Smaller video files for web posting

[obewan_buzz]

I have been creating hi-res digital videos for serval years and saving them as DVDs. Now I would like to create smaller lower resolution versions for web posting. The intermediate digital files I have are avi files about 5-10 GB in size and would like to reduce them to 5 MB or smaller. Can any one recommend software that can reduce the frame size and resolution to make my files smaller?

[redsox_mark]

You have choices of:

- which format to use (e.g. .wmv, mpeg1, mpeg4, etc)
- which editing/conversion software
- Specific settings (resolution, bitrate, etc)

I find .wmv gives good quality for the filesize, and can be played by most everyone. What are your original files, are they DV-avi? If so you can use Windows Movie Maker to create the .wmv files. There are various templates for different quality/bitrates.

You can also use any of the “mainstream” editors for this, such as Sony Vegas (which I use), Premiere/Premiere Elements, Ulead Video Studio, etc.