Compress mp4 using FFMPEG

ffmpeg-compress-mp4

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -acodec mp2 output.mp4

Compressed from 14.1 mb to 4.9 mb. But lost sound( how can i fix it? Any options?

the output for audio is mp2 - maybe you don't have a codec for that?

WORKS EXCELLENT

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec libx265 -crf 28 output.mp4

for MacOs, you need to preserve compatibility encoding H.265/HEVC for QuickTime:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx265 -preset fast -crf 28 -tag:v hvc1 -c:a eac3 -b:a 224k output.mp4

thank you

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -acodec mp2 out.mp4
3.6 Gb to 556 Mb, great quality 1st_place_medal
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -s 1280x720 -acodec copy -y output.mp4
3.6 Gb to 62 Mb, quality "good enough"/acceptable +1
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 1000k -acodec mp3 output.mp4
3.6 Gb to 30 Mb, very shitty quality hankey

Thanks worked beautifully for me on Linux, really appreciate tip!

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -acodec mp2 out.mp4
3.6 Gb to 556 Mb, great quality 1st_place_medal
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -s 1280x720 -acodec copy -y output.mp4
3.6 Gb to 62 Mb, quality "good enough"/acceptable +1
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 1000k -acodec mp3 output.mp4
3.6 Gb to 30 Mb, very shitty quality hankey

Thanks worked beautifully for me on Linux, really appreciate tip!

tried the 1st_place_medal ffmpeg command AKA ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -acodec mp2 out.mp4

before: 49 mb
after: 63 mb

in other words, not gold medal for me. using win 10.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec libx265 -acodec aac -crf 28 output.mp4
best way (used termux)

Commands using Linux with ffmpeg to shrinking big MP4 video file to smaller sizes

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -acodec mp2 out.mp4
3.6 Gb to 556 Mb, great quality 🥇
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -s 1280x720 -acodec copy -y output.mp4
3.6 Gb to 62 Mb, quality "good enough"/acceptable 👍
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 1000k -acodec mp3 output.mp4
3.6 Gb to 30 Mb, very shitty quality 💩

using

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -acodec mp2 out.mp4

from 52MB to 28MB

works well for me on windows 11, thank you @tincho

thankyou!
using ffmpeg -i input.avi -c:v libx264 -crf 18 output.mp4
input: 1.4 GB
output: 132.2 MB

Commands using Linux with ffmpeg to shrinking big MP4 video file to smaller sizes

• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -acodec mp2 out.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 556 Mb, great quality 🥇
• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -s 1280x720 -acodec copy -y output.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 62 Mb, quality "good enough"/acceptable 👍
• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 1000k -acodec mp3 output.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 30 Mb, very shitty quality 💩

good enough worked fine for me..To my "average human" eye, i coudlnt find any real difference with the original video compared side by side (original: 1gb to good enough: 296mb)

Edit:
if you wanna go lower try changinng -b:v value e.g.:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 700k -acodec mp3 output.mp4
and if you don't want sound try:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 700k -an output.mp4

My experiment:

• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 1000k -an output.mp4
  32MB to 3.6MB
• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 200k -an output.mp4
  32MB to 742KB

dont forget the FPS,its amazing.

I'm passing media from Postman and getting an error.
[WinError 2] The system cannot find the file specified
I'm compressing media like this :
subprocess.run(f'ffmpeg -i {media} -vcodec h264 -acodec {file_type} temp_location/{new_uuid}')

How to compress mp4 file with I-frames only?

An I-frame or a Key-Frame or an Intra-frame, how to set this options?

ligantx experiment is the most efficient (tested on macOS), 700k for bitrate seems to be a good measure for maintaining quality while lowering file size:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 700k -acodec mp3 output.mp4

i'm gonna add some notes here

1. in the time of writing this (jan 2023) you don't need to specify h264 as the video codec in ffmpeg when the output is mp4 since that's the default codec
2. for audio it's better to specify the bitrate rather than the codec, 96Kb is good enough -b:a 96k
3. not all videos will look good with a video bitrate of 700kb it depends on the resolution, the original codec used and whether there's a lot of movement / particles

I'd recommend that you first let ffmpeg compress it automatically without any arguments ffmpeg -i input.ext output.mp4

