Extract Audio from MOV to AMR — Free Online Tool
Extract and convert audio from MOV files to AMR format using the libopencore_amrnb codec — ideal for producing speech-optimized voice recordings compatible with mobile telephony systems. AMR's narrow-band compression is purpose-built for human speech, making this conversion perfect when you need to strip a QuickTime video's audio track down to a compact, phone-ready voice file.
to
FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
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Note: Browser-based encoding uses approximate quality targets. For precise CRF compression, copy the FFmpeg command above and run it on your desktop.
Estimated output:
Conversion Complete!
DownloadHow It Works
During this conversion, FFmpeg discards the MOV container's video stream entirely and re-encodes the audio track using the libopencore_amrnb (Adaptive Multi-Rate Narrow-Band) codec. Unlike a simple remux, this is a full audio transcode: the source audio — likely AAC encoded at a higher bitrate inside the MOV file — is decoded and then re-encoded into AMR's speech-optimized compression at 12,200 bps (AMR mode 7, the highest quality AMR-NB mode). AMR does not support multiple audio tracks, chapters, or metadata beyond basic headers, so any of those elements present in the MOV source are silently dropped. The output is a raw AMR bitstream file (.amr), which is a much simpler format than the feature-rich MOV container.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg multimedia processing tool. In this browser-based tool, it runs via FFmpeg.wasm compiled to WebAssembly, executing entirely in your browser without any server upload. |
-i input.mov
|
Specifies the input QuickTime MOV file. FFmpeg reads the MOV container and identifies all streams — including video, audio, and any subtitle or chapter tracks — making them available for selective processing. |
-vn
|
Disables video output entirely, telling FFmpeg to ignore all video streams from the MOV file. This is essential for audio extraction — without it, FFmpeg would attempt to include video in the output, which AMR cannot contain. |
-c:a libopencore_amrnb
|
Sets the audio codec to libopencore_amrnb, the open-source implementation of the AMR Narrow-Band encoder. This re-encodes the MOV file's audio (typically AAC) into AMR-NB format, applying speech-optimized compression at 8,000 Hz mono. |
-b:a 12200
|
Sets the AMR-NB encoding mode to 12,200 bps (mode 7), the highest quality option available in the AMR-NB codec. This value is not a free-form bitrate — it must match one of AMR-NB's eight fixed operating modes, and 12,200 delivers the best voice intelligibility while keeping the file significantly smaller than formats like AAC or MP3. |
output.amr
|
Specifies the output filename with the .amr extension, which signals FFmpeg to write a raw AMR-NB bitstream. The .amr container is extremely simple — it is essentially just the encoded AMR frames with a minimal file header, with no support for metadata, chapters, or multiple tracks. |
Common Use Cases
- Extracting a voiceover or spoken narration recorded in QuickTime on a Mac to send to a mobile telephony or IVR (interactive voice response) system that requires AMR input
- Converting interview or field recording footage shot on an iPhone (saved as MOV) into AMR files for archiving or playback on older feature phones and embedded devices
- Preparing voice memos or dictation recordings captured in MOV format for upload to telecommunications platforms or VoIP systems that accept AMR-NB audio
- Stripping the audio from a MOV screen recording of a presentation or lecture to produce a compact speech file for distribution over low-bandwidth mobile networks
- Converting QuickTime audio tracks from video conference recordings into AMR format for compatibility with GSM-based communication infrastructure or SIM-toolkit applications
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but the impact on speech intelligibility is typically minimal when using AMR-NB at 12,200 bps (mode 7), which is the default used here. AMR-NB is optimized specifically for the human voice frequency range (300–3400 Hz), so speech remains clear and recognizable. However, music, wide-frequency sound effects, or high-fidelity audio from the MOV source will sound noticeably degraded or tinny because AMR's narrow-band codec deliberately discards frequencies outside the speech range.
AMR does not support multiple audio tracks, so only the first audio track from the MOV file is encoded into the output .amr file. All additional audio tracks — such as alternate language dubs, director's commentary, or multichannel surround sound — are silently discarded. If you need audio from a specific non-default track, you would need to modify the FFmpeg command to add a stream selector like '-map 0:a:1' to pick the second audio track before the output filename.
AMR-NB (libopencore_amrnb) is a mono-only codec and does not support stereo audio. If your MOV source contains a stereo or multichannel audio track, FFmpeg will automatically downmix it to mono during encoding. This means the left and right channels are blended together, which is generally fine for speech but will cause obvious quality loss for music or spatially mixed audio.
These values are the AMR-NB codec's fixed operating modes, measured in bits per second. AMR-NB has eight fixed modes ranging from 4,750 bps (lowest quality, smallest file) to 12,200 bps (highest quality, largest file within AMR-NB). Unlike MP3 or AAC where bitrate is a continuous slider, AMR only supports these exact values. For voice recordings meant to be clearly understood, 12,200 bps (the default in this tool) is recommended. Modes below 7,950 bps are typically used only in severely bandwidth-constrained GSM environments.
Replace the '-b:a 12200' value in the command with one of the valid AMR-NB mode bitrates: 4750, 5150, 5900, 6700, 7400, 7950, or 10200. For example, to use the lowest bitrate mode, the command becomes: ffmpeg -i input.mov -vn -c:a libopencore_amrnb -b:a 4750 output.amr. Note that AMR file sizes are already very small — at 12,200 bps, one minute of mono speech produces a file of roughly 90 KB, so dropping to 4,750 bps saves only about 55 KB per minute while meaningfully reducing voice clarity.
Yes. On Linux or macOS, you can loop over all MOV files in a directory with: for f in *.mov; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -vn -c:a libopencore_amrnb -b:a 12200 "${f%.mov}.amr"; done. On Windows Command Prompt, use: for %f in (*.mov) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -vn -c:a libopencore_amrnb -b:a 12200 "%~nf.amr". This is particularly useful when processing large batches of QuickTime recordings from a mobile device or camera that exceed the browser tool's 1 GB per-file limit.
Technical Notes
AMR (Adaptive Multi-Rate) exists in two variants: AMR-NB (Narrow-Band, libopencore_amrnb) used here, and AMR-WB (Wide-Band, libopencore_amrwb) which supports slightly higher frequencies up to 7,000 Hz. This tool uses AMR-NB, which is the universally supported baseline variant across GSM networks and older mobile devices. The libopencore_amrnb encoder in FFmpeg.wasm enforces strict constraints: mono audio only, a fixed 8,000 Hz sample rate (FFmpeg will resample any higher sample rate from the MOV source automatically), and only the eight fixed bitrate modes listed. The .amr file extension implies AMR-NB; AMR-WB files are typically saved as .awb. Any metadata stored in the MOV container — such as QuickTime chapter markers, GPS location data, creation timestamps, or embedded cover art — is not preserved in the AMR output, as the AMR bitstream format has no metadata container structure. If your MOV file's audio is recorded at 48 kHz stereo (common for professional video), FFmpeg will resample to 8 kHz mono, which represents a significant reduction in audio fidelity appropriate only for speech-primary content.