File size problems

[KalaKai]

I have a Mavic Air 2 and record video in 4k. I then use VSDC to do basic editing and am ending up with a 5gb size file for only 1 minute of video. When I save project as mpg, it reduces to MUCH MUCH less, but I read that there is a significant quality loss. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

 

[brett8883]

I have a Mavic Air 2 and record video in 4k. I then use VSDC to do basic editing and am ending up with a 5gb size file for only 1 minute of video. When I save project as mpg, it reduces to MUCH MUCH less, but I read that there is a significant quality loss. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

Just output as the high quality h.264 preset.

The settings you are using to get 5GB per minute is for if you want to take your export and then edit it in some other program and hence want the low compression codec but your final output video don’t need to be that large.

 

[KalaKai]

sorry, I don't quite understand...I am exporting the file from VSDC as h.264, 4k (ultraHD), ...the description is 'High Quality - Video: H.264, Frame Size - 3840x2160; Audio: AAC - 320 kbps, 48000 Hz, Stereo' Just did a 15 second vidro and it's 1 GB .....

 

[brett8883]

sorry, I don't quite understand...I am exporting the file from VSDC as h.264, 4k (ultraHD), ...the description is 'High Quality - Video: H.264, Frame Size - 3840x2160; Audio: AAC - 320 kbps, 48000 Hz, Stereo' Just did a 15 second vidro and it's 1 GB .....

Take a screen shot of your export settings. You have something jacked up to get that high a bit rate.

 

[KalaKai]

Thanks so much for taking a look at this... The settings below got me a 15 second video that was about 800mb in size. I'm recording in 4k, I'm using VSDC free editor. I'm recording in 4K wide, 24fps, h.265, mp4

 

[brett8883]

Thanks so much for taking a look at this... The settings below got me a 15 second video that was about 800mb in size. I'm recording in 4k, I'm using VSDC free editor. I'm recording in 4K wide, 24fps, h.265, mp4

Ok so I think they changed this on me. There use to be a “very high quality” setting so I think they renamed that to “high quality” and renamed “high quality” to “normal quality.” So try “normal quality.”

The other thing is that “quality” setting, its set at 90% but you should be able to reduce the quality which will reduce the file size.

“Quality” is just the compression amount. Your Hollywood movies are are couple hours long and are only a few GBs so they have been compressed but that isn’t really an indication of visual quality if that makes sense.

 

[passedpawn]

Ok so I think they changed this on me. There use to be a “very high quality” setting so I think they renamed that to “high quality” and renamed “high quality” to “normal quality.” So try “normal quality.”

The other thing is that “quality” setting, its set at 90% but you should be able to reduce the quality which will reduce the file size.

“Quality” is just the compression amount. Your Hollywood movies are are couple hours long and are only a few GBs so they have been compressed but that isn’t really an indication of visual quality if that makes sense.

"Quality" = compression amount = visual quality.

All video compression is lossy. That means you will lose detail, especially around sharp high-contrast edges, as compression increases. This is a pretty big problem with photos, but with video it isn't a big deal as the images flit by so quickly we don't notice the errors, and we are already "programmed" to expect blur (hence, the ND filters people put on their lenses to lower exposure time and elicit this blur).

Cable TV (which I jetisoned a little while ago) is a great place to see the awful effects of over-compression. It's EXTREMELY noticeable when there is are overlayed scores and other solid graphics - artifact city.

Digital 4k (2160p) versions of movies from Hollywood are usually > 30GB. Rips of these (i.e., torrents) are compressed down to just a few GB, with little noticeable loss of detail - but believe me, it's there, and if you have a large TV you'll likely see it (and not care anyway ) .

 

[brett8883]

"Quality" = compression amount = visual quality.

All video compression is lossy. That means you will lose detail, especially around sharp high-contrast edges, as compression increases. This is a pretty big problem with photos, but with video it isn't a big deal as the images flit by so quickly we don't notice the errors, and we are already "programmed" to expect blur (hence, the ND filters people put on their lenses to lower exposure time and elicit this blur).

Cable TV (which I jetisoned a little while ago) is a great place to see the awful effects of over-compression. It's EXTREMELY noticeable when there is are overlayed scores and other solid graphics - artifact city.

Digital 4k (2160p) versions of movies from Hollywood are usually > 30GB. Rips of these (i.e., torrents) are compressed down to just a few GB, with little noticeable loss of detail - but believe me, it's there, and if you have a large TV you'll likely see it (and not care anyway ) .

I guess I should have said “noticeable quality.”

I just did a test. I have a 1 minute video shot on my Inspire that is uncompressed CinemaDNG. The original video is 14GB. This is important so we know there’s actually something to compress.

I did just basic color corrections and rendered the 1 minute video using DaVinci Resolve Studio 16 automatic quality settings for a H.264 master. It is 630.8 MB and data rate is 83.46 Mbps.

I then override the quality settings and set an unrestricted bit rate. It’s about 4.5GB per second (edit: per minute. 4.5 GigaBytes per minute 600Mbps) , in the zone of what the OP is experiencing. There is absolutely no noticeable difference between the two videos

The OP is experiencing 5GB per minute which is 666.7 Mbps. That’s like 8 times higher than the automatic settings for an h.264 master in Resolve Studio 16 which is a professional video editing suite.

