Why does Premiere Pro inflate file size?

[TimK_Downunder]

Hello all,

I'm a complete novice to Adobe and need help exporting a simple low-quality video edit in a reasonable file size.

I ran a webinar using GoTo Webinar and export a file. I have edited this in Premiere Pro but when I go to export it inflates the file size dramatically!

Obviously doing something wrong but Mr Google is not helping with my specific problem.

I need help with selecting the right export settings. All I want to do is upload it to YouTube so it shouldn't be that hard but the vast array of options has defeated me.

I have version 12.1.1 Build 10

The input file was generated automatically by a GoTo Webinar session. It was just voice over powerpoint. Nothing special. Specs of the GoTo video were:

• 106MB
• MP4 File .mp4
• 1920x1080
• Frame rate 7.62 frames/sec
• Data rate 104kbps
• Total bitrate 166kpbs
• Audio bitrate 61kpbs
• Channels 1 mono
• Audio sample rate 16.000khz

In the editing, I added some jpeg images and a .mp3 music file about 3.25MB in size.

When I went to export this I tried the following: In File/Export>Media I selected:

• Format H 264
• Preset: YouTube 1080p HD
• Under Video, I select the lowest possible framerate = 10
• Under Bitrate Settings, I chose Bitrate Encoding of VBR 1 Pass

The Estimated file size now says 6720MB !!

After googling I set the Bitrate Settings > Target Bitrate to 1 which was not recommended but I'm desperate to get the file size down as I dont have a great internet connection! This reduced output file size to 543MB. I manged to upload this to YouTube but it took me 4 hours, during which time, I could barely use my internet....

What I cant get my head around is why Premiere Pro seems to have inflated the file size so much despite the fact that I actually reduced the length of the video during editing. I don't need a really high-quality output! It just voice over powerpoint.

Can anyone explain to me what is going on and recommend some better export settings?

Your help is much appreciated.

Tim

[juanmario]

Because your source file has:

Total bitrate 166kpbs

Are you sure it's that bit rate?

And the Preset::

YouTube 1080p HD has 16000kpbs

Therefore, the output file will be larger

[Kevin-Monahan]

TimK Downunder,

Did JuanMario's response help you solve this issue? Let us know.

Thanks,
Kevin

[TimK_Downunder]

I suspected it might be something like that. But how do I change the output file to have a smaller bit rate, comparable to the input file?

[juanmario · Accepted solution]

In the Export Settings window, go to the video tab and look for the Target Bitrate control, set 5 Mbps, I do not recommend less than that, but you can try with lower values if you do not need quality.

If it helps you, I'll give you a link to the recommended Youtube settings:

Recommended upload encoding settings - YouTube Help

[John__Robson]

Such answers, while technically sound, seem to me to miss the point. People (including me) who have some idea what they're doing take an MP4, make a trivial change (in this case removing a 2 second glitch), output it with a standard setting (say H.264 high bitrate) and KABOOM turn a 200 meg file into a 5 gig file. Or we follow this kind of advice and, by pushing the bitrate so far down that it gets blurry, generate a file that's bigger but not absurdly so. But how do you make PP just output it the same way it came in at essentially the same size? Other less sophisticated conversion apps don't turn molehills into mountains. Why would PP do it by default, and baffle reasonably alert users into the process? Is there not something obvious we're missing that would avoid the issue instead of kluging it?

[Mickey & Emma]

Hey John_Robson, did you find any answers to this by any chance? It really is absurd!

A friend of mine who uses a Mac and Quicktime said that Quicktime does it in minutes with a simple trim function. This process on PP literally takes me hours with huge file size inflation! And it can be simply to remove a few seconds of footage. 

[Bella0450]

Premiere edits what is imported into it and if the video formats are large, the final edited videos will be too.

The size of your videos are determined by the video format you use with your camera (for example .avi .mov avchd etc. along with the resolution of your video format (for example 1080 pixels) 1080p is a large picture and therefore a large file that your computer must work with.

Since your video resolution is the same as the original, there can be something wrong with your video codec and the bitrate that is too high and therefore results in too large file size.  

[John__Robson]

Thanks. But I'm afraid your comment totally misses the point. The file, as I said, was 200 megs before editing and 5 gigs afterward. If it were just me, you could blame the codec (though I use Premiere defaults). But since it's a widespread issue, the problem is almost certainly at Adobe's end. 

P.S. I do understand that high resolution files are big. I'm not that much of an amateur.

[defaultcjnyhb92lbyd]

Hey Jon,

When you are exporting, in the Export Settings, under the Video tab, try changing the "Encoding Settings" from Hardware Encoding to Software Encoding.  I was was having the same problem and thought that it might we a conflict with my graphics card.  I had what Premeire was estimating should have been a 9MB file BALLOON up to 136MB.  I changed everything I could think of for a day and exported 20 or 30 times.  Then I had the thought of chaning to "Software Encoding" and voila.  Anyway, that worked for me.  I hope it helps someone else.

[Anatu Green]

You totally missed it. I don't think you understand how bad Premier pro is. Maybe size does not matter to you.

[Anatu Green]

What is really irritating is that smaller and cheaper and sometimes even free software have much better compression methodology than the almighty Adobe premier pro. 

This post that is now locked has had over 70,000 views which clearly shows how bad this problem of lack of adequate compression is but some Adobe Community Professionals are dedicated to defending something that is so abysmal. This is clearly a big issue that is from the software but you keep blaming the users.

I imported a 4.5mb video and simply because I clipped out some parts and added a few texts, it became 350mb at export.

Someone will come here and start dishing out solutions instead of working with the engineers to make things easier for the not so technically inclined users who are paying you.

Disgusting!