How can I shrink the size down to 50MB?
 

I need to shrink down a 121MB clip to 50MB but I don't want to lose any quality. Is this possible?

Please help.

Thanks,

Mike

What format, resolution, and duration is it?

It's 3 minutes long. Any format will do... originally it was a VOB file, now an AVI.

704 x480 resolution.


Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mike

A three minute SD video should comfortably fit in 50MB. An online calculator says you get over 2Mbps of video bandwidth. Plenty for any MPEG4-based codec, such as DivX, WMV, or H.264. I would try all three and decide which one best serves your needs (e.g., compatibility). I bet all three will look great.

I tried H.264 and the file is smaller, about 33MB. But... the quality isn't quite what I would like (image-wise) and the sound has a bit of a "tin can" sound to it?

The image is also much brighter as well. Not as dark as the straight output.

Any ideas?

Thanks again,

Mike

Encoding is not a push-button process; it is an art (cliched, though the expression may be). In your case, you need to increase the bit rate of both the audio and video streams. Quicktime has a bug that causes it to render H.264 video incorrectly. The file itself is ok; I tested with other decoders.

Mike, you really need to make up your mind on the format or at least tell us what do you need to do with the footage? Divx at this file size will give you a perfect picture, my second option would be Real.

The format doesn't really matter, I guess that's why I've been so undecided.

It just needs to look good, and it needs to be 50MB or less.

I'll try Divx, any encoding tips using this format?

My old divx encoder has an option to specify the file size and the program then decides on what's best taking into consideration the original material as well. I am not sure the newer version has that. Your bitrate for 3 minutes at a file size of 50 megs should come out somewhere in the 1500-2000 Mbps. At this bitrate you can go full size (720x480) and 30 fps with no problems.

Ervin, thank you!!

Divx seems to be the way to go! The quality is excellent.

One thing... it wants to convert to 720 x 528 or something like that. Not 720 x 480.

Not sure why... I tried changing it but it won't allow 720 x 480

Also, how can I output the movie from Premiere Pro in widescreen. I always get stretching when I try it... any chance at anamorphic? :)

But when I output it at 0.9 pixels and use Divx, I can choose widescreen on the Divx player and it looks great. Thanks a lot for all your help! I'm learning as I go.

Mike