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  1. Could someone. Anyone. Please tell me how to reduce the video size so I can simply email it? Why is this so freaking hard. I've tried 2 free video editing software programs. I've tried this and that but still the sane problem. File size too big to email.



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  2. Member Budman1's Avatar
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    Many hits suggest Handbrake and tell you how to do it.. The problem may be your email ISP. Some will only allow a file size of 1 mbits and that is a pretty low resolution, very small size, poor quality video.

    If you are interested in Handbrake you might go to http://www.wikihow.com/Reduce-Video-Size and peruse that site. Be sure to check you ISP maXimum file size though. It may be quite low.
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  3. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Personally I'd use something like MEGA or another storage site. Upload the video there then send a download link to the recipient. As long as it does not involve copyrighted material it will work fine.
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  4. Explorer Case's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by hech54 View Post
    Personally I'd use something like MEGA or another storage site. Upload the video there then send a download link to the recipient.
    Good advice, even more so for the recipient! Gmail users will find that this will be suggested via Google Drive, and Outlook users may find tight integration via Microsoft OneDrive. Apple’s Mail/iCloud (Mail Drop) works similarly. Personally, I frequently use WeTransfer for temporary cloud storage.
    Behind the scenes, many file hosting services use Amazon Web Services, and Jeff Bezos buys a new Blue Origin rocket (and we’re back to rocket science ).
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  5. Originally Posted by seabeeken123 View Post
    Could someone. Anyone. Please tell me how to reduce the video size so I can simply email it? Why is this so freaking hard. I've tried 2 free video editing software programs. I've tried this and that but still the sane problem. File size too big to email.
    Code:
    file size = bitrate * running time
    So to reduce the file size specify a lower bitrate.
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  6. Emailing video is generally a bad idea unless it is just a few seconds long. You can only reduce the size so much, using compression and/or resizing, before it become a pixelated mess. A video that is more than 30-60 seconds is going to be way too large for email systems.

    Emailing also puts a burden on the recipient because it will contribute to more quickly filling up their email inbox limit (if they don't deleted it). It will also cause the email to take much longer to load, especially if they still have a relatively slow Internet connection. Not that many years ago, it was considered bad Internet etiquette to attach large photos or videos to an email. Still is.

    Most email systems set a limit on how large an attachment they will allow. If your recipient has a smaller limit than your email system, they won't be able to receive the file.

    So, as others have already said, uploading to Mediafire or Mega or some other site and then sending the link is one option. That will let you send the original video file in all its original quality. Or, with only a modest compromise in quality, you can upload to YouTube, Vimeo, or some other streaming site and send a link to that. The big advantage of this approach is that they can click and view immediately without having to first wait for the entire video file to download. In essence, YouTube does all that re-sizing and re-compressing for you.
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  7. Google drive provides both direct download and lowres instant preview.
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  8. Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Originally Posted by seabeeken123 View Post
    Could someone. Anyone. Please tell me how to reduce the video size so I can simply email it? Why is this so freaking hard. I've tried 2 free video editing software programs. I've tried this and that but still the sane problem. File size too big to email.
    Code:
    file size = bitrate * running time
    So to reduce the file size specify a lower bitrate.
    Thanks but please explain to me how to do this like I'm a 2 year old.
    When I had MS Vista, it was easy. Now I'm sitting here just sucking wind.


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  9. Originally Posted by seabeeken123 View Post
    When I had MS Vista, it was easy.
    Then use the same software you used when you ran Vista. Almost every video editing program that ran on Vista will run on more recent versions of Windows.

    Originally Posted by seabeeken123 View Post
    Thanks but please explain to me how to do this like I'm a 2 year old.
    There are many video conversion guides and posts on this site about it. Try fairly simple programs like Vidcoder or Handbrake.
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  10. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    seabeeken123, 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. From our rules:
    Try to choose a subject that describes your topic.
    Please do not use topic subjects like Help me!!! or Problems.
    Thanks,

    Moderator redwudz
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  11. Member Krispy Kritter's Avatar
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    How about we start with the original file type and size. If you are trying to email a 60 minute training video, for example, it's NOT going to happen.

    As noted, you also need to know email limitations. And those limitations vary from provider to provider. So even if you can upload a 10MB file to your email, doesn't mean your desired recipient can receive a file that large.

    Email is not a distribution platform for media. As noted, use a file host (there are numerous options) and simply email the link to the file. In which case, your only limitation is your upload speed and you may not need to touch the video at all.
    Google is your Friend
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  12. thanks all for your response.
    ok so what id like to do is buy a video editing software. Here's what terrifies me: I have an amazing gift for downloading programs loaded with malware, adware, spy ware you name it. Is there any way to know which sites are safe to buy from without getting a bundle of garbage?

