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  1. Member
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    I have about 10 (4 that are over 1GB) .avi videos that need to be uploaded to a sharedrive, the only problem is that their file sizes are way too big. I have Adobe Premiere Pro CC on a OS X 10.9.2. The files need to be compatible with both Mac and PC without installing third party software (my company doesn't allow it).

    What can I do with these videos to make their file size significantly smaller yet keep the quality (doesn't have to be HD) and not take all day to convert? I've looked at some freeware out there but they either add their watermark, add 10 seconds to every 20 seconds of saving time, or aren't compatible with OS X....

    Thank you for any kind of help or advice!
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  2. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by kinseykick View Post
    What can I do with these videos to make their file size significantly smaller yet keep the quality
    NOT gonna happen.
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  3. Member Cornucopia's Avatar
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    Depending on what you really mean by "sharedrive", I might question your assertion that the files are "way too big". Also, lots of files can be read by both Mac and PC, but we don't know whether your files fall under that subset. Posting mediainfo readouts would greatly help. So would a few other details about target audience usage & equipment, etc.

    But why are you asking if you already know you cannot install anything?

    Btw, in his way and pertaining to his literal read on your comment, hech54 is absolutely right. Barring changing to a MUCH more efficient codec, significant loss of bitrate will always translate to significant loss to elements of quality (all else being equal).

    Scott
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  4. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    You are using a Mac to process the video? Premier Pro seems to be a PC based program.

    If all you have to do the conversion with is a Mac, then I can move you to our Mac
    forum, where you may get some better advice from mostly Mac users.

    What size do they need to be? As mentioned, smaller size, less quality. No way to really get around that.

    They are '.avi' format? What exact format? Avi by itself is meaningless.
    Xvid, Divx, or MPEG2 would be some possible formats that may be compatible across both platforms.

    How long it would take to convert is mostly based on your computer CPU specifications.

    And welcome to our forums.
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  5. Member Cornucopia's Avatar
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    @Redwudz, PPro is available in both Mac & PC flavors, and has been for ages. Same with most other Adobe products, and with AVID MC & ProTools.
    I would think these days (w/Intel-based Macs) it isn't as big a deal to program for Mac.

    Yup, more info needed...

    Scott
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    Originally Posted by hech54 View Post
    Originally Posted by kinseykick View Post
    What can I do with these videos to make their file size significantly smaller yet keep the quality
    NOT gonna happen.
    Ok you left out the part where I said it didn't need to be HD. I just need you to be able to still see people's faces and what's going on. I know if you compress it too much those details get thrown out. I know there will be quality loss but I can't have it be major quality loss...

    They are '.avi' format? What exact format? Avi by itself is meaningless.
    Xvid, Divx, or MPEG2 would be some possible formats that may be compatible across both platforms.
    I'm not sure? I got an SD Card with the videos on it and I was told they needed to be compressed. Since I'm the only one in my department with any kind of software that might be able to do that, I was given the task.

    Depending on what you really mean by "sharedrive", I might question your assertion that the files are "way too big".
    The Sharedrive is a drive that is connected wirelessly throughout the department. You can upload and download files to it. Kind of like the cloud. However it has limited space (I think each item has to be under 1GB)

    Also, lots of files can be read by both Mac and PC, but we don't know whether your files fall under that subset.
    I specifically need it to be read by Windows Media Player (or whatever PC users have) because they can't just download quicktime or realplayer to play other video types. Also many of them have older versions of WMP so that causes problems as well. I was looking here for file types.

    -------------------------------------

    What specific information do you need and how do I go about finding it for you?
    Here is what I got from MediaInfo
    Click image for larger version

Name:	Screen Shot 2014-04-30 at 1.34.17 PM.png
Views:	439
Size:	44.1 KB
ID:	24889
    Last edited by kinseykick; 30th Apr 2014 at 13:38.
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    Nevermind. I found a program that will convert it to .wmv and compress at the same time. I had to download Flip Player for Mac to view the wmv files after but for the most part it works. Thanks for trying to help!
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  8. If you have Premiere CC you also have Adobe Media Encoder -- very configurable. "F4V" is pretty much identical to what the rest of the world calls mp4 and is compatible with both platforms.
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    Originally Posted by smrpix View Post
    If you have Premiere CC you also have Adobe Media Encoder -- very configurable. "F4V" is pretty much identical to what the rest of the world calls mp4 and is compatible with both platforms.
    mp4 is only compatible with Windows Media Player 12. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316992
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  10. Member Cornucopia's Avatar
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    Thank you for the mediainfo info! Though what you gave us is just the summary and not detailed screen, it actually is enough to get an idea of what you've got.

    I would say, luckily, that your current files (which are likely from security cam) are in a word: inefficient (both Video-wise and Audio-wise). The JPEG/MJPEG coding which the video uses, has no facility for inter-frame compression (which is EXTREMELY useful in security footage), and the ADPCM audio compression makes little use of psychoacoustical redundany compression efficiencies. So MUCH can be gained (or in this case - NOT LOST) from using more efficient codecs.

    Unfortunately, that is your biggest problem: the fact that you cannot add/install better codecs. You are forced to make use of stock Windows installations (including legacy XP boxes). So I'm going to suggest something which I don't normally suggest: Use Windows Media Encoding. The WMV9 video codec is a variant of MP4-SP/ASP (similar to Xvid/Divx), and so is the equivalent of 3 generations UP from MJPEG (1st=MPEG1, 2nd=MPEG2, 3rd=MP4-ASP, 4th=AVD/h.264, 5th=HEVC).

    So, a WMV file encoded with WMV9 video codec, using ~990kbps (1/10th your current), using 2pass VBR, and audio encodec using the WMA9.2 audio codec in mono, 16bit, 44.1kHz @ ~48kbps, for a total file bitrate of ~1040kbps, would give you a 24min,2sec file of the size of 183MB. That is well within your constraints, and should give you roughly equivalent quality to what you are seeing in your original file.

    This should also be OK to view as is for the great majority of your audience, without any installations (assuming your IT department didn't do something assinine like not installing stock Windows codecs). YMMV.

    The fact that your sharedrive is wireless may add a layer of difficulty if you were expecting your audience to be able to watch the file in realtime as it is streaming (depends on it's bandwidth), but one can always download & cache and THEN watch.

    Only problem I see now is how you encode to WMV on a Mac. There, I would recommend Telestream's Flip4Mac WMV Encoding Studio ($49USD) or StudioPro($179USD). Main difference between the 2 is SP has HD capability, but for your needs, it allows 2pass VBR, which can greatly enhance encoded quality vs. average bitrate.

    Scott
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  11. Member
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    You could go MPEG1 as well. It's not the most effecient, but would work and would still be magnatudes better then MJPEG. I don't know the Mac side but once encoded, it'll work on both Mac and WindowsXP/Vista/7/8 without additional software to view.
    Have a good one,

    neomaine

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  12. Member
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    Only problem I see now is how you encode to WMV on a Mac.
    I downloaded a program called Total Video Converter Lite from the Mac App Store and it is successfully converting the avi files to wmv and they are going from 1.84GB to 72.9 MB. I then downloaded a program called Flip Player which can play the files so that I can view them on my Mac. The quality could be better but the person who wants them is happy with how they turned out so I'm not too worried. Thank you for all your help and I will definetly come back to videohelp.com in the future!
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