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Searching for video compressing software that doesn't messes (too much) your video

WarponyWarpony Too small.The MoonRegistered User regular
edited October 2012 in Help / Advice Forum
Hey was wondering if anyone here knows of a download that can shrink the size of videos but doesn't make them too choppy or pixelated when done. Also would like to know of complete versions that aren't trials, but I'll check anything as long as it can give a good result. Thanks in advance.

Warpony on

Posts

  • FantasmaFantasma Registered User regular
    What kind of compression are we talking about, what is the source of the video, size, format?
    In what device(s) are you planning to play the final video?

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  • TetraNitroCubaneTetraNitroCubane Not Angry... Just VERY Disappointed...Registered User regular
    Your best bet would be Handbreak. You can re-encode pretty much any video file. Depending on the codec you're using, and the target resolution, your file size will be larger or smaller. Additionally, those settings will also impact the quality of the output file.

    There's no real 'shrink this video' button, but there is a 'target file size' setting you can use. Between playing with that setting, and manually adjusting the bitrate setting, you should be able to find a decent compromise between file size and quality. It's going to take some trial and error, though, so be prepared to invest some effort.

  • tech_huntertech_hunter More SeattleRegistered User regular
    I have used handbrake for a while and I really like it. If you have multiple files you want to re-encode you can queue them up and let it do its thing. It is a bit of a learning curve though, when I started using it there wasn't all that much documentation. I would hope that has changed, but there are tool tips that can give you some hints.

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  • WarponyWarpony Too small. The MoonRegistered User regular
    Thanks guys and what I use to first capture a video is FRAPS, which turns it into a HUGE AVI file, then try my best at windows movie maker to edit it and make it smaller only by a fraction, in WMV format. Sorry I didn't mention this earlier.

  • FantasmaFantasma Registered User regular
    One of the easiest applications for editing, filtering and encoding to other formats is TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress, but it is expensive. You may use Virtualdub to cut parts you don't want, apply filters, resize, and even compress to DivX for or Xvid, but it is going to take some time to learn.

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  • SoggybiscuitSoggybiscuit Tandem Electrostatic Accelerator Registered User regular
    Warpony wrote: »
    Thanks guys and what I use to first capture a video is FRAPS, which turns it into a HUGE AVI file, then try my best at windows movie maker to edit it and make it smaller only by a fraction, in WMV format. Sorry I didn't mention this earlier.

    Yeah, HandBrake works really well for this. I have a video that was 1280x800 @ 60 FPS come out at 16.7 GB from FRAPS, and HandBrake turned it into a 390 MB file (same resolution and frame rate) using default import settings. I can't tell much of a difference between the two at all.

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  • WarponyWarpony Too small. The MoonRegistered User regular
    Cool, and I am trying Handbrake now, it does look good and takes a chunk off thankfully, but I notice some parts it makes the video blurry, so I am wondering how to use the settings to prevent that or if that is the way its supposed to be when it finishes compressing, and thanks, I think I also heard of TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress, so I will check it out too.

  • FantasmaFantasma Registered User regular
    The free version of TMPGEnc is quite old, slow, but fully functional. Do a google search.

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  • BarrakkethBarrakketh Registered User regular
    Warpony wrote: »
    Cool, and I am trying Handbrake now, it does look good and takes a chunk off thankfully, but I notice some parts it makes the video blurry, so I am wondering how to use the settings to prevent that or if that is the way its supposed to be when it finishes compressing
    I don't know what codec you are using with Handbrake, but with x264 you want to look at using CRF (Constant Ratefactor). The default is 23.0, lower is better quality and higher (up to 51.0) is worse. Experiment with different values for your source material.

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  • WarponyWarpony Too small. The MoonRegistered User regular
    Alright, will make a search for both, thanks again

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