    Thank you
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  13. Member DB83's Avatar
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    Actually you are not reading what is recommended.

    Over the years video file sizes have got bigger. At the same time mail boxes have got smaller (since ISP cram even more users in to available, even if temporary, storage)

    So let's see if you can get the file size down to your mailbox size. You might still have your mail messages stored there since many people do not download them locally (to your own HDD). So you really do not know how much space is available until you try to send the message with the attached video and some many minutes later get a 'failed' notification.

    The ONLY way you can guarantee the receiver getting the file is to upload it to some hosting service. Now if you already have a youtube account you already have some storage at GoogleDrive. That is easiest since some hosting services are not exactly 'safe'.

    But carry on regardless. This is my one and only contribution here.
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  14. Member Krispy Kritter's Avatar
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    The software recommended can/will vary depending on what exactly you are trying to do, and the source material type.

    At this point, you have asked how to decrease the file size and now for editing software (which isn't what you would use to decrease file size).

    Review what you are actually attempting to do, review the comments here about how to do what you have asked so far, and answer the outstanding questions.
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  15. Use torrent, send link by email, allow someone to download file, remove torrent.
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  16. I really do appreciate the help. Your right.
    Thanks for answering the one question which I never asked. I used to be able to send large video clips
    about 3 years ago without a problem. No even a 15 second recording with my iPhone is getting kicked back
    For being too large..I wondered why.
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  17. Originally Posted by seabeeken123 View Post
    I used to be able to send large video clips
    about 3 years ago without a problem. No even a 15 second recording with my iPhone is getting kicked back
    For being too large..I wondered why.
    Different email service (at either end, even in between), different size limit.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_attachment#Size_limits
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  18. Chicken McNewblet
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    Gmail's file size limit is 25MB (if I recall correctly), so for 1080p video your limit at an acceptable quality is going to be about 1 minute, give or take.

    Could you tell us a little bit about what kind of video you want to convert? What was it recorded with?

    Handbrake has a "target filesize" option that you can use to convert your video to x264 (with an MP4 container) with a filesize of roughly 25MB, though I'd probably select 24 just to be safe.
    Last edited by CursedLemon; 23rd Sep 2017 at 10:42.
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  19. Chicken McNewblet
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    Actually I think I'm mistaken, Handbrake doesn't seem to have a target filesize option anymore? Weird.

    In any case, I just converted a 1:00 1080p30 video from my phone using Handbrake. The only option I changed was the Constant Quality RF (under the "Video" tab), which I set to 30. This reduced the file size from 124MB down to 21MB.
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  20. encoding to size does not have to be included, you just use 2pass calculating average bitrate yourself
    Code:
    file size = average bitrate * running time
    average bitrate = file size/running time
    the only "challenge" here is to choose proper units, for example wanting 50MB from 2 minute video:

    average bitrate = 50MB / 120 seconds = 0.417 MB/seconds = ~3300kb/second (multiplying it by 8000)

    but sure using CRF is faster and after of couple of tries you pretty much know ballpark what CRF to choose to squeeze video aproximatelly (for known type of videos)
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  21. Originally Posted by seabeeken123 View Post
    I really do appreciate the help. Your right.
    Thanks for answering the one question which I never asked. I used to be able to send large video clips
    about 3 years ago without a problem. No even a 15 second recording with my iPhone is getting kicked back
    For being too large..I wondered why.
    Well... perhaps because you've been using email client that will do automatic big file split to do multiple email messages that will be later automatically combined to create single large file - this was common method to avoid single message size limit - however email as binary file transfer seem to be not the most efficient way (8 bit must be turned to 7 bit encoding when UUE is used i.e. bandwidth waste).
    https://www.howtogeek.com/171328/how-to-send-large-files-over-email/
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  22. Bought pinnacle 21 and it's exactly what I needed to send long videos. Very easy to change formats and reduce file sizes.


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  23. You did not mentioned what NLE you actually tried at the beginning and it did not work, most likely you missed how to do it properly (before trying Handbrake), that is a function of any NLE videoeditor, like Pinnacle, Vegas, Premiere, Magix .....
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  24. Originally Posted by seabeeken123 View Post
    Bought pinnacle 21 and it's exactly what I needed to send long videos. Very easy to change formats and reduce file sizes.
    It is very easy to change formats and reduce file size with free software but if paid software works for you then fine.
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