How do I encode movies and keep file sizes down?

MediaN00b · Post by **MediaN00b** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 3:49 am

I have VideoStudio 9. I have some AVI's which I Pulled off my video camera from a cruise I went on and eventually will make a DVD.

For right now I want to take certain clips and make them their own movie files which I was hoping I could share through some personal webspace. The clip is just over 3 minutes in length.

One clip I saved to an mpg file using the default VideoStudio settings and it's 35 mb. I'd like to bring it down to maybe 10 mb, if that's possible.

So I was told using Divx encoding can result in smaller files than mpg. I followed the tutorial written on this web board, and it produced a 50 mbish file.

So what can I play with to affect file size? is a 3 minute clip with audio in a <=10mb file reasonable?

(Clip is of my drunk brother doing karaokee

)

Post by **Ron P.** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 4:21 am

What are your project settings? I think you are trying to create a video file with full resolution (720 x 480 NTSC) or (720 X 576 PAL). You need to decrease this to at least half. Also are you encoding your audio to Mpeg LPCM, or Dolby?

Have you tried using one of the MPEG4 templates? With VS9 you must have the MPEG4 plug-in installed.

Edited Corrected PAL size...

MediaN00b · Post by **MediaN00b** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 4:43 am

ok here's what I do, I go to the share tab, I click create video file, Custom..

Under the general tab, my frame size is 352X240
Under the AVI tab I have Divx 6.2.5 Codec (1 logical cpu) selected.
- Audio format is PCM 48000 Khz Stereo

Under Advanced my target playback drive is custom and the only thing I have checked is "Interleave Audio and Video" and I'm Packing audio data for every *1* frame.

There are also options to configure the encoder. The Rate control mode is 1-pass and the bitrate is 328.433

Does any of that help?

Thanks

NoM.O · Post by **NoM.O** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:19 pm

Not that it's really relevant in this situation, but I'm pretty sure PAL standard is actually 720 x 576, not 756 x 480.

is a 3 minute clip with audio in a <=10mb file reasonable?

It is possible, but you'll be doing well not to have noticeable quality loss, it just depends what sort of quality loss you're prepared to live with.

For web distribution, WMV may be a better option than DivX. Have a play with the various templates and see which, if any, suit your needs.

If you plan to stick with DivX, one thing you might try is changing your audio format, right now you're using the largest possible, try using Dolby Digital, mpeg 2, or even MP3, that should bring things down a bit.

Lowering the video bitrate will also reduce the file size but will in turn reduce the quality. Page 2 of the following guide (http://www.divx-digest.com/articles/divx6_setup.html) refers to the bitrate calculator within the DivX codec which will help in determining how to achieve a desired file size. Have a read of the whole article for a detailed look at how the various settings of the DivX codec work.

If you still have the mpeg file, another option would be to try AutoGK (freeware available here - http://www.autogk.me.uk/modules.php?name=Downloads). This (excellent) converter will allow you to select a desired file size, frame size, and audio format for your DivX file without needing to know all the ins and outs of the DivX codec.

peace.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 11:25 pm

Thanks for the AutoGK tip. It looks as though it could be a handy tool. And since I now have a DVD player which will play DivX discs, I suspect I will be using that format more and more...

Some months ago, on this forum, I published the results of some tests I ran using most of the the DivX settings and aimed at getting the best quality results out of the DivX codec (as opposed to this thread on getting the smallest sized file). If anyone is interested, I could email them these results. My email is under the email button below.

NoM.O · Post by **NoM.O** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:23 am

No worries, it really is a very useful tool. It's basically a frontend GUI for Vdub Mod, AVI Synth and Vob Sub, but I can't recommend it highly enough when it comes to conversions to DivX and XviD. As I said in another thread, after using it, I wouldn't go anywhere near the DivX converter, even though I've already paid for it as part of the 6.2.5 create bundle.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 1:04 am

This is way off the original topic, but I have downloaded the AutoGK package, but simply cannot get it to load the AVISynth module. Says to close whatever is conflicting with the attempt to write the avisynth.dll file to the System folder. I have closed everything (using Task Manager) remotely connected to video; tried loading it in Safe Mode. Gone to the Source Forge originators, Googled for possible solutions, but nothing works. Moreover, the package itself does not appear to contain an avisynth.dll file, though it does have an avisynth_c.dll one... Any thoughts? Perhaps we might continue this via email. My address is under my 'email' button below...

NoM.O · Post by **NoM.O** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 1:57 am

Ken - O.K I'll get to you on the email.

MediaNoob - You could still give it a try if you want, I just downloaded it again and it installed succesfully, so I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with the program or its installation.

MediaN00b · Post by **MediaN00b** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 4:12 am

Thanks for your help, I'll fiddle around with WMV