How to Shrink Large Video Files October 2nd, 2012 / Comments: 0 You’ve just finished transferring a new video from your camera to your computer. Or maybe you just recorded a video with your webcam. Everything records great, and the file plays back nicely. There’s only one problem: that sucker is BIG! When it comes to file sizes, videos are often super-sized. It’s not uncommon to see videos that are 30 GB, 60 GB, or even larger than that! This presents two problems. For one thing, those large files eat up valuable hard drive space. That’s an especially annoying issue if you’re on a newer system that has a relatively small Solid State Drive (SSD). On the same token, that huge file can take FOREVER to upload to the cloud. The solution? Find some way to shrink those files. While there are a few ways you can go about this, the best option in our humble opinion is a piece of freeware called Handbrake. The developers and QA gurus here at Pixorial use this software every day. (And if it can pass muster with those picky tech-heads, it must be good.) - Download the program here for your platform of choice. - Open HandBrake and click “Browse” next to Destination to choose the folder where you want your sized-down videos to appear. - Click on “Source” in the upper-left hand corner to select the video from your computer you want to downsize. - Select the format you’d like to output. If you want to upload to Pixorial, select “.mp4.” You can also optimize the video for all sorts of devices, from iPod to Android to Apple TV. - Hit “Start.” Your downsized video will appear in the destination folder you selected. The movie file that’s created will be much smaller, but will look nearly identical to the original. Then, you can save space by deleting the original, and upload the smaller version to Pixorial for editing and sharing. For more help on using Handbrake, check out these resources: Handbrake’s support forum How to Use Handbrake – Video tutorial Using Handbrake on Windows Using Handbrake on a Mac
