Video archive

[crisfast]

Hello,is there any way to archive a folder (it contains only video files .mkv or .avi) and the archive's size be reduce? For exemple: I'll archive folder "Test" (7GB) and I want that the archive to have 1-2GB, whatever, but it's size to be reduced, I want to backup my anime folders and store them on HDD. Thank you

*sorry for my english*

[Case]

Lossless archive compression (.zip, .rar, etc) sees video as nearly random data. More than 2% compression seems unlikely.

[crisfast]

1 year ago, I've downloaded an archive (4MB) whitch contains a .avi video file (~900mb). I've searched everywhere for a method to do that. But do you have any suggestion of softwears that can help me?

[hech54]

1 year ago, I've downloaded an archive (4MB) whitch contains a .avi video file (~900mb).

No.....you didn't.

I've searched everywhere for a method to do that.

You didn't find one because it doesn't exist.

[Cornucopia]

Using lossless compression ON TOP of something already lossy-compressed (such as your usual video files), can even result in a GROWTH in the filesize, much less the 2% shrinkage max that Case was mentioning.

You've got to remember: 99.99% of video files out there are already VERY, VERY compressed. And most forms of lossy compression ALREADY have an element of lossless compression built-in. The only way to provide more than minimal percentages of further compression is to (decompress &) re-compress via a lossy codec, and incurring much further quality losses in the process. No way around that! And the BEST, MOST EFFICIENT codecs in current use (such as x.264) usually only provide ~100:1 at low bitrates (and therefore LOW quality), compared to uncompressed video. Going from 900MiB -> 4MiB is ~250:1, and would only be remotely feasable if the original was an uncompressed file (and then the video would still look like SHIT). Anything else, as hech54 has already mentioned, is just lies.

Scott

[Brad]

Lossless archive compression (.zip, .rar, etc) sees video as nearly random data. More than 2% compression seems unlikely.

RAR has an option for "True color" (i.e. 24-bit image) compression.

A 4MB archive of a 900MB AVI is possible if that AVI was uncompressed and had little image information.

[Cornucopia]

That's what I said:

...would only be remotely feasable if the original was an uncompressed file (and then the video would still look like SHIT).

Scott

BTW, using what basically amounts to a still image as video could be considered "cheating" as that would certainly not be the case with most videos. B&T, or Black, or even credits, are special cases.

[El Heggunte]

Hello,is there any way to archive a folder (it contains only video files .mkv or .avi) and the archive's size be reduce? For exemple: I'll archive folder "Test" (7GB) and I want that the archive to have 1-2GB, whatever, but it's size to be reduced

You MAY get some significant size reduction, IF there is sufficient "common redundancy" in the set of files to be archived. ZIP always compresses files individually, so it's not an option in this case. TAR.GZ, RAR, 7Z and CAB support the "solid archive" mode, and you will have to find out which one "works best" for you. BTW, tar.gz is the worst choice, regarding compression efficiency.

And no, miracles do not happen so easily.

[Cornucopia]

I wouldn't give such false hope, El Heggunte. Chances are slim to nil. Better to have the OP's eyes opened - then real decisions can be made and real work done.

Scott

[Brad]

That's what I said:

...would only be remotely feasable if the original was an uncompressed file (and then the video would still look like SHIT).

The color bars look perfect to me. It seemed to me you were implying that only a 160x120 uncompressed video or something could be a 4MB RAR.

[El Heggunte]

I wouldn't give such false hope, El Heggunte.

But I didn't. I wrote "MAY" and IF for a reason.

[Hoser Rob]

Hopefully the OP has figured out by now that:

- it is not possible to shrink video that's already compressed from 7Gb to 1-2 Gb without taking a lot of time and totally ruining the quality,

- if it were everyone here, especially many of the above who know much more than I, would already be using it,

and start saving for some more computer storage space.

[crisfast]

Thank you for help. xD I hope in the near future will be developed a method.

[Cornucopia]

I would actually & truly bet lots of money that that could/would not happen.

Scott

[jagabo]

Thank you for help. xD I hope in the near future will be developed a method.

The last compression step of all high compression codecs (like MPEG 2, Divx, Xvid, h.264, WMV9, etc.) is entropy encoding -- similar to that used in archive programs like ZIP, RAR, 7z, etc. So the only savings you get by archiving those video files is a little compression of the container overhead and maybe the audio if it's uncompressed PCM. This is not going to change any time soon. Stop wasting your time "hoping".