Rotate a video, free

How do I rotate a video?

Add the video above, turn it 90° to the left, 90° to the right or 180°, and check the preview. Then rotate and download the new file. For MP4 and MOV videos this is instant and lossless, because only the file’s rotation setting changes. For apps that ignore that setting, switch on re-encoding so the picture itself is turned. Nothing is uploaded.

Why is my video sideways?

Phones record with the camera sensor in one fixed position. When you hold the phone upright or sideways, the phone doesn’t turn the picture itself; it saves a small rotation flag in the file that tells players how to display it. Problems start when:

• A player or app ignores the flag. Some older players, editors and upload forms show the raw picture, so a portrait video lies on its side.
• The phone guessed wrong. If you start recording with the phone flat on a table or pointing down, the orientation sensor can’t tell which way is up, and the flag is wrong from the start.
• The flag got lost. Some tools and messengers drop it while editing or compressing.

Rotation flag vs real rotation

The rotate tool can do both. By default an MP4 or MOV gets a corrected rotation flag: instant, no quality lost, and right in every modern player and browser. Switch on Re-encode the picture when the video has to play in an app that ignores the flag; the frames are then turned for real. Other formats, such as WebM and MKV, are always re-encoded.

Looks right on my phone, sideways on my computer

That almost always means the file has a correct rotation flag and the program on your computer ignores it. The file is fine; the program is the problem. Opening the video in a current browser or player usually solves it, and if that program shows other phone videos sideways too, updating it or switching players is the lasting fix. If a video looks wrong on your phone too, the flag itself is wrong: rotate it the way it should be.

Rotate or flip?

Rotating turns the whole picture around its center. Flipping mirrors it: horizontally to undo the mirror effect of a front camera, so text reads the right way, or vertically for footage filmed upside down through a mirror or a rig. They’re different fixes: a mirrored video rotated 180° is upside down and still mirrored. This tool does both; flipping always re-encodes the picture.

Tips for phone recordings

Lock orientation before you start

If you film a desk, a whiteboard or a device from above, turn on the phone’s orientation lock in the position you want before recording, so the flag is right from the first frame.

Rotate, then crop

A portrait phone video rotated for a landscape slot still has the wrong shape. After rotating, use the video cropper to pick the area you need, or the video resizer for an exact platform size.

Rotate the original

Rotate the file straight from your phone rather than a copy sent through a messenger, which has already been compressed.

Check it where it will play

After rotating, open the result in the app or site it’s meant for: the LMS, the help desk, the slide deck. If it’s still sideways there, that app ignores rotation flags; rotate the original again with re-encoding switched on.