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Participant
December 5, 2017
Answered

Exporting as a quicktime file and the videos size are huge!

  • December 5, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 8942 views

I'm exporting video shot from the late 80. It's 2 hours worth of video. I use chapter markers and export the video file as a quicktime file.  However my videos are 25gb! There no edits other than chapter markers. Why is my file size so huge? Exporting in 720.

Note: the chapter markers are a must  and i have to be able to use the chapters after exporting.

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Correct answer SAFEHARBOR11

If you want the viewer to be able to "pick out sections to watch" then that would be a DVD, where you can have chapter points and optionally, menus.

Otherwise, just export using H.264 format and appropriate preset. Perhaps export as several smaller pieces (files) if there are natural break points (different subjects covered) in the video? Most people may not sit and watch for 2 straight hours anyways.

Thanks

Jeff

3 replies

Participating Frequently
December 5, 2017

I think people not accustomed to video editing have very different ideas about what a "huge" file is since they are used to highly-compressed cell phone and YouTube videos ;-)

25GB for two hours is not huge. Some codecs can be 60-80GB per hour! Standard "NTSC DV" runs about 13GB/hr so perhaps that is the codec variety you chose? 25GB would be quite normal and expected in that case.

Please let us know what you intend to DO with the exported footage - how will it be delivered viewers? That will dictate what the export format and settings ought to be. These days, H.264 is often the best option for high quality at smaller file sizes, and almost universal playback compatibility using .mp4 files.


Thanks


Jeff

Participant
December 5, 2017

The viewer need to just be able to watch it on the computer and pick out sections to watch. The whole video is someone just sitting and talking about family history.

SAFEHARBOR11Correct answer
Participating Frequently
December 5, 2017

If you want the viewer to be able to "pick out sections to watch" then that would be a DVD, where you can have chapter points and optionally, menus.

Otherwise, just export using H.264 format and appropriate preset. Perhaps export as several smaller pieces (files) if there are natural break points (different subjects covered) in the video? Most people may not sit and watch for 2 straight hours anyways.

Thanks

Jeff

kulpreet singh
Inspiring
December 5, 2017

Hi timp38587444,

I agree with Jax24135, you can try a different video codec (in the Export Settings).

Or try exporting in a different format (say H.264) and you can make adjustments under the Bitrate Settings.

Thanks,

Kulpreet Singh

Jax24135
Inspiring
December 5, 2017

Chapter markers wouldn't be an issue - its your video codec setting. Under Video Settings you can set a Bitrate Limit to adjust final export sizes (its turn off by default).

Or you could make them mp4 files if final size is an issue.

Last thing, depending on the overall footage - if it's a pretty stagnant shot or the background doesn't change too much, you could probably get away with VBR.