How to Rotate and Flip Videos: Complete Guide

Why Do Videos End Up Sideways or Upside Down?

We have all been there: you record a great video on your phone, transfer it to your computer, and suddenly it is playing sideways. This happens because smartphones embed orientation metadata (EXIF rotation flags) into the video file rather than physically rotating the pixel data. When a media player ignores that metadata, your perfectly composed landscape shot ends up displayed in portrait mode, or worse, completely upside down.

Understanding the difference between metadata rotation and actual pixel rotation is the first step to fixing the problem. In this guide, we will cover every method for rotating and flipping videos, from quick online tools to powerful command-line solutions using FFmpeg.

Rotation vs. Flipping: What Is the Difference?

Before diving into methods, let us clarify these two distinct operations:

Rotation changes the angle of the entire frame. You rotate a video by a fixed number of degrees, typically 90, 180, or 270 (which is the same as -90). The frame dimensions swap when rotating 90 or 270 degrees: a 1920x1080 video becomes 1080x1920.

Flipping (also called mirroring) reverses the video along an axis. A horizontal flip creates a mirror image (left becomes right), while a vertical flip turns the video upside down without swapping sides.

Method 1: Rotate and Flip Videos Online (Fastest)

The quickest way to fix video orientation is with an online tool. ConvertIntoMP4 offers a dedicated Rotate Video tool that handles rotation and flipping directly in your browser with no software installation needed.

Steps to Rotate Video Online

1. Go to the Rotate Video tool page
2. Upload your video file (supports MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WebM, and more)
3. Select your rotation angle: 90°, 180°, or 270° clockwise
4. Choose flip options if needed (horizontal or vertical)
5. Click Rotate and download the corrected file

This method works on any device with a web browser, including phones, tablets, and Chromebooks. For additional format conversion during the process, use the full Video Converter which combines rotation with format output selection.

Online Tool Comparison

Method 2: Using FFmpeg (Command Line)

FFmpeg is the industry-standard tool for video manipulation. It gives you granular control over rotation, flipping, and quality settings.

Rotate 90 Degrees Clockwise

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" output.mp4

The transpose filter accepts these values:

• 0 — Rotate 90° counter-clockwise and flip vertically
• 1 — Rotate 90° clockwise
• 2 — Rotate 90° counter-clockwise
• 3 — Rotate 90° clockwise and flip vertically

Rotate 180 Degrees

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1,transpose=1" output.mp4

Or more efficiently using the hflip and vflip combination:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "hflip,vflip" output.mp4

Rotate 270 Degrees (90° Counter-Clockwise)

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=2" output.mp4

Flip Horizontally (Mirror)

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "hflip" output.mp4

Flip Vertically

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "vflip" output.mp4

Combine Rotation and Flip

You can chain filters together. For example, rotate 90° clockwise and then flip horizontally:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1,hflip" output.mp4

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -metadata:s:v rotate="90" output.mp4

Method 3: Lossless Rotation with Metadata

Many modern video files already contain orientation metadata. Instead of re-encoding the entire video (which takes time and can reduce quality), you can modify just the metadata flag. This is nearly instantaneous and completely lossless.

How Metadata Rotation Works

Video containers like MP4 and MOV support a rotation matrix or display rotation tag. When you set this tag, compatible players automatically orient the video correctly during playback.

# Remove existing rotation and set new rotation to 90°
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -metadata:s:v:0 rotate=90 output.mp4

Limitations of Metadata Rotation

While metadata rotation is lossless and fast, it has some drawbacks:

• Not all video players or editors respect the rotation tag
• Social media platforms may ignore the flag during upload processing
• Some older software strips the metadata during editing
• Thumbnail generation may not reflect the rotation

For maximum compatibility, especially when sharing on social media platforms or uploading to services, pixel-level rotation is the safer choice.

Method 4: Rotating Videos on Mobile Devices

iOS (iPhone and iPad)

The built-in Photos app on iOS lets you rotate videos:

1. Open the video in Photos
2. Tap Edit in the top right
3. Tap the Crop/Rotate icon (square with arrows)
4. Tap the rotate button to rotate 90° at a time
5. Tap Done to save

Android

Google Photos (pre-installed on most Android devices) supports rotation:

1. Open the video in Google Photos
2. Tap Edit
3. Tap Crop
4. Use the rotation icon to rotate in 90° increments
5. Tap Save copy

For more advanced mobile editing, including format conversion, check out our guide on how to convert MOV to MP4 which covers mobile workflows.

Batch Rotation: Fixing Multiple Videos at Once

If you have dozens of sideways videos from a shoot, rotating them one by one is tedious. FFmpeg makes batch rotation straightforward.