• if the output is not enough then use 2/3 of the original video bitrate with -b:v and keep lowering until you reach a desired size
• you can lower the resolution with -vf scale=1280:720
• if you only want to save your video on your pc then use the new mp4 codec 265 -c:v libx265, it has better compression, and just ike 264, nearly lossless. the issue with this is that it's still not widely adapted and sites like discord can't play it

Commands using Linux with ffmpeg to shrinking big MP4 video file to smaller sizes

• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -acodec mp2 out.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 556 Mb, great quality 🥇
• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -s 1280x720 -acodec copy -y output.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 62 Mb, quality "good enough"/acceptable 👍
• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 1000k -acodec mp3 output.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 30 Mb, very shitty quality 💩

good enough worked fine for me..To my "average human" eye, i coudlnt find any real difference with the original video compared side by side (original: 1gb to good enough: 296mb)

Edit: if you wanna go lower try changinng -b:v value e.g.: ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 700k -acodec mp3 output.mp4 and if you don't want sound try: ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 700k -an output.mp4

My experiment:

• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 1000k -an output.mp4
  32MB to 3.6MB
• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 200k -an output.mp4
  32MB to 742KB

thanks, it works.
using || -b:v 1000K || ---- from 2MB to 1MB mp4 file

./ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx265 -preset ultrafast -crf 28 -c:a aac -b:a 250k output.mp4

This is better for h265, it's fast and should reduce the file size by 50-70% if you want better video, change the ultrafast to fast or change the -crf to a lower number like 24

If you want to change from 4K to 1080P, add -s 1920x1080 after the -i input.mp4

./ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx265 -preset ultrafast -crf 28 -c:a aac -b:a 250k output.mp4

This is better for h265, it's fast and should reduce the file size by 50-70% if you want better video, change the ultrafast to fast or change the -crf to a lower number like 24

If you want to change from 4K to 1080P, add -s 1920x1080 after the -i input.mp4

This worked pretty well for me -- converted a 323 MB Zoom recording to a 81 MB file. without reducing resolution, is there anything more one can do to further shave off the file size?

Commands using Linux with ffmpeg to shrinking big MP4 video file to smaller sizes

• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -acodec mp2 out.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 556 Mb, great quality 🥇
• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -s 1280x720 -acodec copy -y output.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 62 Mb, quality "good enough"/acceptable 👍
• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 1000k -acodec mp3 output.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 30 Mb, very shitty quality 💩

Thanks for sharing, really helpful!

None of these have done anything, but give me a 30-35% INCREASE in size. I'm still determined to find a solution but attempts to compress this video by ANY means results in similar results.....

@AD5GB as i said before here, it depends on what video you have, so you need to experiment a bit

Very good! Using it, reduced 86mb to 64mb. thank you all. I also summarized some other methods, I hope it can help everyone https://vidon.me/compress-mp4

Nice! It works! Thanks for sharing you. Also, use this DVD to MP4 Converter to compress your DVD contents.

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Thanks for sharing! I've used a programm before and the compressed videos always got pixelated, blurry, or blocky. This one works just fine. I've also found an article introducing people how to convert blu ray to MP4. It might be useful for anyone in need.

Nice work! Also, check out KeepVid for more amazing video-related tools.

Maybe these 2 articles can help you:
https://dvdfab.at/drm-m3u8-downloader/m3u8-to-mp4.htm
https://streamfab.de/mp4-downloader

Commands using Linux with ffmpeg to shrinking big MP4 video file to smaller sizes

• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -acodec mp2 out.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 556 Mb, great quality 🥇
• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -s 1280x720 -acodec copy -y output.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 62 Mb, quality "good enough"/acceptable 👍
• ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec h264 -b:v 1000k -acodec mp3 output.mp4
• • 3.6 Gb to 30 Mb, very shitty quality 💩

Thanks for sharing, really helpful!

do these commands work just the same way on windows 10?

Thanks for sharing. I found that StreamFab can help you convert Netflix to MP4, then you can play them on most devices. You can learn more by https://streamfab.com/ .

Great discussion !
By the way if you want some dvd processing tools, theses one are highly recommanded.
https://dvdfab.fr/uhd-copy.htm
https://dvdfab.fr/dvd-copy.htm

Read this article published by KeepStreams very helpful