How To Compress A Video To Reduce The File Size

August 10, 2022
Contents

How do you like to watch your Youtube videos? At the highest possible resolution, are we right? The better the quality, the higher the size of the video file. That has always been a problem. 

Have you ever wanted to share a video with your friend and couldn’t because it was too big?

There is an answer to this problem: video compression.  You can always reduce the size of a video file by compressing it. When a video file’s size is smaller, you can share it without worry. 

There are many ways to compress video files. In this article, we will share what video compression is and how you can do it.  

What Is Video Compression?

 Video compression is a method of reducing the size of video files to fit more data on a storage medium or save bandwidth, such as internet transmission. 

A specific compression algorithm reduces the number of bits needed per frame. Video compression can be done at any stage of the video production process, from capture to editing.

Whether you want to reduce the file size to save storage space or send the file faster over an internet connection, video compression can help you immensely. 

What Affects Video File Size?

Many factors affect a video file size. Below, we have mentioned the four significant factors that affect a video file size.

Duration 

The longer the video is, the more likely it is to be larger than shorter videos. This is because a longer video has more data than a shorter one.

Video Bitrate

Bitrate is the amount of data the video consumes in a  second. The higher the bitrate, the higher the file size will be. Moreover, higher quality videos have higher bitrates. 

Video Codec

Codec is a software or hardware, an encoder, or a decoder than compresses or decompresses a video. The more advanced the codec, the smaller the file size will be.

However, this comes at a cost – sometimes, more expensive storage space is required for encoding and storing video files in high-quality formats such as h264 or h265 (HEVC).

Frame Rate 

A frame rate is how fast the images in your video move. The faster the frame rate, the better the video's quality, meaning video files will take up more space if they have a high frame rate. 

Resolution

Resolution is the number of pixels in your video — the higher resolution the better the quality of your videos. And the bigger your files will be. Video files with generally low resolution have a small size.

How To Compress A Video Quickly And Easily?

The best way to quickly compress a video is to convert it into a zip file. Here is how you can do it. 

converting a video into a zip file
  • Open the folder where you have the desired video file. 
  • Right-click on the video file. 
  • Click on “Send to”
  • Choose “Compressed Zip folder.”

That’s the simplest way to compress a video on your computer. But the question remains on how to unzip the video file. It’s easy. Here is how you can do it.

how to unzip a video file
  • Locate the zipped file on your computer. 
  • Right-click on it. 
  • Click on “Extract all”
  • Select a destination where all the extracted files will go and click “Extract.”
  • Once you visit the destination, you can see the extracted file. 

This is how you can compress a large video file on your computer in a few clicks. But there are other ways to do that as well. 

How Can I Reduce Video Resolution Online?

Reducing the video resolution online is a way to decrease the file size and compress it. You can compress a large video file with 1280 x 720p resolution to a smaller size. 

You shouldn’t worry about the video quality because compression does not compromise the video quality. 

Your compressed video can go down to  640 x 360p as well. However, if you have animations and prominent effects in your video, do not compress your video too much because it may hamper the viewing experience. 

How to Compress A Video Using VLC Player? 

Open the VLC Media player if you have it on your computer. If not, you can download it quickly here. Once you open the VLC media player, follow the steps mentioned below: 

  • Click on “Media,” then choose “Convert/Save.”
how to compress a video using vlc player
  • Click “Add,” then choose the file you want to compress. 
add media to convert on vlc player
  • Then click on “Convert/Save.” 
clicking on convert video using vlc player
  • Select the conversion option depending on why you are compressing the video. Then click on “Start.”
selection conversion options on vlc player

You can use VLC Media Player to compress a video for any purpose. It is also a straightforward process.  

How to Shrink a Video on a Mac via QuickTime? 

Like the VLC media player is for Windows users, Mac OS users can also use QuickTime to compress video files. It just takes a few minutes. 

shrink a video using quicktime
  • Open QuickTime
  • Click on File, then “Open Video.”
  • Choose the video you want to compress. 
  • Then click on “File” again. 
  • Click on “Export”
  • Choose the resolution you want to compress the video in. Make sure you select one that’s lower than the original video. 

And you are done! This method is suitable for Mac OS users only. 

How to Download a Video File in Lower Quality?

