Reducing Video: When Size Does Matter

Video files are mostly large and occupy much space. And even if you are not running out of blank disks sooner or later you’ll face the necessity to reduce your video files size. It may occur when:

•  you want to send a video via e-mail
• a file is too large for a disk
• your hard drive is filled up
• you want to transfer it to your portable gadget

You might believe that quality loss is inevitable, but that’s not true. This article provides several ways to reduce video file size maintaining its original quality at the same time.

Change video resolution

More likely you don’t need a 1280×720 or higher resolution video for purposes mentioned above. A resolution of 800×600 or 640×480 can be a good substitution for your HD video. Though you can even choose a 320×240 resolution suitable for a smartphone.

Here is a way to change a resolution with Freemake Video Converter.

Start the program, add the video and click on an output format you need, choose a ready preset (640×480, 640×360, etc.), and then click “Convert”.

Change video codec

There exist lots of various video codecs and naturally they are not equal. A proper codec can reduce video file size by 2-3 times. One of the most space efficient is H.264. Using H.264, you can keep the same resolution of an HD video file. Although if you don’t have a modern graphic card you’d better lower the frame size (resolution) as well, otherwise your video may freeze up.

Lower frame rate

Frame rate is a number of frames displayed per second. It generally varies between 24-30 fps. By lowering the frame rate, you can significantly decrease video file size. However, this method is not highly recommended because it affects video smoothness.

Crop out unnecessary parts

When ripping a DVD or converting an HD movie, avoid unnecessary extras like additional movie scenes, trailers, behind-the-scenes, interviews and commentaries, and audio tracks you don’t need. Black edges take up space as well so crop them out. Leave only the title track.

Click on the video to preview it, then use “Cut  video” tool to crop out whatever part unwanted. Choose a custom preset and then “Zoom & crop” to get rid of black edges.

Lower video bitrate

The less bitrate value you select the smaller size you get. Just don’t lower it too much otherwise your video may lose quality. It’s better to keep bitrate value between 1400-2000kbps.

One-click solution

In case you need a concrete output video size but don’t know what bitrate/codec/resolution to choose, watch this video guide:

To reduce video file size, you just need to add a video, set a desirable size, and convert.