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Help · Converter

Make a video file smaller

Applies to ClipHearth 1.8.0 and later · updated

Which profile to pick, when to drop the resolution instead, and what actually decides the size of the result.

  1. 01Add the file

    Open Converter, click Select files and pick the video, or drop it onto the Converter. Several videos at once work too: every file gets the same settings.

  2. 02Need it under a limit? Keep the file under

    For an e-mail, a chat, or a site with a size limit, tick Keep the file under in the quality step and type the size or pick 10, 25, 50, or 100 MB. The file comes out no bigger than that: a video is encoded twice to get there, and a long video in a small size is made smaller in pixels too. A file made to fit a size keeps only its first sound track. It works for MP4, MKV, MOV, WebM, MP3, M4A, OGG, and Opus, and not together with Advanced mode.

  3. 03Stay with MP4 and H.264 unless you have a reason not to

    Pick MP4 as the format and leave VIDEO CODEC on Auto, or set it to H.264 / AVC. It is the combination that plays on everything. H.265 / HEVC and AV1 squeeze the same picture into a smaller file, but older players and devices may refuse them. In the Studio, the Export… window has VIDEO CODEC too, with H.264 and H.265.

  4. 04Pick the profile

    Small file uses CRF 28, the faster encoder preset, and 128 kbps audio. Balanced sits at CRF 22, medium, and 192 kbps. High quality means CRF 18, slow, and 320 kbps. A lower CRF keeps more detail and makes a bigger file, so Small file is the one that shrinks.

  5. 05Still too big? Cut the resolution

    Quality settings can only do so much for a long recording. In the advanced settings, the resize fields take a width in pixels and keep the proportions when the height is left blank. Halving the width usually cuts the size several times over, and on a screen recording you can lower FPS as well.

  6. 06Think about what makes it big

    Length and movement cost more than anything. If you only need part of the file, trim it in the Studio first: sending three minutes instead of thirty beats any amount of squeezing.

  7. 07Convert and compare

    Start conversion queues the job and OUTPUT shows where the result lands. The original stays untouched, so play both, keep the one that looks good enough, and delete the other.

Didn't solve it? Write to us - attach a diagnostics log if you have one. Missing a feature? Tell us what you would use it for; several of the recent ones started as a suggestion.