How to use an original MP4 without transcoding

What this setting does

MP4 Output is the part of a project that produces downloadable MP4 files alongside the adaptive HLS streams. Normally DynTube creates those MP4 files by encoding them from your upload. With Use original as MP4 turned on, an upload that is already in a compatible format is served as the MP4 itself, and no MP4 transcode is created for it.

Before you start

• This is a video project setting. Audio-only projects do not have MP4 Output at all.
• Your plan must include MP4 links. Where it does not, the whole MP4 Output section is hidden, and MP4 conversion is forced off when the project is saved — turning it on is not a matter of finding the right switch.
• You need permission to edit projects.
• Decide before you upload. This changes what happens during processing, so it has to be saved first — it does not rework videos that are already in the project.
• Have a source file that a browser can already play as-is. In practice that means an MP4 in a widely supported codec; anything else still goes through normal MP4 encoding.

Step 1 — turn it on in the project

1. Open the project in the dashboard and edit it.
2. Stay on the Details tab and find the Video encoding and delivery section. MP4 Output is there, underneath Adaptive Streaming (HLS) — not on the Transcoding tab, which holds bitrates.
3. Turn on Convert to MP4. Use original as MP4 only appears once MP4 output itself is on.
4. Turn on Use original as MP4.
5. Review Secure MP4 Links and Single MP4 only in the same block before saving — see what they do further down.
6. Save the project.

Step 2 — upload after saving

1. Upload the video into that project. The project’s output settings are captured onto the upload at the moment it starts, which is why the order matters.
2. Wait for processing to finish.
3. Play the video to confirm it is deliverable. Processing that completes is not the same as playback that works.

Videos already in the project keep the settings they were uploaded with. To apply this to an existing video, upload it again into the project after the setting is saved.

Settings in the same block

Adaptive Streaming (HLS) is a separate section with its own switch, and the playback-protection setting in the project applies to those streams. MP4 Output is a different delivery path: the control that governs who can use an MP4 link is Secure MP4 Links, not the HLS protection setting.

Checking it worked

• Open the newly uploaded video and check the Options tab. The Default quality list is built from the MP4 renditions that video actually has, so it tells you what was produced.
• Play the video through your normal embed and confirm playback is correct end to end — picture, audio and seeking.
• If the video is meant to be downloadable, turn on Allow Video Downloads on the video’s Download tab and try the download you are offering learners or viewers.
• Compare against a video uploaded into the same project with the setting off, if you want to be sure the change is the cause rather than a coincidence.

If it does not behave as expected

Storage and security to weigh up

• Serving the original means viewers receive a file at your master’s quality and size. A large master is a large download and a large amount of delivered data.
• Not producing an MP4 rendition avoids storing a second encoded copy of the video — this is the storage saving people usually have in mind.
• Save Original Videos, in the same Video encoding and delivery section, is a separate decision about retaining your source file. Keeping originals and serving originals are not the same switch.
• The original file is also reachable from the video’s Download tab, where Original File generates a temporary download URL. That path is independent of this setting.
• If protecting the video matters more than skipping an encode, leave this off. An encoded rendition behind signed links gives you more control than serving your master directly.