When you are downloading a video file, you can decide to download it in lower quality if the file is too large.

For example, if you have created a video file with Offeo and want to watch it on your computer or mobile phone, it will take too long for your device to download the video if it is in higher resolution. 

So, instead of downloading the video in high-quality, you can choose to download it in low quality(Web quality).

With other video editors like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro, you can do the same thing and download a video in compressed size.

How to Compress a Video File into a .zip File?

How to .zip a file for Mac OS?

How to .zip a file for Mac OS

Zipping a video file on Mac OS is a cakewalk. All you have to do is

  • Right-click on the video file you want to compress. 
  • Select “Compress”

That’s it! You can easily compress video in Mac OS. You just have to follow the steps mentioned above. 

How to Reduce the Video File Size on an iPhone

There are plenty of ways to compress a video on an iPhone. But the quickest and most hassle-free way is to use a video compressor app. Video compress is a free app you can use to reduce file size. 

How to Reduce the Video File Size on an iPhone
  • Download and install the app. 
  • Allow the app to access your phone’s content. 
  • Select the video in your gallery you want to compress. 
  • You can drag the slider on the next screen to select your video size and compression rate. 
  • Once you are satisfied with the choice, save the video. You can also delete the original video after compressing the video. 

How to Compress a Video on Android Devices

How to Compress a Video on Android Devices

Do you want to compress videos on your android phone? The Video compress app will do just that for you. The video compression tool works in the same way as it works in an iPhone. 

  • Download and install the app
  • Allow access to your files. 
  • Select the file you want to compress. 
  • Select the size of the compressed file. 
  • After the outfit file is ready you can save it.

How To Send Video As A Link Instead Of Uploading?

Sometimes downloading and sharing videos can be time-consuming. In these moments, it is better to share a link, so everyone can watch the video without having to download it. You can send your videos as a link in many ways.

  • You can upload your video to Youtube(As unlisted or private), and share it with people. 
  • You can share video files by uploading them to a cloud service. You can drag and drop the file to Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive. 
  • You can also use a file-sharing service like WeTransfer or an Android App like ShareIt.
  • Offeo allows you to share the video link with people. 

How to Trim a Video Online?

While compressing a video may reduce the file size, there is another way to reduce the file size. You could always trim the video and make it shorter. 

Several video editing tools like iMovie maker or Final cut pro can trim a video. 

If you're looking to trim a video online, there are several ways to do it. You can use various video editing tools like iMovie maker or Adobe's free video cutter. Here is how you can trim your video using Adobe’s free video cutter- 

All you have to do is 

  1. Select the clip that you want to trim from your device.
  2. Trim your clip by manually sliding the handlebars or entering in time cuts.
  3. Download the newly trimmed video file instantly!

However, there is a catch; you can’t trim a video longer than 1 hour with this tool. So, if you don’t want to upload the video or have a longer video, iMovie maker and Final Cut Pro are the better choices. 

FAQs: How to compress a video

How do you know the best compression settings for your file size?

For an H264 encoder, you can choose a bitrate of something around 5,000kbit/s. If you go  10000kbit/s, the video size would be twice as large. So, you need to keep that in mind while compressing your video. 

If your video length is 5 minutes(With 5000kbit/s), the video size will be 200 MB. You can use this parameter to determine the best compression settings. 

What’s the best way to compress a video for Instagram and other social media platforms?

You can easily compress a video for social media platforms using an online video compressor like Videoproc. But if you do not want to subscribe to the service, you could always use free video compressor tools like Freeconvert, OnlineConverter, and MP4Compress. You could also use Adobe Premiere Pro to compress a video for social media. 

Conclusion: How to compress a video

Whether you've filmed a priceless moment with your new iPhone or created a video tutorial to teach something, you may want to compress it before publishing it on YouTube or other websites.

 In this article, we have shown you several ways to compress a video, starting from how to reduce file size on iPhone to how to use a VLC media player to compress a video on a laptop. 

Choosing the right way to compress a video is crucial. Specifically, reducing the file size by encoding it does not necessarily damage the video quality. We hope you can choose the best way to compress your video and retain its quality. 

Written By
Ankita

Create Stunning Videos Easily

Skyrocket your video marketing efforts today

OFFEO Video Templates

Create stunning animated social media videos in afew clicks

Related articles