Best way to lower a video's quality

[YourGamerMom]

The issue is that my computer cannot smoothly run 1080p video files. I have a 1080p, dual audio, subbed, .mkv that I would much rather be 720p. Without losing the subtitles or the audio channels, what is the best way to reduce the quality of this video, so that my computer can play it smoothly.

Also, my computer runs at 98% CPU when playing the 1080p video, will the fall to 720 be enough? or do I have to go as far down as 480?

Thank you in advance.

(there may be a similar thread about this, but for the life of me I cannot decipher OP's text, and it is pretty old IIRC)

[redwudz]

You can lower the quality of the video by re-encoding it, though changing it to 720p may not make much difference just by itself.
If you lower the bitrate also, it may play back better. That would also lower the quality. Does it also have problems playing DVDs?

What software player are you using for MKV? That can make a huge difference.

But I think you would be much better off just installing a video card that can handle 1080p.

If your PC is using 98% of it's power for playback, you have a major problem. Typical should be around 10% or less.

Others here may have some better ideas.

And welcome to our forum.

[jagabo]

If you want to reencode try Handbrake, Normal preset, reduce the frame size to 1280xWhatever.

And... 1080p at what frame rate? I wouldn't expect a Core i3 380M to have any problems playing 1920x1080p at 24 or 30 Hz. What audio and video codecs?

[roma_turok]

You don't need reduce quality
computers with Core i3 CPU can play 1080p video files with no problem
did you try play in video players like Media Player Classic Home Cinema(MPC-HC) or VLC?

[fritzi93]

You don't need reduce quality
computers with Core i3 CPU can play 1080p video files with no problem
did you try play in video players like Media Player Classic Home Cinema(MPC-HC) or VLC?

Some of the Pavilion G6 laptops have a dual core AMD APU, no? But I agree, the file should play either way. By all means, get the portable version of MPC-HC and try it.

And if there's still a problem, we'll need a screenshot of what MediaInfo has to say about the file's particulars. We don't want or need to know the name of the file or where you got it.