Are there different file sizes for the quality?

Mr19th

Member Location: Atlanta, GA Joined: Dec 28, 2009 15:41 Messages: 83 Offline

Solved by

Oct 25, 2010 12:44

I have been going threw and editing videos and have started to get the hang of it, but am still lost on saving/producing videos.

I'm trying to find out if there are different formats like there are for images/photographs. Here's an example. A photograph or image to print needs a resolution of at least 300ppi. This makes the file size BIG. Yet if it's an image only for the web, it only needs to be 72ppi because it is not meant to be printed and the quality only needs to be for the screen. Because of this, the file size is tiny, compared to 300ppi.

Is there any type of setting like this for videos? I know there is for the frame size 1280 x 720 compared to 320 x 180, but when saved as a 320 x 180 and it's then played, it makes the file smaller and the picture smaller, but when enlarged it turns blurry. Is there a way to manually set the size you want a video saved?

It just takes for ever to finish a video, produce it, watch the video, find an error, go back and fix it, save it a 2nd time, produce it a 2nd time, watch it a second time, find a 2nd error, fix that error, save it a 3rd time, produce..., especially when it takes 3hrs to produce it.

I guess I could save it as a tiny video until I've gone threw it and made all of the corrections, but it's just hard to watch when it's so small.

Thanks for the help, I was just wondering if there was a web format for the videos. (By the way, most are too long for the web, so I can't svae them in YouTube or Facebook.)

Sean -

Kevin66

Newbie Location: Chicago, IL Joined: Aug 23, 2010 12:07 Messages: 29 Offline

Oct 25, 2010 13:06

Wow, this question has a potentially huge and complicated answer. There are classes and text books on video production Do a Google search on video file sizes and quality, you will get a lot to sort through. Also check video Formats

It's really all about the original file size and format used to shoot your video. Pixels are pixels no matter if it's a video or a photo. Most all of use compressed video whether it's standard or HD format. Popular formats are MPEG2, AVCHD, MPEG4, MPEG 4 (H.264) and the old standard .AVI.

In theory, you should shoot in the highest quality available but there are ways to "upscale" standard video to a higher quality.

Most low-mid end photo cameras and dedicated video cameras shoot in at least 1280x720P HD. Smaller video file sizes are generally for posting to a web page or emailing. When burning a video to DVD or for playback on your computer you should use as close to the source video size as possible.

To minimize your trial and error you can use a stand along video converter/video upscaler software like vReveal, run your clips though this and see what looks best. Cyberlink also has a good Video Converter program. It can be a time consuming process though, none the less.

I'm afraid I've provided a terribly inadequate response... other folks on this board are smarter than I and can hopefully add something of more substance. Good luck. Windows 7 Home Premium - 64 Bit
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Mr19th

Member Location: Atlanta, GA Joined: Dec 28, 2009 15:41 Messages: 83 Offline

Oct 25, 2010 13:23

Well, I originally saved the video as a .wmv - Windows Media Vidio 9 HD High Quality file. It's 23 minutes long and looked nice, but the file size was 1.44 GB (1,553,113,003 bytes). I went threw the other options and tried saving it as a .wmv - Windows Media Video 9 DVD Quality (2000Kbps) file and the file size went down to 384 MB (402,829,825 bytes). It was not as large, but the quality was the same. Unless I find anything else or more options, this will be what I use.

After I thought about it, photograph and videos are not the same type of files and I guess they really can't have the same options.

Thanks for your help,
Sean -

Kevin66

Newbie Location: Chicago, IL Joined: Aug 23, 2010 12:07 Messages: 29 Offline

Oct 25, 2010 13:34

It's lot of it is trial and error which is exactly what you are doing.

Try h.264 also. It makes good quality output at low bit rates. Windows 7 Home Premium - 64 Bit
Intel I7 930 (overclocked 3.6)
RAID 0 WD Caviar Black 2GIG, WD Green 1GIG (Backup)
8 GIG Corsair RAM
NVIDIA 1GIG GTX 460

john beckett

Newbie Joined: Oct 30, 2010 08:53 Messages: 1 Offline

Oct 30, 2010 09:04

I'm a basic user, while I see lots of things can be tweaked, I just want to take what I have and burn a DVD.
There must be a chart somewhere showing basic sizes of things..Under the PRODUCE menu, the different formats are shown, but it would be so helpful if the produced size was shown for each format before you make your choice. I know there are different considerations, but size is important too. I have a 2.89 gig file, I can't seem to get onto a 4.7 gig DVD. Once I have produced, the next menu Create Disk, does show what the produced size would be.
If anyone can direct me to a generic chart on the site I would appreciate it. Another thing, if any of the senior people see this. I did look at the tutorial section..If the tutorial videos had a synopsis for each it would be great to find the one which applies to your issue!

Trevor George

Member Location: Bristol, UK. Joined: May 29, 2010 17:44 Messages: 80 Offline

Oct 30, 2010 16:22

Quote: There must be a chart somewhere showing basic sizes of things..Under the PRODUCE menu, the different formats are shown, but it would be so helpful if the produced size was shown for each format before you make your choice.

That would be great . . . like Photoshop does . . . but I've made a 10 second video, and saved in fifteen different formats, so I can quickly check files size versus quality. Sometimes video quality isn't to important to me but sound is, so I pick an appropriate file format to what I want to illustrate.

Doing it that way is also a good learning experience :

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Nov 27. 2010 13:26

Trevor . . My YouTube site . . (Bristol, UK) . . My JVC GZ-HM1 Camcorder

Mr19th

Member Location: Atlanta, GA Joined: Dec 28, 2009 15:41 Messages: 83 Offline

Nov 01, 2010 13:34

Kevin - I've looked up file formats before and have read about h.264, but have never found where the settings were to save it in that format were. Doe sit go by a different title? Is that an addition that I need to upload or can you point me in the right direction of how to do that?

Thanks,
Sean -

Trevor George

Member Location: Bristol, UK. Joined: May 29, 2010 17:44 Messages: 80 Offline

Nov 01, 2010 13:56

Quote: . . . can you point me in the right direction of how to do that?

Here's where mine is located, outlined in red on this image, but obviously not in the program :

Trevor . . My YouTube site . . (Bristol, UK) . . My JVC GZ-HM1 Camcorder