{"id":229,"date":"2024-09-14T10:41:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-14T14:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=229"},"modified":"2024-09-18T00:30:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T04:30:21","slug":"how-to-compress-mp4-video-file-in-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blog\/how-to-compress-mp4-video-file-in-windows","title":{"rendered":"How to compress MP4 video file in Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Compressing MP4 video files on Windows can be done using various tools, both command-line and GUI-based. Below are some detailed methods for compressing MP4 files on Windows along with references to useful sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we begin, you can use\u00a0our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/compress-mp4\">MP4 Compressor<\/a>\u00a0to compress your <code>.mp4<\/code> video files online. You can choose\u00a0<code>Autoscale<\/code>\u00a0feature to keep the quality high while reducing file size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Using FFmpeg (Command-Line Tool)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>FFmpeg<\/strong> is a versatile, open-source multimedia framework that allows for MP4 video compression through various settings like adjusting bitrate, codec, and resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Download and Install FFmpeg<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/ffmpeg.org\/download.html\">FFmpeg official website<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Download the Windows build and extract the files.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Add FFmpeg to your system\u2019s PATH for easy use from the command line (refer to <a href=\"https:\/\/windowsloop.com\/install-ffmpeg-windows-10\/\">this guide<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open Command Prompt<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Press <code>Win + R<\/code>, type <code>cmd<\/code>, and hit <code>Enter<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Compress Video with FFmpeg<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Run the following command to compress your MP4 file:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code lang=\"bash\" class=\"language-bash\">ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec libx264 -crf 28 -preset slow -b:a 128k output.mp4<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><code>-crf 28<\/code>: Controls video quality; lower values provide better quality and less compression.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>-preset slow<\/code>: Optimizes compression, with slower presets resulting in better compression.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>-b:a 128k<\/code>: Sets the audio bitrate to 128 kbps for decent quality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>References<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ffmpeg.org\/documentation.html\">FFmpeg Documentation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.windowsloop.com\/install-ffmpeg-windows-10\/\">How to Install and Use FFmpeg on Windows<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Using HandBrake (GUI)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>HandBrake<\/strong> is a popular open-source video transcoder that provides an easy-to-use interface for video compression. It supports MP4 compression using codecs like H.264 or H.265.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Download and Install HandBrake<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/handbrake.fr\/downloads.php\">HandBrake official website<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Download the Windows version and install it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open HandBrake<\/strong> and Load MP4 File:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click on \u201cOpen Source\u201d and select your MP4 file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Choose Output Settings<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the \u201cSummary\u201d tab, set the format to <strong>MP4<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go to the \u201cVideo\u201d tab and select <code>H.264 (x264)<\/code> or <code>H.265 (x265)<\/code> codec for compression.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adjust the <strong>Constant Quality<\/strong> slider. RF values between 22 and 28 offer good compression without significant loss in quality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Start Compression<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click \u201cStart Encode\u201d to begin the compression process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>References<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/handbrake.fr\/docs\/en\/latest\/\">HandBrake Documentation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.videoproc.com\/video-editor\/how-to-use-handbrake-compress-video.htm\">How to Compress Videos Using HandBrake<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Using VLC Media Player (GUI)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>VLC Media Player<\/strong> is a well-known multimedia player that also offers a built-in video compression feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Download and Install VLC<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Download VLC from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.videolan.org\/vlc\/\">official website<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open VLC and Access Convert\/Save<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to <code>Media<\/code> > <code>Convert \/ Save<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Add the MP4 File<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click \u201cAdd\u201d and select your MP4 file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Choose Output Profile<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the \u201cProfile\u201d drop-down, select a profile like \u201cVideo &#8211; H.264 + MP3 (MP4).\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To further compress, click on the wrench icon and adjust the resolution, codec, and bitrate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Start Compression<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Set a destination file and click \u201cStart\u201d to begin the compression.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>References<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.videolan.org\/doc\/\">VLC User Documentation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/733484\/how-to-compress-a-video-file-on-your-pc-or-mac\/\">How to Compress a Video File with VLC<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. Using Avidemux (GUI)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Avidemux<\/strong> is a free video editor that supports basic editing and compression. It provides an easy way to compress MP4 videos with various codec options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Download and Install Avidemux<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visit the <a href=\"http:\/\/avidemux.sourceforge.net\/\">Avidemux official website<\/a> and download the Windows version.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open Avidemux and Load MP4 File<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click <code>File<\/code> > <code>Open<\/code> to import your MP4 video.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Choose Output Settings<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Under \u201cVideo Output,\u201d choose <code>MPEG-4 AVC (x264)<\/code> for better compression.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Under \u201cAudio Output,\u201d select <code>AAC (Faac)<\/code> to reduce audio size.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adjust the bitrate or quality slider to control compression level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Save the Compressed File<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click <code>File<\/code> > <code>Save<\/code> to export the compressed MP4 video.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>References<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/avidemux.sourceforge.net\/doc\/en\/index.html\">Avidemux Wiki<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dz-techs.com\/compress-videos-with-avidemux\">How to Compress Videos Using Avidemux<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>5. Using Online Video Compressors (Web-Based)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you prefer not to install software, several web-based services allow you to compress MP4 files online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Popular Online Compressors<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>FreeConvert<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freeconvert.com\/video-compressor\">Video Compressor &#8211; Reduce Video File Size Online<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>XConvert<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xconvert.com\/compress-mp4\">Compress MP4<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Clideo<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/clideo.com\/compress-video\">Clideo Video Compressor<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Online UniConverter<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.media.io\/video-compressor.html\">UniConverter<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>VEED.IO<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.veed.io\/tools\/video-compressor\">VEED Video Compressor<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Upload the MP4 File<\/strong> to the online tool.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Adjust Compression Settings<\/strong>: Most tools allow you to adjust resolution, bitrate, or use default settings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Download the Compressed Video<\/strong> once the process is complete.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>6. Using Windows Built-in Apps (Photos App)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Windows 10 and 11 offer a basic video editor within the <strong>Photos App<\/strong> that can also compress videos by reducing resolution and quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Open the Photos App<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Open the app and click on <code>New Video<\/code> > <code>New Video Project<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Import the MP4 Video<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Add your video to the project.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Export the Video<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click <code>Finish Video<\/code> and select a lower quality option (e.g., 720p or 480p) to reduce file size.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>References<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/help\/4028663\/windows-10-create-videos\">Windows Support: Video Editor<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Other Resources and References<\/strong>:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/computing\/how-to-compress-a-video\/\">Digital Trends: How to Compress Video Files<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/447798\/how-to-compress-a-video-file-on-windows\/\">How to Geek: Compress Videos on Windows<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By following these methods, you can efficiently compress MP4 video files on Windows using both free and paid tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Featured photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@sharegrid?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">ShareGrid<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/person-taking-photo-of-black-video-camera-5IdfxaI5z6k?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Compressing MP4 video files on Windows can be done using various tools, both command-line and GUI-based. Below are some detailed methods for compressing MP4 files on Windows along with references to useful sources. Before we begin, you can use\u00a0our MP4 Compressor\u00a0to compress your .mp4 video files online. You can choose\u00a0Autoscale\u00a0feature to keep the quality high [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,14],"tags":[22,23,27,29,31],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-guides","category-tools","tag-compress-mp4","tag-compress-video","tag-ffmpeg","tag-vlc","tag-windows-video-compress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":292,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions\/292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}