The trend of video content is gaining popularity within the audience but one major issue that exists with videos is that video files are very large. Transferring, uploading, hosting, and mailing them is extremely difficult due to their large size. There are certain aspects of files that can be tweaked such as video bit rate, video resolution, video codec, frame rate, and size of the video as per your requirements.  

Compressing videos can be a technical concept. The majority of the population doesn’t understand the term “compression”. But it is easier than it sounds. Let’s look at few terms that can help you reduce the file size– :

• Codec
  Codec is an abbreviation used for compression and decompression. A codec software is used to compress or decompress video. To encode files, codecs employ a variety of compression algorithms. They are the key defining factors for the quality/file size ratio.   There are a large variety of codecs to select from. H.264 is the most widely used lossless codec for preserving HD quality. It is said to compress videos nearly twice as well as MPEG-4. It is also recognized by the majority of modern devices, such as a simple TV or the Raspberry Pi.  AVI, WMA, XviD, Real Audio, and Apple Video are some other popular codecs.

   

• Bitrate
  The bitrate is the most important factor in determining video quality, so use it as a last resort. In layman’s terms, bitrate is the amount of data displayed in one second. Higher you will go in terms of displaying the data, the size of the video will increase. Most DSLRs, as well as most screen recording and screencasting software, record video at high bitrates. It is preferable to have a variable bitrate rather than a constant bitrate.

   

• Audios can reduce the size too
  Video files have audio tracks appended to them. Audio compression is handled by various codecs. If high-fidelity vocals or music aren’t a priority, you can significantly reduce the file size by lowering the audio bitrate. For most videos, the Bitrate setting should be set to 160 by default. If you’re converting a video with a lot of music, go with a higher bitrate (256 or 320). Select AAC (CoreAudio) or MP3 as the codec. These are lossy compressed audio file formats that are adequate for most applications. In fact, you can choose one of these lossy formats and sample it at a higher bitrate for concerts or other similar videos. It is advised not to mess with the sample rate and set it as auto but can be tweaked in order to reduce size. We Provide Free ott Platform in India 

   

•  Video Length
  This is a more manual way of working to reduce the size of the file and also keeping the quality intact. Remove unnecessary parts of the video or dividing the video into different parts are the few sought out ways. Multiple content creators who make tutorial videos divide the whole process into smaller parts reducing the size of the whole process video.

   

• 3rd Party Hosting
  This method is very trendy in today’s modern world. People tend to upload content on video-sharing sites and third-party servers in order to save space on your server. Later on when required people can stream their content through these spaces or can embed videos on their own page linking it to their video on a third-party server.

   

• Creating zip files
  People compress the video in zip folders. They help in reducing the size of video and also ensure that quality is not harmed. You just need to select the folder with your content and then send it to compress and a zip folder is created. It is an option that goes with both windows as well as mac.

   

• Make changes in video resolution
  You might have the equipment to shoot 4k videos but one thing to consider is that not every audience member has a 4k TV or monitor to watch them. Many people value resolution way too much. The resolution has a significant impact on the size of the video, but it may not have a significant impact on the quality. The distance between you and the screen, the TV’s upscaling technology, and the bitrate of the video will all have an equal or greater impact. To reduce the file size by resolution, check the original resolution of the video and choose one level below it as a rule of thumb.

   

• Leave the Frame rates unchanged
  Many people advise reducing frame rates but it’s never a good idea. All the video experts, video editors,s and video hosting sites are well aware of the fact that you should always keep the frame rate of your video the same as it was recorded. Because the human eye only requires 24–30 frames per second (FPS) for a good image, it may appear logical to reduce the frame rate to that range but in an attempt to do so, it can degrade the smoothness of video and make it appear jerky.

   

So this has been the end of the list and we hope that you can bring in a significant change in terms of the size of your video files. All of these measures have a step-by-step process to carry out. Video content is made up of a variety of things and that is the primary reason why those files are so space heavy but the tricky part here is that it also provides options to make changes to those things. Smaller files are easier to transfer and share across peers. For the audience too, it is easier to stream and the content is more approachable as it requires less bandwidth. People also tend to use a variety of software in order to compress video but it generally affects the quality and makes it unappealing. Do let us know if we missed out on other measures to reduce the file size for video. We Provide Free ott app