FileFix vs FFmpeg for corrupted video repair.
Try FFmpeg first when your file can be remuxed or decoded. In our testing on real-world corrupted videos, FileFix fully repaired about half, while the two FFmpeg approaches produced different tradeoffs.
Try FileFix freeWhat the test found
| Approach | Full repair | Partial repair | Failed repair |
|---|---|---|---|
| FileFix | 59% | 3% | 38% |
| FFmpeg remux | 3% | 39% | 58% |
| FFmpeg re-encode | 47% | 5% | 48% |
Source: Our own testing on real-world corrupted video files. Values are the share fully repaired, partially repaired, or not repaired.
Try the free tools first
Remux without re-encoding
ffmpeg -i broken.mp4 -c copy repaired.mp4Re-encode video and audio
ffmpeg -i broken.mp4 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac repaired.mp4When the free tool is the right answer
Try the free option when
- Use FFmpeg remux when it can read the input and the streams do not need to be rebuilt.
- Use FFmpeg re-encode when FFmpeg can decode the footage and changing the encoded streams is acceptable.
Try FileFix when
- Try FileFix when FFmpeg cannot open the file or when you want to inspect a free watermarked preview before deciding whether to pay.
- Neither option can recover footage that is not present in the file.
Repair guides
Questions
Yes. The commands above are free to run, and they are a sensible first step when FFmpeg can read your file.
Not necessarily. A tool can fail because it cannot interpret the damaged structure. A genuinely empty file, however, has no footage to recover.
See what's recoverable.
Preview the repaired video before you decide.