Bash Script for Batch Rotation

#!/bin/bash
# Rotate all MP4 files in current directory 90° clockwise
mkdir -p rotated
for file in *.mp4; do
  ffmpeg -i "$file" -vf "transpose=1" -c:a copy "rotated/$file"
  echo "Rotated: $file"
done

Using ConvertIntoMP4 for Batch Processing

Our batch processing feature lets you upload multiple videos and apply the same rotation to all of them simultaneously. This is especially useful when combined with format conversion, for example, rotating and converting a folder of MOV files to MP4 in one step.

For detailed batch workflows, see our complete batch processing guide.

Quality Considerations When Rotating Video

Rotation can be either lossless or lossy depending on your method:

Lossless Methods

• Metadata rotation — Changes only the orientation flag, zero quality loss
• Stream copy with rotation — Uses -c copy flag in FFmpeg
• Container remuxing — Changes the container without touching video data

Lossy Methods (Re-encoding Required)

• Pixel-level rotation — The transpose, hflip, and vflip filters require decoding and re-encoding
• Format conversion with rotation — Converting from one codec to another while rotating

When re-encoding is unavoidable, use high-quality settings to minimize degradation:

# High-quality rotation with H.264
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset slow -c:a copy output.mp4

# High-quality rotation with H.265 (smaller file)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" -c:v libx265 -crf 22 -preset slow -c:a copy output.mp4

For a deep comparison of codec options, read our guide on H.265 vs H.264 vs AV1.

CRF Values for Rotation Re-encoding

Understanding how these quality settings work is essential for maintaining video fidelity. Check our guide on compressing video without losing quality for additional strategies.

Common Rotation Scenarios and Solutions

Scenario 1: iPhone Video Plays Sideways on Windows

iPhones record in a fixed sensor orientation and rely on metadata to tell the player how to display the video. Windows Media Player historically had poor metadata support.

Fix: Use the Rotate Video tool to apply a pixel-level 90° rotation, then save as MP4. This ensures universal compatibility across all players.

Scenario 2: Screen Recording Is Upside Down

Some screen recording software (particularly on Linux or with external capture cards) may produce inverted footage.

Fix: Apply a 180° rotation using FFmpeg:

ffmpeg -i screencast.mp4 -vf "hflip,vflip" -c:a copy fixed_screencast.mp4

Scenario 3: Webcam Mirror Effect Needs Correction

Webcams and front-facing cameras often mirror the image so it feels like looking in a mirror. For presentations or tutorials, you may want the text and gestures to appear correctly oriented.

Fix: Apply a horizontal flip:

ffmpeg -i webcam_recording.mp4 -vf "hflip" -c:a copy corrected.mp4

Scenario 4: Drone Footage Orientation

Gimbal-mounted drone cameras sometimes record with incorrect orientation metadata, especially after firmware updates or mid-flight angle changes.

Fix: Check the actual orientation first, then apply the appropriate rotation. For drone footage that needs format conversion as well, the Video Converter handles both operations in a single pass.

Preserving Aspect Ratio During Rotation

When rotating by 90° or 270°, the video dimensions swap. A 1920x1080 (16:9) video becomes 1080x1920 (9:16). This is usually the desired behavior, but if you need to maintain the original dimensions, you can add padding:

# Rotate 90° and add black bars to maintain 1920x1080
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1,pad=1920:1080:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:black" output.mp4

For more on aspect ratio management and cropping, see our guide on how to resize video and use the Crop Video tool for visual cropping controls.

Choosing the Right Format After Rotation

After rotating your video, you will want to save it in the best format for your use case. Here is a quick reference:

For detailed format comparisons, read our comprehensive best video formats guide and check the platform-specific requirements in our social media video specs guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does rotating a video reduce quality?

Only if re-encoding is involved. Metadata rotation and stream copy methods are completely lossless. When re-encoding is needed, using a low CRF value (e.g., CRF 18 for H.264) preserves nearly all visible quality.

Can I rotate a video without re-encoding?

Yes, by using metadata rotation (-metadata:s:v rotate="90" in FFmpeg) or the -c copy flag. However, not all players support metadata rotation, so test with your target platform first.

How do I rotate a video on my phone?

Both iOS Photos and Google Photos on Android have built-in rotation tools. Open the video, tap Edit, and use the rotation controls. For more options, upload to the Rotate Video tool from your mobile browser.

What is the difference between rotating and transposing?

In FFmpeg terminology, transposing combines rotation with an optional flip in a single operation. The transpose filter is more efficient than chaining separate rotate and flip filters.

Conclusion

Fixing video orientation is one of the most common video editing tasks, and fortunately it is also one of the simplest. For quick one-off fixes, use the Rotate Video tool directly in your browser. For batch processing or integration into automated workflows, FFmpeg provides all the flexibility you need.

Remember to choose lossless rotation methods when possible, and when re-encoding is necessary, use quality settings that match your output requirements. With the techniques covered in this guide, you will never be stuck with a sideways video again.

Need to do more with your videos? Check out our Video Converter for format conversion, the Video Trimmer for cutting clips, or the Video Compressor for reducing file sizes.