Question Video compression software

Zaichik

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My son has to submit a video for his guitar exam, and the portal the exam board uses has a file size limit of 100MB. The video of his best performances is over 600MB.

Can anyone recommend a good piece of software to compress the file without too much loss of quality, particularly in the sound?

Thanks for your advice.
 
Sound is not usually the element which makes video files larger.
What type of file is it? mp4 and mov files are already compressed, and the only way you will reduce their size is to reduce the image size (maybe 720 from 1080), framerate, length and quality.
You'll need video editing software to do that, I think.
As a result zipping up won't usually make significant difference.
 
Thanks for replying. It's a 720p mp4 file, running at 30fps, I think.

What would be a good, inexpensive video editing package for this?

I really hope we don't have to reshoot. My son is already forgetting the pieces and probably won't play them as well.
 
Have you tried Windows' own Video Editor? That could resave at 540 but not sure that would achieve a 6:1 compression. I would imagine they just need to see it's him playing rather than being great res.

What was it shot on? No options there to compress further for web playback?
 
YTD downloader also has a good basic compressor. It is easy to use and does a good job. I use it for quick compression jobs when sending rushes of edits, as it's quicker than reconfiguring the edit software.
 
Have you tried Windows' own Video Editor? That could resave at 540 but not sure that would achieve a 6:1 compression. I would imagine they just need to see it's him playing rather than being great res.

What was it shot on? No options there to compress further for web playback?

It was shot on my phone using the Motiv Video app and a Shure MV88+ microphone. There is a limited video editor in the app but I don't think it includes compression.

I'll have a look at the Windows video editor. Thanks.
 
Another quick compression method is to upload the file to WhatsApp and then download it again. The resulting file is compressed automatically and is generally of good quality.

I set Google photos to back up my WhatsApp media, so the file is easy to find, download and share.
 
Run it through Handbrake. Use the H265 (HEVC) compression Codec. Play around with the quality settings slider until you get the file size you need.


Depending on the run-time of the original video, you might have to trim the length down a bit, to get a balance between file size and acceptable quality.
 
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My son has to submit a video for his guitar exam, and the portal the exam board uses has a file size limit of 100MB. The video of his best performances is over 600MB.

Can anyone recommend a good piece of software to compress the file without too much loss of quality, particularly in the sound?

Thanks for your advice.
I heard the FLV format is a good compression format without quality loss. You can refer to this article about how to convert MP4 to FLV Hassle-free Way to Convert MP4 to FLV- VideoPower
 
This limit must cause others to have issues.... what do other student do? Cutting the submission at 100Mb .
I have an edited accordion "short" that's 70Mb, but the tune only lasts 1minute. It was filmed with a stills camera, in movie mode at 1080x1920 (HD) at 50fps for the UK. using the cameras' mic . . . but then accordions aren't exactly sweet-music. The musician was quite pleased, as I'd included "Cutaways" of the chord-buttons, when he changed Key.

Does the submission site not have some hints/tips for making these videos? Some prior-submissions might assist.
Reducing the video will affect the quality, but audio is more-forgiving, if it's good in the first-place (esp. avoiding any overload clips ). From your description it's difficult to understand... is this a COVID19 issue.... so the submission site is not that familiar with video - OR - is the Site expecting Audio-only, perhaps? Some prior-submissions might assist.

Good Luck.
 
My wife is a music teacher and has had to coordinate quite a few clips for exams.

Generally speaking, you need to play all pieces in one hit- no editing together your best takes!! The shot should be of your whole body and instrument, so normally portrait works best and the expectation is that the sound can be clearly heard, along with any accompaniment.

Most exam boards suggest using a mobile phone set on a stand a few metres away from the player, as this most closely replicates exam conditions.

Where any of her students have struggled it is because they have tried to use a DSLR or camcorder or have used very high quality settings.

As mentioned above, WhatsApp the video and redownload provides an instant video compression of acceptable standard.

Quite honestly it's best not to over-think it as all they need to see is that it's the candidate playing the piece and can clearly hear the audio.
 
If the image doesn't have to be pristine try knocking the video size down to something like 640 x 480 (adjust it for ratio). The frame size will be small, but enough to know it's your son.
 
If the image doesn't have to be pristine try knocking the video size down to something like 640 x 480 (adjust it for ratio). The frame size will be small, but enough to know it's your son.
Hopefully 2 years later the OP sorted this..
 

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