I had to send a birthday video to my mom. Her email kept yelling “file too big.” Classic. I didn’t want to install a bunch of new stuff. I already use VLC to watch movies, so I thought, can I just shrink this in VLC? Short answer: yep. And it didn’t make me cry.
If you’d like to see every knob I twisted during my very first marathon session, I kept a play-by-play over on I Compressed Big Videos With VLC: My Real-World Steps (And What Actually Worked).
I’ve used this now for phone clips, screen recordings, and a messy soccer game. Here’s how I did it, what looked good, and what bugged me a bit too.
My Setup (Nothing Fancy)
- Laptop: Windows 11, Core i5, 16 GB RAM
- VLC: Version 3.0.20 (the standard download)
- I also tested one video on my old MacBook Air. It worked the same, but it ran a little warm.
I’m not a video engineer. I make videos for family, school nights, and YouTube how-tos. I care about size and “does this look okay on a phone.”
The Quick Steps I Use in VLC
Let me explain how I shrink a video in VLC. It sounds like a lot, but after two runs, your hands will do it without thinking.
- Open VLC.
- Click Media > Convert/Save.
- Click Add and pick your video.
- Click Convert/Save at the bottom.
- In Profile, pick: Video – H.264 + MP3 (MP4).
- This gives you a simple MP4 that plays almost everywhere.
- Click the little wrench icon next to the profile to tweak:
- Encapsulation: MP4/MOV
- Video codec: check “Video,” set Codec to H-264
- Bitrate: set a number (I’ll share numbers below)
- Frame rate: 30 for most videos, 60 for sports
- Resolution: set width and height if you want to downsize (1920×1080 or 1280×720)
- Audio: Codec AAC (or MP3), 128–160 kb/s is fine
- Click Save.
- Pick a Destination file (add “-small” to the name so you know).
- Hit Start. Go stretch or grab a snack. The fans may hum.
Tip: Do a 20-second test first. Clip a short part of your video and try those settings. Saves time and headaches. Need granular explanations for each field? The official VLC documentation walks through every codec toggle and advanced option.
Real Example 1: iPhone Birthday Clip
- Source: iPhone 13 Pro, 4K at 30 fps, 2:42 long, MOV file, 722 MB
- Goal: Email it without drama
What I set:
- Profile: H.264 + MP3 (MP4)
- Resolution: 1920×1080 (I stepped down from 4K to 1080p)
- Frame rate: 30
- