Are you trying to send a video to a friend on Discord, but it keeps showing up as a file instead? And your friend has to download the video every time?
Usually, it happens when you don’t enable the preview option in Discord settings or upload an unsupported video format. But the issue is quite easy to solve.
Read this post until you do so.
Why Does Discord Always Send My Video as Some Sort of File?
When you don’t turn on the Image & Video Preview in your app settings or upload an unsupported video file, Discord recognizes them as files and sends them so. Also, if you use different codecs for supported files, Discord will send it as a file, and you can’t play it within the app.
Here are the supported video formats that can play in Discord:
- Discord usually supports most video file formats. However, you should only use the mp4 or WebM format to get a preview. MoV, FLV, MKV, etc. videos will be sent as files, not videos.
- You must use the AAC, vp9, or H264 codec in your video file for preview. Other codecs like HEVC or AV1 won’t work.
- A media file over 25 MB won’t get a video preview.
- You won’t get a video preview, if you don’t enable the Image & Video Preview in the Discord app.
Typically, discord converts your video as a file to make sharing and downloading easy within the apps. Discord also has a compress and converter mechanism that reduces the size and quality of your media file.
But if you fulfill the above requirements, you will see the video preview in your server chat on Discord.
How to Stop Discord from Sending Videos as Files
Discord usually sends your video as an unrecognized file when the app can’t determine it’s a video file. So you have to upload the supporting video files to get the video preview. Also, you must enable the Image & Video Preview option to play the video in Discord.
Fulfill these requirements to send videos on Discord without it being a file:
1. Use Supported Video Formats
Discord can only identify the mp4 or WebM video files with AAC, vp9, or H264 codec. So if you want to play the video within the Discord app, you should upload the supported file formats.
Once, I uploaded an mp4 video from Reddit to my Discord server. But Discord didn’t recognize that file as a video. Upon further research, I found out that sites like Imgur, 9gag, and Reddit use the av1 codec which Discord doesn’t support.
That’s why, if you really need to upload a video from other sites on Discord you should convert it into a supported file format. And you can use the VLC media player to do so.
Here’s how to convert your video with VLC:
- Open the VLC Player and press the CTRL+R key on your keyboard.
- Tap the Add option and select the video.
- Select the Convert / Save option at the bottom.
- Choose Video -H.264 + MP3 (MP4) in the profile section.
- Insert the save location in the Destination folder.
- Click the Start button and wait for the process to complete.
After completing the steps, you can upload the video and get the video preview. However, if your video file exceeds the file limit (25 MB for free users) you won’t be able to upload your video. In that case, you must bypass the file size limit in Discord.
2. Turn on Image & Video Preview
To stop discord videos from showing up as a file, you need to enable the Text & Images preview option. You can enable it from any device (both phone and PC).
For PC/Web browser
- Open the Discord app or web version.
- Click the gear icon next to your account name.
- Go to the Text & Images option.
- Turn on the two following options:
- When posted as link to chat.
- When uploaded directly to Discord.
- Tap the ESC key on your keyboard.
For Mobile (both iPhone & Android)
- Open the Discord app.
- Touch the hamburger icon then tap the Profile option.
- Scroll down and select Text & Media option.
- Turn on the two following options:
- When posted as link to chat.
- When uploaded directly to Discord.
- Close the app.
After completing the steps, you can upload and play any supported video file in Discord. But if that uploaded video doesn’t play on Discord follow this guide to fix it.
3. Check Your Internet Connection & Discord Twitter Account
Sometimes you can’t play or see a video preview for an unstable internet connection or server error on Discord. So you should also check them when Discord sends your videos as files.
On the otherhand, Twitter is a great way to know Discord’s server status and any ongoing issues. So, check the Discord Twitter account to see if there’s an issue on Discord.
FAQs
Do videos lose quality over Discord?
Yes, the general Discord app supports 720p, and Discord Nitro supports 1080p video resolution. If you upload over this resolution range, your video will lose quality.
Why can’t I send an MP4 video on Discord?
You can’t send the MP4 video because either the video file is oversized or has an unsupported codec. Discord only supports AAC, vp9, or H264 codec. Without these codecs, Discord will send the video as a normal document file.
Does Discord compress MP4?
No, the Discord app only compresses image files over 8 MB, not video files. However, if you upload videos over 720p resolution (on free Discord) it will lower the quality.
Wrapping up
In short, Discord only converts videos into files when you uploaded an unsupported video format, or if it exceeds the size limit. you can simply convert your video file to solve this issue. Also, you must enable the Text & Images preview option in the Discord app to play the video within the application.
Hopefully your problem is gone by now. Comment if this issue still persists. And for everything else stick with 10scopes.
