How to compress heavy videos without losing quality

Videos are getting better and better quality, and although objectively this is a positive factor, it also has certain inconveniences or “collateral effects”. On the one hand, we increasingly need hard drives and pen drives with more storage space. And be careful with uploading videos in 4K or a FullHD lasting several minutes to the Internet, because the process can take forever if we do not have a good Internet connection (apart from consuming a lot of data if we are sharing the video from the mobile).

To solve this type of problem we have 2 options: either we buy a hard drive with a higher capacity and hire a faster connection, or we compress the videos so that they take up less space . In today’s post we explain how to achieve the latter in the simplest and most comfortable way possible. Let’s go to the nougat!

How to compress videos (AVI, MP4, MKV) without losing quality

The first thing to keep in mind is that there are no tricks or magic formulas to “lose weight” heavy videos. If we want a video to weigh less megabytes or gigabytes, inevitably we will have to cut somewhere. In this sense, the best solution is to convert the file to a video format that has a better level of compression , such as MP4, and from there adjust some values ​​such as resolution or framerate so that the quality suffers. less possible.

How to reduce the weight of a video from Windows, Linux or Mac

If we are working from a desktop computer, one of the most recommended tools to compress videos is Handbrake. A free and open source transcoder that supports many video formats (WMV, AVI, M4V, MOV, etc.). The program is available for Windows, Linux and Mac from its official website .

Compressing a video with Handbrake is pretty straightforward. We can optimize a video to upload it to the Internet with a reasonable weight by following a couple of steps.

  • We open the application, go to “Open Source -> File” and select the video with which we are going to work. For this example, we have chosen a 65MB video.
  • In the ” Save as” field, click on the ” Browse ” button and choose the folder where the video will be saved and the name it will have once it is compressed.
  • In the ” Summary” tab we select the ” MP4 ” format and mark the ” Web optimized ” option .
  • Next we click on the ” Video” tab and make sure that the selected ” Video Codec ” is ” 264 (x264) “.
  • Now that we have everything ready, we only have to click on the green ” Start Encode” button. The program will begin to compress the video following the guidelines that we have just indicated.

Once the process is complete, the 65MB video that we have used for this example has been reduced to just 5MB. In other words, with this compression method its size has been reduced to one tenth of the original .

This is the fastest and most comfortable way to compress video without losing quality, but Handbrake has many more configuration options. Thus, it also allows us to tweak other aspects such as the FPS, the resolution and dimensions of the image, the audio or the subtitles, among others. In this sense, Handbrake is a very versatile utility.

How to compress videos on Android

If we have a mobile with a good camera and we want to share our recordings on social networks or send them by WhatsApp or Telegram, it is advisable to reduce their size. A good application that can help us make our videos a little more manageable is Panda Video Compressor .

DownloadQR-Code

Compress Videos – Panda Video Compressor

Developer: farluner apps & games

Price: Free

This is a much simpler application than Handbrake, and it does not offer as many configuration options. However, we can compress videos in a really intuitive way.

  • We open the Panda Video Compressor app and select the video we want to work with.
  • Click on ” Next“.
  • On the next screen, we will see the available compression options. The quality of the result will depend on the new resolution that we select for the video. We can also keep the original resolution and compress it, but keep in mind that this option is much slower than the rest. We select the option that interests us the most and click on « Compress«.
  • Automatically, the application will begin to compress the video.

To give us an idea, a 250MB video has compressed it to just 9MB in a matter of less than a minute. There is hardly a change in the quality of the video when we play it from the mobile phone, so the result is most positive.

Once the video is compressed, the application allows us to compare the original version with the reduced version to see the difference. From here, we can replace the video with its lighter version, share it or simply save a copy in the internal memory of the phone.

Compressing videos on iOS

The cameras of the iPhone are excellent but that also implies that if we make the most of their capabilities we will be generating large videos. To solve this and have more manageable files we can use applications such as Video Compressor  (available in iTunes HERE ).

Its operation is very straightforward: we choose the video we want to convert, we select the resolution (FullHD, HD, 480p, etc.) and bit transfer, and we compress the video. That easy!

Online video compressors for the browser

If you don’t want to install any application or program on your device, you can always opt for an online tool that will do all the dirty work. There are many online compressors with which we can reduce the size of a video easily and for free from our web browser. These are some of the most relevant:

  • IO: Another utility to compress online videos with a very simple and intuitive interface. It offers several configuration options, such as the compression method used (CRF or Bitrate), the FPS limit and the video resolution. Another point in its favor is that the conversions are done much faster than the rest of similar online utilities. It does not require registration and the videos can be downloaded for free without any complications. | Enter VEED.IO
  • Freeconvert: Allows you to compress videos up to 1GB in weight. We can choose between two codecs (H365 and H265) and several compression methods (reducing the size, resolution or bitrate) to obtain the result that best suits what we need. | Enter Freeconvert
  • Clideo: Accepts a multitude of video formats such as MP4, WMV, MOV, VOB, AVI and others. It allows you to merge videos, add subtitles and change the resolution. Compressed videos are watermarked, although it can be removed by logging in with a Facebook or Google account. | Enter Clideo

Conclusions

After having tried several tools, the only thing that I have clear is that if we want to maintain the highest possible quality, the best free utility that we can use is Handbrake. Mobile applications are not bad at all and can be a good option for sharing videos with friends or on social networks, but they lack that professional touch for those looking for more advanced settings and greater room for maneuver. If we are looking for professional results, without a doubt the best thing is to opt for desktop compressors in desktop computers.

 

by Abdullah Sam
I’m a teacher, researcher and writer. I write about study subjects to improve the learning of college and university students. I write top Quality study notes Mostly, Tech, Games, Education, And Solutions/Tips and Tricks. I am a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

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