Need to make a mov file smaller without losing its video quality

[shesterz]

Hello everybody! Ok, so Im doing this birthday video for my girlfriend using Final cut pro X on my mac... So i recorded all her friends and family wishing her a happy birthday and all that good stuff.. I exported the video as a .mov file and tried to save it to my flash drive so she can see it when its her birthday.
The video got way too big (about 20gb) and i dont think she has quick time player on her PC (its not a mac).. What format should i convert it to? Is there any way i can make it smaller without losing its video quality? Any programs for mac that i can use to do that? Im willing to spend money on a program if its worth it.. Thanks a lot!

[johns0]

In the future please use a more descriptive subject title in your posts to allow others to search for similar topics. I will change yours this time.

Also moved your thread to the mac forum where you can get more help.

[shesterz]

thank you for the heads up! that won't happen again!

[hech54]

20GB sounds like "uncompressed" something-or-other. From 20GB to a memory stick....it WILL lose quality. I'd start off with a simple MPEG2 file for DVD. There should be a 720x480 NTSC DVD video output option somewhere in Final Cut....I hope.

[smrpix]

FCPX should output any format you need -- try mp4 (H.264 video and aac audio) for "near universal" playback. ipad presets are a useful starting point. You don't say how long this video is, or what format.