Compressing Video With Compressor

If you take a lot of HD video, you may end up with massive video files that you can't keep, but don't want to delete forever. You can compromise by compressing them. This will trade quality for file size, but in many cases this trade-off is the best way to keep your old video footage around. You can use Apple's Compressor app to do this quickly and easily.

Comments: 8 Responses to “Compressing Video With Compressor”

    Capt. Arty
    9 years ago

    Are you kidding! $50.00 for an app!

      9 years ago

      Sounds like you are used to getting little apps and games for free or $0.99. Software used to be about $50 just a few years ago. Many apps still are. It was only a few years ago that OS upgrades cost $129, most games and applications cost $50 or $100. Even "little" games cost $20.
      People still pay good money for good software. Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, and many others. If you only want to use cheap or free software, then fine. But was the "Are you kidding!" necessary?
      As a software developer, I find it a little alarming that you would judge the value of software like this. I don't know what you do for a living, but I wonder how you would feel if someone suddenly said "Are you kidding! $X per hour for that!"

        Jim
        9 years ago

        Gary, I have been using Handbrake. I know there are a variety of converters available. Does a product like Compressor differ significantly from converting programs? Thank you.

          9 years ago

          I don't use Handbrake for this, so it is hard to compare. There are lots of tools out there and each offers different advantages and disadvantages.

      KURT HANSON
      9 years ago

      What information is extracted within the original file? Would the Compressor User Manual detail this information? Why would one not want to compress video files?

        9 years ago

        Not sure what you are asking. Information extracted? Compression takes time and it results in a lower quality file so some may want to keep the original instead. It is a trade-off.

          KURT HANSON
          9 years ago

          30 frames/uncompressed, 10 frames/compressed, for instance. Other attributes of the video file must be reduced/extracted but the question may be too technical for a response here. I probably should investigate further meself.

            9 years ago

            You have complete control over those aspects of compression. I would never reduce the frame rate for archiving home video, but you might want to play with the bit rate or audio quality to get smaller files. I usually experiment until I get a good compromise.

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