This tells us the settings the OP is using are incredibly excessive. There’s no reason for a final output to have that high a data rate.

 

[KalaKai]

This tells us the settings the OP is using are incredibly excessive.

Agreed, that's why I'm trying to find out, which of the settings needs to be changed. I was using default high quality 4k settings on VSDC and am trying to find out what settings I should actually be using to maintain highest possible quality with reasonable file size.

 

[brett8883]

Agreed, that's why I'm trying to find out, which of the settings needs to be changed. I was using default high quality 4k settings on VSDC and am trying to find out what settings I should actually be using to maintain highest possible quality with reasonable file size.View attachment 110800

Try standard quality or reduce “quality” setting to 70% and see if that reduces the file size

 

[KalaKai]

I did reduce to 70 (which is

Try standard quality or reduce “quality” setting to 70% and see if that reduces the file size

exported 10 second video as follows in MP4 4k
high quality 90% 700mb
standard quality 70% 275mb
low quality 30% 7mb

same as 1080 HD
high quality 90% 200mb
low quality 30% 2mb

There is significant difference between 90%, 30%, and even 70%. In particular, vertical and diagonal lines (window frames, sailboat rigging etc) are 'non-continuous'. I see the same issue when saving as 1080 or 4k. I guess that's just the decision I have to make, but I see so many incredibly beautiful videos out that and can't imagine they're all 5 gb for a short 2 minute video....I'm thinking I'm doing something wrong, but can't figure it out.

 

[SkyeHigh]

I did reduce to 70 (which is


exported 10 second video as follows in MP4 4k
high quality 90% 700mb
standard quality 70% 275mb
low quality 30% 7mb

same as 1080 HD
high quality 90% 200mb
low quality 30% 2mb

There is significant difference between 90%, 30%, and even 70%. In particular, vertical and diagonal lines (window frames, sailboat rigging etc) are 'non-continuous'. I see the same issue when saving as 1080 or 4k. I guess that's just the decision I have to make, but I see so many incredibly beautiful videos out that and can't imagine they're all 5 gb for a short 2 minute video....I'm thinking I'm doing something wrong, but can't figure it out.

Bear in mind that the typical over-the-air broadcast TV 1080i PAL signal is just 4-megabits/sec. This uses hardware compression in real-time on an already compressed video feed of 25 to 50-megabits per second. Anything lower than 4-megabits/sec and you start to see posterisation of areas of similar colour and poor quality text on coloured backgrounds.

 

[brett8883]

I did reduce to 70 (which is


exported 10 second video as follows in MP4 4k
high quality 90% 700mb
standard quality 70% 275mb
low quality 30% 7mb

same as 1080 HD
high quality 90% 200mb
low quality 30% 2mb

There is significant difference between 90%, 30%, and even 70%. In particular, vertical and diagonal lines (window frames, sailboat rigging etc) are 'non-continuous'. I see the same issue when saving as 1080 or 4k. I guess that's just the decision I have to make, but I see so many incredibly beautiful videos out that and can't imagine they're all 5 gb for a short 2 minute video....I'm thinking I'm doing something wrong, but can't figure it out.

I just downloaded VSDC player to see what the heck is going on and I’ve figured it out.

You are using the “web” preset list in VSDC editor. A reasonable thing to do but use the “PC” preset lists instead.

Choose “to AVI” and choose “H264 High Quality.” Quality should be at 70%.

I tried this with my 1 minute video from before and it came out to 1 GB. Still kinda high but better than 5 GB.

I didnt notice any quality reduction at 70% but did at 30%.

__________

Now, if you really want the best of both worlds change “to AVI” to “to MOV” then click “edit Profile” and change “Video codec“ to H.265/ HEVC.

This will output your file in H.265 which is a more advanced and more efficient compression method. You can get the same quality outputs as h.264 but with a fraction of the file space.

My one minute video in H.265 with the same high quality settings as with h.264 ended up being 86MB with no noticeable difference. It did take about 20% longer to render with the free version of VSDC but that’s the cost of the better compression.

If you haven’t done it already you may need to purchase and download the HEVC codec from the Microsoft store to play the video but it’s only 99 cents. This would be the best way to get your cake and eat it too.

 

[KalaKai]

Wow....thanks so much for the info and efforts! I'll give it a try today.

 

[brett8883]

Wow....thanks so much for the info and efforts! I'll give it a try today.

No problem. Any luck?

 

[KalaKai]

No problem. Any luck?

Sorry I haven't gotten back. I tried a few things that didn't really work out so well. I'm going to try something else can will report back with results. Thanks so much for the help.

 

[KalaKai]

No problem. Any luck?

Thanks so much to you and others who offered ideas....

I've started using exporting as .mov with h.265 codec at normal or high quality and getting file sizes that are pretty manageable. I'm going to keep experimenting to try to find the 'best' compromise. I found that some of the viewing issues were with my viewer (infran view). When using other viewers, the lower quality products looked fine.

I haven't had time to do a full set at different levels, but will try to find time and post result here..

thanks again to everyone

soooo many options for a rookie to consider..