handbrake to compress video

[natty]

I have followed this tutorial on making a video size smaller but its made it a bigger size, it was at 1st 1.67 GB, but after its now 27.1GB I cannot understand it as followed the tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNlqGgCQpIU

[ProWo]

I have followed this tutorial on making a video size smaller but its made it a bigger size, it was at 1st 1.67 GB, but after its now 27.1GB I cannot understand it as followed the tutorial

Set the constant quality slider to 23

[jagabo]

If you want a video of a specific size you should use Avg Bitrate encoding, not Constant Quality. To get a smaller video use a lower bitrate than the starting video.

Note that the youtube video recommends RF values from 18 to 25. But with CRF encoding the resulting file size is unpredictable (other than "the higher then number the smaller the size -- for a particular video"). You may have to go to even higher values to get a smaller file than the source.

And when using bitrate based encoding you should use the Multi-pass option for better quality.

[cholla]

The main problem is the "constant quality" .
You have it set to 2 . Ive never tried that "high" of a setting. It would be almost like a zero setting which is AKA Placebo> (Which no one recommends).
Try 18 to 22.
Set the "Encoder Preset" to slow or very slow.

For Frame Rate:
I would recommend "Same as source".
Variable frame rate should be some smaller but may create some problems.
For example on higher motion scenes. Can also create Audio sync problems.

jagabo's recommendation is also good but it may take a couple of tries on the size to get what you want.
Meaning if set too small you may not like the quality.

For either my preference is .mkv .
Also the Encoder Profile set to High is usually OK.
The Encoder level set to "Auto" may not be correct.
This is if you have an older set top BD or other player . Try 4.0 or 4.1 .

[jagabo]

x264's RF=0 is lossless encoding. As with all other lossless encoders the file will be very large. The RF=2 setting the OP used is very close to lossless and will also deliver very large files. Around RF=18 is nearly visually lossless at normal playback speed on most material.

But if the OP wants a guaranteed file size he should use bitrate based encoding because the definition of bitrate is:

bitrate = stream size / running time

So:

stream size = running time * bitrate

Half the bitrate will deliver half the size of the video stream.

[natty]

Thanks all for your help, but i am afraid all this is too much for my little brain lol. I am not into doing all this. but its not a big problem, as I have plenty of space on pen drives. I did try a few ways got video smaller size but then the quality was terrible

[cholla]

Thanks all for your help, but i am afraid all this is too much for my little brain lol.

If you are still interested.

All you need to do is use these settings in Handbrake:

[Attachment 93662 - Click to enlarge]

I just used aac pasthrough because the audio was already compressed enough.
If you have a large bit audio you can also compress it to get a smaller size.

[Attachment 93663 - Click to enlarge]

I do not know if this will be enough compression for you.

The Video used 2.28 GB
The compressed video is 1.48 GB

[eco-by-different]

The first question should be: what file size are you trying to achieve?

If your goal is around 100 MB for a 40-60 minute video, then RF-based encoding is not the best starting point because file size becomes unpredictable. In that case a bitrate or target-size workflow makes more sense.

For example:

100 MB/40-60min: expect heavy downscaling (e.g. ~576x320), denoising, low bitrate audio and aggressive compression.
300-400 MB/hour: a much more balanced approach would be around qHD resolution (960x540), light denoising such as RemoveGrain(2), AAC-LC 96 kbps audio and x264 slow/veryslow.

The required workflow depends entirely on the size budget. There is no single "best" HandBrake setting.

[natty]

Thanks all for your help, but i am afraid all this is too much for my little brain lol.

If you are still interested.

All you need to do is use these settings in Handbrake:

[Attachment 93662 - Click to enlarge]

I just used aac pasthrough because the audio was already compressed enough.
If you have a large bit audio you can also compress it to get a smaller size.

[Attachment 93663 - Click to enlarge]

I do not know if this will be enough compression for you.

The Video used 2.28 GB
The compressed video is 1.48 GB

Ok I will give it a try and let you know, my clip is 1.67GB so lets see if it makes it smaller and ok to view still, You must have a different version of handbrake as its not like mine version 1.11.2 the latest


Well tried your settings .mkv not mp4 and it went from 1.67GB to 3.29GB so not shrunk clip at all

[natty]

The first question should be: what file size are you trying to achieve?

If your goal is around 100 MB for a 40-60 minute video, then RF-based encoding is not the best starting point because file size becomes unpredictable. In that case a bitrate or target-size workflow makes more sense.

