/Fail

[DarthTaco]

Kayso, I was all excited about competing in the AMV contest this year, since I haven't been able to the past two years. (The first one I did in the wrong format, and the second I didn't get the vids done in time)

So, I bought myself some fancy software--Vegas 6.0--and made some pretty sexy AMVs. However, there's just one problem.

Once the videos are made and saved, the files are GINORMOUS. 452MB, 789MB, 960MB, and 1GB.

I mean, Sweet Jesus. Not only are they too big to be uploaded to most websites, but they are also waaaaaaay over the maximum amount allowed in the contest.

And now, with deadline fast approaching, I am turning to the only place I have left. I don't have the slightest clue how to compress the files to an appropriate size without completely Fudging up the quality. Does anyone here have Sony Vegas and know how to do this? I am more than willing to listen.

And, if this is the wrong place to ask for help, please remove this topic.

To anyone actually willing to read through this and help a newblet out, you have my most heartfelt thanks.

[Hazuza]

Try rerendering/saving it as a different filetype? .Avi saves as pretty huge files from what I hear. If you do that and get a good size, make sure to double-check that the video still looks good! I know that's pretty obvious, but you might be like me and not check on it until much later, when it might be too late to fix it :I

If that doesn't work, is there a 'save for web' option in that program? It might not be in the drop-down menu where you save it from, but in the properties when you save it? Or something? I wouldn't know since I don't have it ^^; But usually that option gives much smaller files.

[Darknight2433]

http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/computers-technology/how-could-i-compress-a-video-but-keep-the-quality/t.42439913/

The second reply is great, always worked for me.

[Romo]

Like Hazuza said, if it's being saved as an ".Avi" file then it's going to be huge. What I did was save mine as a ".wmv" file, and it cut it down by tonssss. But if you're not using a Windows computer that won't help much. If you are though, I'd give that a shot. It lowers the quality but it definately will the file a more appropriate size.

[Prinz Eugen]

WMV files are (a) generally such pixellated crud, and (b) are a proprietay codec that doesn't play nice with computers that use other choices (Linux, Mac. BeOS) that aren't Microsoft. So we don't accept WMV in the contest and don't play them in the Show. This year we accept .avi, mpg, and mp4. Once in a rare while I'll play an .mov in the show, but it's not a contest entry. RM is death on a stick also a no-no.

Meanwhile here is a great, HUGE, USEFUL resource:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech3/index.html

Also, if you are local, I expect to be going to the staff meeting this weekend,
and I can do a mini-clinic on COMPRESSION.

Bring your projects and computers. I won't / can't do the work for you, but I can show a small group of people how to use Virtual Dub and *you* do the work. Compressing a 4min vid takes about 20min.

- G

[DarthTaco]

Thank you all for the help, and I will give it my best shot.

Prinz--Sadly I am not local, I'm waaay down by Eugene, so I doubt I'd be able to make it to the meeting. But the offer from you makes me feel supported. <3

[JeffT]

Guy, you might want to look into Ogg Theora, a completely open, patent-free video format. It doesn't perform as well as leading commercial codecs, like H.264, but sometimes openness is the most important factor, and it probably has widespread software support in leading players and software like VLC.

That said (and I could be wrong as I haven't researched this much), it seems the patent owners in various audio/video codecs are collectively choosing to turn a blind eye to non-commercial, freeware/open-source video packages regarding the patents used within, which probably makes things easier for a lot of people, while not really cutting into the patent revenue from commercial products. This likely even helps the video codecs' adoption.

Public service announcement:

Remember, there are three major attributes to a video file:

• The container format
• The video codec
• The audio codec

The file extension often only indicates the container format. Sometimes, it may imply or suggest a likely video/audio codec.

For example: .AVI, .MOV, .WAV, and .MKV are not codecs. They are merely containers.

Video codecs are H.264, XviD, MJPEG, etc.

Audio codecs are Vorbis, AAC, MPEG Layer-3 (MP3), etc.

Some files don't have a container, like MP3. They are just "raw" audio. But you can also put MP3 audio in a .WAV container.

Leading video tools like MediaCoder can inspect any file and tell you all three primary attributes, as well as many other details. MediaCoder also has encoders and decoders for a huge number of audio and video codecs. MediaCoder may even work in converting your file. :)