How to use Pavtube to convert 360 degree VR video to standard format

Action cameras and phones can now record immersive footage that places the viewer at the centre of a scene. The file may look strange on an ordinary screen because it stores a spherical view rather than one conventional camera angle. Pavtube gives Windows and Mac creators a practical way to turn that source into a flat, shareable video while keeping control of framing, resolution and sound.

For Australian audiences, the final master should usually work on an iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy, a smart television and a desktop editing timeline. The export should also suit a fast upload from an NBN connection in Melbourne or a 5G phone link at Bondi Beach. Keeping the original 360 file untouched and creating a separate flat version is the workflow used by many local filmmakers and content teams.

“Standard format” can describe two different jobs. One is simply repackaging a 360 recording as a compatible MP4 that opens in a normal player. The other is flattening or unwrapping selected views into conventional 2D footage. This guide concentrates on the second result, because that is what clients usually mean when they ask for VR footage without a headset.

There is an important limit: one flat frame cannot show every direction at once. A fixed perspective works well for a static horizon, while moving shots need reframing over time. Pavtube’s editing and conversion tools can handle the technical pipeline, but the operator still has to choose the source projection, viewing direction and export settings before the output looks professional.

Understand the source and target format

Begin by identifying the shape of the 360 footage. Equirectangular video maps the full sphere onto a 2:1 frame and is common on 360 cameras. Cube maps divide it into six faces, while dual-fisheye files use two circular images that must be joined. A stereo 360 recording may place the left and right eyes side by side or one above the other.

Check the dimensions, frame rate, codec and audio layout before opening the file. A 3840 × 1920 clip may actually be monoscopic, or it may contain two 1920 × 1920 views in a side-by-side layout. Treating the wrong layout as full-screen equirectangular produces stretched edges, swapped eye images or an incorrectly positioned horizon.

For conventional delivery, choose a 16:9 flat perspective at 1920 × 1080 or 3840 × 2160, with H.264 video and AAC stereo sound in an MP4 container. If the goal is to retain the complete sphere for YouTube or a VR headset, do not flatten it; transcode the 360 file instead and label its projection correctly.

Prepare a reliable Pavtube project

Keep the camera card, phone or downloaded master in a read-only folder before editing. Give the source a clear name that includes the camera, shooting date and projection, such as coast-360-equirect-25p. Install the current Pavtube release for your Windows or Mac system, make a working copy and import it into the video converter or editor. A separate copy gives you a clean recovery point if an export interrupts the process.

Phones and recent cameras commonly arrive with HEVC video, while image files may use HEIF. Those formats can be efficient but may not decode consistently across every browser, phone or editing application. DigiSNS’s HEVC and HEIF guide explains the compatibility issue and conversion choices. Check the actual source on the target playback device before deciding whether it needs a standards-friendly transcode.

Create a simple folder structure with the original footage, Pavtube projects, finished flat videos and delivery copies. Avoid spaces or unusual characters in filenames when a clip will pass through several apps. Record the chosen view and settings in a brief note; this is especially useful when a campaign returns for edits months later in a busy Sydney studio.

Flatten and reframe the 360 scene

In Pavtube, select the imported clip and open the relevant conversion or editing workspace. Set the input as a 360 or VR source where the app offers that choice, then identify equirectangular, cube or fisheye projection and the mono, side-by-side or top-bottom arrangement. Pavtube builds can present slightly different control names, so use the equivalent projection and 3D settings rather than relying on one exact button label.

Choose the output perspective and adjust yaw, pitch and field of view in the preview. Yaw turns the viewer left or right, pitch moves the view up or down, and the field-of-view control determines how much of the scene enters the frame. Start with a level horizon and a moderate field of view, then zoom in until the image feels natural rather than distorted at the edges.

Most 360 footage contains camera movement, so a single locked crop can miss the subject. Add keyframes at important moments and move the virtual viewpoint deliberately, keeping transitions smooth and the horizon stable. For a guided tour, viewers may need both the guide’s view and the guide’s body in frame; widen the field of view or stage the action to avoid constant reframing.

Tune picture and sound for Australian delivery

Australia’s common television frame rate is 25 fps, aligned with the PAL-style 50 Hz system, so 25 fps is a sensible default for material intended for local television or consistent playback on phones and smart TVs. It also matches footage shot at 25 fps on many cameras. Keep 25 fps for those projects, and avoid converting to 30 fps unless a distributor specifically requests it, because the change can introduce judder.

Use Rec.709 colour for standard SDR delivery and check that the source is tagged correctly before export. A sensible 1080p H.264 bitrate is roughly 15–30 Mbps, while 4K may need 35–60 Mbps for complex motion; test the result instead of choosing an extreme value. HDR requires its own colour and tone-mapping decisions and should not be flattened into a standard SDR file accidentally.

For social clips, reduce the bitrate only after checking movement, water, screens and bright night scenes, where compression artefacts become obvious. Keep the audio at 48 kHz and encode it as AAC at 192 or 320 kbps. If the source contains ambisonic or object-based spatial sound, create a separate stereo mix for the flat video because ordinary phone and television speakers cannot reproduce the spatial field.

Australian producers often need one master for a client, another for social media and another without music for subtitling. Pavtube can retain or remove tracks and adjust levels before the final encode. Make those alternate versions from the flat master rather than repeatedly re-exporting the 360 source, which helps keep colour, timing and loudness consistent across the set.

A reliable Australian delivery checklist

Export to a local drive first, then play the finished file from start to finish on the devices that matter. Watch for jumps at keyframes, warping near the frame edges, lip-sync errors and clipped audio. Open it on an iPhone, an Android handset, the editing timeline used by the client and, when possible, a television. If it passes those checks, the export is ready for distribution.

Large 4K masters can take hours to upload, and public Wi-Fi at a Bondi café or a shared Fitzroy workspace is not the safest place to handle confidential footage. Review the Wi-Fi security checks before joining an unfamiliar network and prefer a trusted NBN or 5G connection. A low-resolution test upload is no worries; sending the final high-bitrate master over shared Wi-Fi is a different story.

• Preserve the original 360 recording and keep the flat master separate.
• Confirm the projection, stereo layout, horizon and viewpoint before rendering.
• Match 25 fps to Australian broadcast and individual project requirements.
• Use H.264 and AAC in an MP4 container for broad playback compatibility.
• Check the complete export on a phone, desktop computer and television.
• Upload a short sample before transferring the final high-bitrate master.

That process turns an immersive source into a normal video with predictable playback, controlled framing and a delivery profile suited to Australian screens and connections. The result is not a substitute for the original 360 experience, but it is a practical flat cut that can be reviewed, subtitled, uploaded and shared without requiring a headset.