For example:

100 MB/40-60min: expect heavy downscaling (e.g. ~576x320), denoising, low bitrate audio and aggressive compression.
300-400 MB/hour: a much more balanced approach would be around qHD resolution (960x540), light denoising such as RemoveGrain(2), AAC-LC 96 kbps audio and x264 slow/veryslow.

The required workflow depends entirely on the size budget. There is no single "best" HandBrake setting.

Well not any particular size just a bit smaller size than 1.67GB

[jagabo]

When you use RF based encoding you don't know if the resulting video will be larger or smaller than your source. Use MediaInfo to determine the video bitrate of your source. Then use multipass bitrate based encoding at a lower bitrate.

Get rid of all those x264 command line options unless you have some hardware requirement for them. And use a slower preset -- the slower the preset, the better the quality. I recommend "slow" for standard definition video, "medium" for high def video.

Basically, with RF based encoding your are specifying the quality (relative to the source) but you don't know the size. With Bitrate based encoding you know the size of the resulting video but not the quality.

[cholla]

You must have a different version of handbrake as its not like mine version 1.11.2 the latest

I'm certain I have a different version of Handbrake.

Well tried your settings .mkv not mp4 and it went from 1.67GB to 3.29GB so not shrunk clip at all

The settings should still work the same.
This is where a MediaInfo would help. To see where the gain in size is.

Since you tried the settings i suggested with RF & they did not work for you .
Try the method suggested by jagabo.
To make it clear these are the "x264 command line options" he says to get rid of:

[Attachment 93667 - Click to enlarge]

[jagabo]

The fact that the OP's original video is 1.67 GB and a near lossless reencoding resulted in 27.1 GB indicates the video is already highly compressed. Recompressing at CRF=22 wasn't likely to make it smaller. Especially with the Advanced Options he was using -- most of which were going to increase the file size.

[eco-by-different]

Jagabo is right.


Use Average Bitrate in a single pass. For a 1 GB target, calculate 1000 × 8000 / duration in seconds, then subtract the audio bitrate.

Enter the result as the video bitrate and use x264 slow.

The final size should be close to 1 GB.

[cholla]

The calculations should be based on 1024 instead of 1000.
1 GB = 1024 MB = 1048576 KB
1048576 KB x 8 = 8388608 kbps
8388608 kbps ÷ duration in seconds

If you need to subtract the Audio stream size because you want a more exact video stream size.
Then the Audio stream size should be subtracted from the total stream size.
Then use the math above.

I believe for the OP's video since I do not have the Audio stream size.

This should be the math for a 1 GB stream size of the OP's video:
8388608 kbps ÷ 2908 = 2884.6657 (kilobits per second) .
Rounding this up or down should not make much difference.

[davexnet]

Or you could just use Vidcoder, a Handbrake clone, which offers something Handbrake doesn't.
Instead of having to calculate bit rates, just enter your target size, and the program will work it all out

[natty]

Or you could just use Vidcoder, a Handbrake clone, which offers something Handbrake doesn't.
Instead of having to calculate bit rates, just enter your target size, and the program will work it all out

I will give it a try and report back

Well I added the movie clip to it, mine was 1.67GB before and after using vidcoder its now 3.28GB so not even shrunk the video.

I had it on fast 1080p30

[ProWo]

To create a smaller video file, you need to re-encode your video using a lower bitrate than your source video.

Analyze your video using MediaInfo (text mode).
Look for the "Bitrate" line in the Video section.
Here you'll see the average bitrate of your video.
Make a note of the value.


[Attachment 93679 - Click to enlarge]

(If the bitrate isn't displayed, click "Options" in MediaInfo and enable "Full Parsing." Then drag your video again into the MediaInfo window. The bitrate will now be displayed.)

Then start clever FFmpeg-GUI, drag your video into, click encode video stream.
Set x264 as encoder, set CRF to 23, leave all other settings as they are and click encode.

Let the encoder run for about 2 minutes and watch the bitrate value in the FFmpeg row. If it's lower than the value of your source video, wait until the encoder finishes; otherwise, abort the encoding, increase the CRF value, and click encode again. Repeat this until you get a lower bitrate value.


[Attachment 93680 - Click to enlarge]

When the encoding is complete, click multiplex, uncheck the blue video stream on the left (all other streams should remain checked), select the container (mp4 or mkv), and click multiplex.

Done.

