appear in the location you selected in step 2.


Advanced Methods

If you are more technically oriented, you can install and use the open source ffmpeg tool to do your conversion.

ffprobe is also useful for figuring out exactly what codes are used within a media file.