Convert ARF to MP4 on PC/Mac for Easier Playback and Edit

This post will show Webex users on how to convert ARF recordings to MP4, WMV, SWF or any other format.

What is ARF format?

Since COVID-19, video conferencing programs have seen a huge surge in demand. Among them, Cisco Webex is surely the most popular tool. ARF (Advanced Recording Format) is a proprietary video file format used by the company to store a recording of an online meeting. It's recorded using Network-Based Recording (NBR) and stores the video data, a table of contents, an attendee list, and other information.

WebEx offers a free Network Recording Player application to help you open and watch .ARF files. In other words, ASF files are not supported by other players or device. If you want to use the ARF meeting on other applications, you'd better convert the ARF files to MP4 format.

Part 1 How to Convert ARF to MP4 with Network Recording Player

What is Networking Recoding Player?

If you receive a link to a WebEx recording, you can just click on the link to watch it. In this case, you don't need to download the Network Recording Player. But if you want to open a recording video that you've downloaded on your local computer, you will need to install the WebEx Network Recording Player. It can open ARF files and convert ARF to MP4, WMV, and SWF.

Step 1- Download and Install
Free download Webex Network Recording Player on your Windows PC or macOS, and finish the installation by following the wizard.
Download NRP for Windows | Download for Mac OS X

Step 2 - Open ARF with Player
Launch the player on PC or Mac desktop and input source ARF file downloaded online from "My Recordings" into the program to play.

Step 3 - Choose MP4 to Convert
Click File -> Convert Format -> MP4 (MPEG4), and confirm more details like output file name, video quality level (High/Medium/Low), video audio codec to proceed. If everything is ok, you are free to decide where to convert ARF to MP4 now, or at a scheduled time.

Step 4 - Finish Conversion and Check MP4
The video conversion will work in the background while locating a conversion manager icon into the taskbar. You can click to view the progress. When receiving a conversion complete dialog box, you can directly open the MP4 video or click "Open Folder" to check it with VLC or any other media player.

Network Recording Player also supports transferring ARF to Windows Movie Video (WMV) and SWF flash video for playing, editing or uploading online. As a matter of fact, a majority of Webex users do convert ARF to MP4 or so for post production purpose, which means a single video converter and editor is far handier than the combination of Network Recording Player and video editor.

Part 2 Best Video Processing Software to Convert Edit Webex ARF

Compared to online video converter and editor service, desktop software is more recommended for faster processing speed, and reliable safety to protect both your machine and meeting data.

If you often create high quality NBR ARF videos of Webex meetings, sessions or events, and want to save them as MP4 format, you'd better use professional converters. WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe can convert (long and HD) Webex ARF meeting to MP4, MOV, AVI, iPhone, iPad, Android, etc. with high quality. It will also cut, trim, crop, and edit ARF videos.

Output profiles: 420+ cover-all profiles including video formats and devices.
Versatile editor: cut, crop, split, merge, trim, rotate, watermark, video to gif, snapshot etc.

How to Convert and Edit ARF to MP4 on PC/Mac

Step 1 - Load ARF

Open and access to VideoPro's video control, where you can drag and drop source ARF or click "+ Video (Folder)" to choose ARF into it.

Step 2 - Convert and Edit ARF

Choose MP4 H.264 (recommended for its wide compatibility), MP4 MPEG4 or MP4 HEVC as target format by keeping original frame rate, bitrate etc., and then do specific video edits according to your needs. You1234 can enter into the "Edit Video" panel by clicking any edit icon shown right below the video information, or directly tap "codec Option" to navigate to.

You're free to do trim & cut operations, change video playback speed, adjust audio volume, add effects / subtitles / watermark into video here. In addition, the full-featured Toolbox empowers you to merge several meeting videos onto a single one, split a long ARF into small pieces, snapshot video to a defined number to use for culture promotion and more.

Step 3 - Output MP4 to Folder

Reset output folder or not, you can tap "RUN" now to fast output the MP4 file on computer.