[cholla]

natty you can try ProWo' Clever as he suggests. I have found it to be good software.
I believe you will get close to the same results as Handbrake set at CRF 22 as I suggested.
I do not have the same video you are working with
The one I did with Handbrake using CRF 22 had these results:
The Video used 2.28 GB
The compressed video is 1.48 GB

Using jagabo's math formula to figure what I posted in # 15.
I used this for the same 2.28 GB video used before.
It was 1.11 GB when finished by Handbrake. It was "over-compressed" & had a lot of artifacts.

I tried VidCoder but it apparently did not like the test file I was using.
It would finish about 1/4th report "success" & was done.
I plan to test it with another file but have not yet.

I also plan to test with only ffmpeg from command line.
Using the math formula. I do not expect better results.
As above my results were this over-compresses the video.

My computer is too slow to use h265.
From what I read it should have better results at compressing a file to the smaller size.

[natty]

To create a smaller video file, you need to re-encode your video using a lower bitrate than your source video.

Analyze your video using MediaInfo (text mode).
Look for the "Bitrate" line in the Video section.
Here you'll see the average bitrate of your video.
Make a note of the value.


[Attachment 93679 - Click to enlarge]

(If the bitrate isn't displayed, click "Options" in MediaInfo and enable "Full Parsing." Then drag your video again into the MediaInfo window. The bitrate will now be displayed.)

Then start clever FFmpeg-GUI, drag your video into, click encode video stream.
Set x264 as encoder, set CRF to 23, leave all other settings as the are and click encode.

Let the encoder run for about 2 minutes and watch the bitrate value in the FFmpeg row. If it's lower than the value of your source video, wait until the encoder finishes; otherwise, abort the encoding, increase the CRF value, and click encode again. Repeat this until you get a lower bitrate value.


[Attachment 93680 - Click to enlarge]

When the encoding is complete, click multiplex, uncheck the blue video stream on the left (all other streams should remain checked), select the container (mp4 or mkv), and click multiplex.

Done.

I have downloaded MediaInfo but cant see bitrate, I have even Enabled Full Parsing as you said but still not see it. yours look different to mine



[Attachment 93682 - Click to enlarge]



OK I have sorted it found bitrate its 4.925kb/s will try clever FFmpeg GUI

[ProWo]

I have downloaded MediaInfo but cant see bitrate, I have even Enabled Full Parsing as you said but still not see it. yours look different to mine

This is because you're using the basic view, and I the text view.
You can change this with the View button in the menu.

Your video bitrate is shown fine.


[Attachment 93683 - Click to enlarge]

[natty]

how do you set the output folder as when i click it nothing happens so i dont know where clip is saved to


Well I have now got video clip from 1.67GB to 1.06GB and at end it says $_V0.mkv but there is now no audio

[ProWo]

how do you set the output folder as when i click it nothing happens so i dont know where clip is saved to

On the first start you're asked for the target folder. This is the output folder.
You can change it in the settings (settings & more, target folder).

[natty]

why now no audio on movie as cant make that out plus what $_V0 mean

[ProWo]

why now no audio on movie as cant make that out plus what $_V0 mean

_V0 means videostream 0.
With this action you've re-encoded the videostream only. All other streams remain untouched.
To assemble all to the final video you have to multiplex all streams.
Follow the instructions in my previous post #18.

[natty]

Oh I see now I hadn't read last piece of your post #18 will try that now and report if all fine

[davexnet]

Or you could just use Vidcoder, a Handbrake clone, which offers something Handbrake doesn't.
Instead of having to calculate bit rates, just enter your target size, and the program will work it all out

I will give it a try and report back

Well I added the movie clip to it, mine was 1.67GB before and after using vidcoder its now 3.28GB so not even shrunk the video.

I had it on fast 1080p30

It's hard to evaluate your result without seeing the corresponding video and audio tabs and the FULL mediainfo of the source (in view> text mode)
It works for me, I successfully reduced a file to 40Mb (source is 74MB) :

[natty]

Oh I see now I hadn't read last piece of your post #18 will try that now and report if all fine

Well at last I have managed to make video smaller in GB , I had to increase the CRF from 23 to 35, as tried encoding with Clever FFmpeg Gui a few times and it was after 2 mins about 4 *** still. the video was at 1st 1.67GB now its 1.07GB

[jagabo]

x264 crf 35 is pretty poor quality. I hope you don't plan to watch that video!

[natty]

x264 crf 35 is pretty poor quality. I hope you don't plan to watch that video!

its not important as its only a bike ride video, But strange it did play, but now it wont, dont know why, but i am going to try it again at 23 CRF see if thats any smaller