File size is always larger than source

[Veldryn]

Greetings,

Why is it, no matter what settings I choose, If I render a video file, the output is ALWAYS a larger file size than the source file? Even if  minimally touched.
Heck even if I trim it to make it shorter, it's still larger.
Here is the AME settings to a project where all I did was put a white box over 4 sec of text. And the final file is almost twice as big and of much crappier quality at these settings

[SAFEHARBOR11]

What screen capture software did you use? The bit rate of 0.25 is extremely low for HD video. When you take something that highly compressed and re-compress again, you are going to lose quality. File size is determined by bit rate, so if export bit rate is higher than the source, then yes the exported file will be larger.

Thanks

Jeff

[Veldryn]

.25 is the output quality I set to try and get a smaller file size. And it is unacceptably low I agree. The data rate of the source is 127kbps but making the output any higher only makes the file size problem worse. Hense my issue
And I just used the windows snipping tool t get the screen shot

[StrikeTheEarth]

Did you ever figure this out? I'm in the same boat!

[mirkwood]

The easiest solution in the short-term until we figure this out: Use something like Handbrake.

20-50% file reduction depending on your settings (try "constant quality 18" and "variable rate 1200kbps")

[MMeguro]

0.25Mbps is translated to 250kbps.  Since your source file is 127kpbs, encoding into 0.25Mbps would end up with twice bigger in file size.  Also, each encoding loses image quality, especially H.264 which is a pretty lossy format.  Even if you encode in much higher bitrate, it's unavoidable that the final image loses some quality (though using higher bitrate makes the final image closer to the original).  So, it's crucial to reduce the number of transcoding as much as possible throughout the production cycle to avoid further quality loss.  If you need to transcode, please understand the risk it takes.

[Matt-R-Beth]

One thing that, for me, was causing exports to be larger than expected was the metadata sidecar file. Try changing the Metadata option "create sidecar file" to "none" and see if that makes a difference. The Metadata button is at the bottom of the Export Settings pane, and then the Export Options drop-down at the top has the options.

Not sure if this has anything to do with your issue, but I figured I'd throw it out there.

[SFLiminality]

I really wish there was an answer to this. I don't feel like when I cut half a video, and set output to medium quality out that it should have a larger file size. The video loses quality, and is way larger.

[Dmitri Graf]

As everybody above has said: H.264 is a lossy format.

Also, it seems like the source might have variable frame rate and AME only exports constant frame rate outputs which can explain why they can be a bit larger.

[Veldryn]

The source did not have VFR. And It's not just a bit larger. Files can be 10x as large.
This is pretty consistent across many projects so let's not focus on this one example (which again was a white box of text).
When encoding using a previously rendered video (whether to color correct or even trim it shorter, which should lend itself to a smaller file size) The file is ALWAYS much bigger. Even if I reduce the settings where the final out put is significantly worse than the original (reduce in bit-rate in both video and audio) l, It's still a larger file. And h.264 being lossy seems like that would be a reason for a smaller file size, not an explanation of larger.

[SAFEHARBOR11]

It appears to me from the image in initial post that the OP was using some sort of screen capture software to create the original clip. What format was the original clip? Seems that the screen cap software would use a codec specifically optimized for computer screen capture, meaning very little or even nothing changes frame to frame, for instance ONLY the mouse pointer moves and entire rest of the screen is unchanged. In that way, the recording could be extremely small and still have a nice image.

Years ago, I created some training tutorials using Camtasia and was able to get fantastic quality at small file sizes. The final output from Camtasia was .wmv files, not .mp4.

The H.264 codec must be optimized for VIDEO, which normally has a LOT of changes from frame to frame due to movement of camera and subjects. It is not ideal for compressing a static computer screen, or white box with text. Just not going to be efficient that way. I think that is what you are running into here.

I honesty know little about the advanced H.264 settings, but perhaps changing Profile (like Baseline vs Main) or the Keyframe distance might yield better results? I just don't understand the nuts and bolts of setting up an H.264 encode optimized for your needs, but that may be the key to better quality at smaller file sizes for what you are doing.

Thanks

Jeff

[Veldryn]

I don't want to get caught up in this specific example.

This happens in AME with any video. If I take an existing rendered video (i.e. not uncompressed camera file). Do anything to it (crop it, color correct etc) and then render it out using AME, the file size is MUCH larger. even if what I did was make the video shorter.

[SAFEHARBOR11]

Sorry, that is just not true. If you have an AVCHD camera file recorded at 28mbps, and you then export as H.264 at 14mbps, that exported file is going to be about half the size of the original. The bit rate determines file size, plain and simple. You get to set that when you export.

Just re-read your post and see you want to use an existing "rendered" video as a source. Number one, should not do that as good practice as you are recompressing the footage yet again, but I understand that sometimes that is the only copy you have to work with. I get that.

So back to the first example above, I have exported a clip at 14mbps using an H.264 preset. I then edit that clip in Premiere, and export again using same  export settings with 14mbps. File size should be about the same, since I have manually set the bit rate. It will not be "much larger".

