I've created a MOV file that I need to compress from 18.9 mb to 15 mb. It needs to stay a MOV file to upload it to a particular website. Can this be done in QuickTime Pro? If not, is this possible?I've created a MOV file that I need to compress from 18.9 mb to 15 mb. It needs to stay a MOV file to upload it to a particular website. Can this be done in QuickTime Pro? If not, is this possible?
Windows Vista
I've created a MOV file that I need to compress from 18.9 mb to 15 mb. It needs to stay a MOV file to upload it to a particular website. Can this be done in QuickTime Pro?
Yes. You basically have three options here: 1) use a more efficient audio and/or video code to reduce the file size, 2) use the same codecs but reduce the data rate limit, or 3) use a combination of the two work flows. Basically, the data in any MOV file container is a QT file. Thus and audio and video codec compatible with your platform's QT component configuration and be exported to an MOV file container or, once meeting your file size requirements can be turned into an MOV file by using the "Save As..." option which merely places the original data into a new MOV file container. However, be advised that the site to which you are uploading your content must also be able to handle the compression formats within the MOV file container.
If you can send it in a archive such as .zip, and have the recipient expand and post the file, you can get the size way down. I created a simple .mov file out of Premiere Pro that saved as 238 MB. Zipping the file with OS X's built in Zip utility didn't save much space, which I didn't expect. It was still 197 MB.
But Stuffit is great at compressing these types of files down for transfer. The .sitx file was only 6.6 MB. You can purchase the simpler version of Stuffit for Mac for only $30. The site you're sending it to can then use the free Stuffit Expander to extract the movie.
This of course is all meaningless if the file has to be sent as is.
Err, to repeat from above:
Original size of a .mov file - 238 MB
Zipped - 197 MB
Stuffit .sitx - 6.6 MB
Sure seems to be working for me. Also, a .mov file being a compressed format does not necessarily mean it has already been compressed down to its last iota of space. Neither are JPEGs. Even a highly compressed JPEG can be reduced with Stuffit. Zip just stores them, as if there's nowhere to go.
QuickTime file formats, just like most image formats, are already compressed and won't become smaller in file size when compressed (Archived in OS X).
As I mentioned above, I just did a test which disproves that. Stuffit also does a very good job reducing the size of JPEG files into an archive. Something .zip does nothing to.
Stuffit has worked a long time on algorithms that do reduce the file size of some modern image formats but will have no affect on video file formats.
How do I compress a MOV file?
