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Now, FFmpeg is running to do the video compression job. Hit enter and the video compression process should begin. Use ffmpeg -i input.avi -vcodec libx264 -crf 24 output.avi, a 1GB video can be compressed to 200MB. According to test, setting crf to 24 reduce a 250MB video to 70MB without losing the quality noticeably. f is used to explicitly specify the container format, -f mp4, -f wmv, -f webm, etc.ĬRF (Constant Rate Factor): set the CRF to lower the bit rate but retain better quality. These options are frequently used for reducing video size in FFmpeg.
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To make the command line clearer, below are what some common FFmpeg command-line options specify, including -c:v, -b:v, -c:a, -b:a, CRF. Here we take some typical command-line examples to show you how to compress MP4/MOV/4K/MKV video size using FFmpeg.Ĭommand-line - Compress and Convert H.264 to H.265 for Higher Compressionįfmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec libx265 -crf 28 output.mp4Ĭommand-line - Compress and Convert MP4 to Webm for YouTube, Ins, Facebookįfmpeg -i source.mp4 -c:v libvpx-vp9 -b:v 0.33M -c:a libopus -b:a 96k \Ĭommand-line - Compress and Convert MP4 to WMVįfmpeg -i input.mp4 -b 1000k -vcodec wmv2 -acodec wmav2 -crf 19 -filter:v fps=fps=24 output.wmvĬommand-line -Set CRF in FFmpeg to Reduce Video File Sizeįfmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec libx264 -crf 24 output.mp4Ĭommand-line - Reduce video frame size to make 4K/1080P FHD video smallerįfmpeg -i input.avi -vf scale=1280:720 output.avi You can use a more efficient codec format (H.265 compresses data 30% smaller than H.264), lower bitrate or fps, shorter video length.
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There are a few ways to reduce video size using FFmpeg. For more detailed guide, check for this post " How to Install FFmpeg on Windows". Open Windows Powershell from the start menu, and start with the compression command-line in FFmpeg. For Windows users, Windows Powershell is recommended over Command-Line. Start with the command-line examples below using FFmpeg.ĭownload FFmpeg and finish the setup process on your computer. To compress videos in FFmpeg, you should make sure the command-line is right. Part 1: How to Compress Video Size with FFmpeg (Command-line) on Windows
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