Thanks

Jeff

[backstagepass]

Thank you so much!!

[abombina]

Thank you! It really helped

[Warren Heaton]

With MP4, file size is directly proportional to bitrate.

The challenge (or disaster) about working with MP4 as the source is that low-bitrate MP4 doesn't hold up to being exported as another low-bitrate MP4 (you see significant compression generation loss).

[trevors77337015]

having this kind of problem. i have a 10 sec animation i created in Ae.

i need 10mb h264s. i have to make all kinds of sizes. no matter what i set the bit rate too.

i get a file 20 - 24 mb. witch i need to be 10 mb.

even though AME says the estimated size is.. 4 MB. so no idea whats happening.

[Warren Heaton]

Trevor:

If you set your Target Bit Rate to 6 and your Maximum Bitrate to 8, a 10 second H264 file should come in really, really close to 80 megabits (or 10 megabytes).

-Warren

[kathleens96926442]

I tried this and the file size was EXACTLY the same as when the setting was at 14. I echo what everyone else has said here — why isn't Adobe Media Encoder able to compress files to a similar file size as the original MP4 files?

[brandonl8911795]

Welcome to 2019! Still no good answer on this topic. I know little of the advanced settings, but can attest that I also wind up with HUGE file sizes and it's been an ongoing issue for years.

A lot of times, I'll get files that people create through Camtasia or via webinar recording and they ask me to trim them down and add our corporate bumper. I'll end up with ridiculously large files, even if the vid is half the original length and I export with matching settings ticked. Especially true with webinar files since AME can't run at that low of a framerate. Webinars might be captured at 10fps. But even with a file at 25fps that I just worked on it was the same issue.

Weird workaround I've used out of desperation: upload to YouTube and then download that file since YT has good compression. I don't like this approach, of course, and would like to get better AME settings to render small files.

Doing highly compressed files creates unusable garbage that's worse than the original and still far larger. It's a mystery. I feel like a tech genius would have had a definite answer that's obvious to them. Hmm..

[pavanbtd]

Bro in h.264 format the preset you should use should be any one of the android, vemio, YouTube, twitter. Choose any resolution you want.

IMP: use VBR pass 2. This allows only software encoding and compression as estimated. Bitrate should set to maximum of 1 or below.

Also select none in the metadata tab. This should do the work.

However I wouldn't recommend using AME for compression because they are too lossy but encodes are 2 times faster than other GUIs.

For good compression and quality, we need to tweek CFR, which is not given AME. Therefore use Hybrid or Handbrake to for compressed quality encodes by setting CFR from 22 to 26, profile-Main 10, level-4.0,preset -slow or slower.( I recommend to use Hybrid)

[pavanbtd]

Bro in h.264 format the preset you should use should be any one of the android, vemio, YouTube, twitter. Choose any resolution you want.

IMP: use VBR pass 2. This allows only software encoding and compression as estimated. Bitrate should set to maximum of 1 or below.

Also select none in the metadata tab.

However I wouldn't recommend using AME for compression because they are too lossy but encodes are 2 times faster than other GUIs.

For good compression and quality, we need to tweek CFR, which is not given AME. Therefore use Hybrid or Handbrake to for compressed quality encodes by setting CFR from 22 to 26, profile-Main 10, level-4.0,preset -slow or slower.( I recommend to use Hybrid)

[umar5D2A]

And i was thinking that its only me who havent found out the best way to produce small size files over the years using Adobe Premier,After Effects,Adobe Encoder  ....and i have to use stupid method to upload to facebook and then download as their compressor dramatically reduces the size with bareable quality.and if i try to compress output by tweaking abode encoder setting to match facbook/youtube compression...adobe encoder produces worst quality....IT IS AN ISSUE wWHATSOEVER...Facebbok/youtube dont ask for thesee frame rates ...bitrates and other data ...yet they produce best size vs quality video...i just wonder how and why a company like Adobe cant make such compression Algorithm

[BrandonP716]

Have you tried not exporting the Audio? I found turning off audio when I don't need it somehow seems to fix this issue for me.

[Mikie_b]

Hi,

After seaching online for an answer to this problem of edited video file sizes, I found this post. However it didn't really resolve the problem of why a 116Mb screen captured training video becomes 633Mb after a small edit in Premiere. So after I experimented exported twenty times, with tweaks in the bit rate and variable bit rate this is what I discovered.

I exported out of Premiere with the settings as:

Format:H.264

Preset: Match Source -Medium Bitrate

Then looked at the variable bit rate in original file and matched it roughly in the Bit rate settings with 2 passes.

This produced the 633Mb file.

Taking this file into Handbrake with settings:

Fast 1080p30 everything else as standard except I moved Average Bitrate in Handbrake to 3000.

Then guess what the output file went back to 192Mb with no visible loss of quality.

This all seems bizare and unnecesary in a professional piece of software however we got there after several hours of experimenting.

Hope this helps, as I am sick of people moaning about how when you edit a file it grows to 5 times its size despite taking something out! 😀