How Can I Convert 1080p to 720p H.264 Encoded Video?

[channelz28]

i have an older, underpowered netbook and with 1080p hd video that is encoded with h.264, it doesnt play. i have some 720p that will. so like the title says, how can i just downsize? i really like the clarity of h.264 video, i just want it smaller.

[Baldrick]

Handbrake!

[channelz28]

can you give me a quick tutorial on resizing? im not sure i can use it though...the interface drops off the bottom of my screen and i cant see the Scaling part.

[aedipuss]

vidcoder is a gui for handbrake, pretty easy to use. give it a try.

[Chef Goldblum]

To convert with handbrake

1) download and install handbrake
2) open source file in handbrake
3) make sure to choose output folder. Handbrake hates not knowing!
4) in video tab, choose your resolution. Make it 1280x720. Now choose constant quality, and use the slider to select 20 or 22.
5) Hit start, and wait for awhile.

You can also choose to play around with the audio, and you can also choose the type of file format you want your output to be, etc. This is the basic steps you'll need to produce a small 800-900mb 720p file with good quality from your 1080p source.

[johns0]

Uncropmkv is easier to use.

[johns0]

Just a spam link,don't click on it.

[Hoser Rob]

There are tons of tutorials on handbrake or vidcoder. Try the ones on the left of this site. Those two encoders are really the same program with different gui's. I like handbrake myself.

Chef's suggestions are a good place to start. As well, go into advanced settings and turn off CABAC encoding for old hardware that doesn't handle HD well. CABAC is an additional compression applied to the video which doesn't hurt quality but significantly increases the CPU needed to decode ... ie play ... the file.

There are other h.264 encoders recommended here by very knowledgeable people but handbrake/vidcoder are the ones I'd recommended for the less than very knowledgeable. They're reasonably easy to use and actually pretty powerful when you want to dive into the deep end.