convert 4K project to small file size

[merrick61]

I have about an 8 minute 4K promotional video ..Its about 800MB file size when exported.
I have had some requests to have a small preview of the project so some people can see it on their cell phones etc. I have tried different presets like wmp etc but still getting large 500MB files. Is there a setting where you can get to 100mb or less export in some mp4 or similar codec -suitable for this type application?

Thank you

[createmedia]

YouTube does all that automatically, unless you don't want to put it on YouTube.

Mike

[merrick61]

Actually this video is being used for people overseas in China and they don't have access to youtubue. The goal is to have a small file so they can actually play directly from their phones. Thanks for the reply.

[antonsvideo]

use handbrake (free) to convert the file to 1280x720 mp4 at constant frame rate and at custom bitrate of 2000, this will give you excellent quality and a file size of around 70mb

be sure you set audio to stereo 256 (not the default of dolby logic multi channel)

[merrick61]

Thats a great little program. Thanks much Anton. 72mb file size down from around 800 and quality seems good.

[antonsvideo]

Thats a great little program. Thanks much Anton. 72mb file size down from around 800 and quality seems good.

I forgot to mention to tick web optimized and set crop to custom with all values on 0

web optimized will place file info at start of file and playback will start right after a few sec of buffering

if using EDIUS for making mp4, the file info will always be at the end of the file, in other words, users will have to wait until the whole file is downloaded before it plays, so I never use EDIUS for making mp4

[paulbasile]

Hi Anton

Hope you are doing fine down under. Is Handbrake the program to use to convert 4k footage to use in Edius version 6? I have a client who gave me 4k files from a Sony camera and I need to convert it to 1080 and edit it. Thanks.

[Peterjames]

Hope you are doing fine down under. Is Handbrake the program to use to convert 4k footage to use in Edius version 6? I have a client who gave me 4k files from a Sony camera and I need to convert it to 1080 and edit it. Thanks.

It would be helpful to know the type of files from the Sony camera for members to give you a detailed reply.

[paulbasile]

Sure. They are MP4 files, but they won't open in my version of Edius (6). I'm guessing because they are 4K and my Edius was not made to handle them. So I need to convert down to 1080 somehow.

[Peterjames]

I have not use it but GV has a small utility program called AVCHD2HQ on their website (user support section) that you can download to convert certain types of compressed files to HX or HQX avi files for editing . Not sure if it can downscale but I expect there are others that can confirm this. I use Handbrake but mostly for final compressed delivery to web etc. Peter

[paulbasile]

So that worked. After a little experimentation. I tried converting the files to 1080 and there was a little flickering and the audio was slightly off. When I converted it to 1280 X 720, it plays great. And it looks fine along side 1920 X 1080 clips. Thanks a lot.

[Liverpool TV]

Just use HandBrake (X264) for everything, regardless of resolution. Nothing will come close if you're after best quality at lowest sizes. Even at higher bitrates, like Blu-Ray, X264 is amazing.

If you are going from 4K to a lower resolution, just feed handbrake the 4K intermediate and let it do the downscale. It's set to Lanczos as standard, which is probably one of the best free and easy to use scalers, especially easy in HB as you don't need to do anything.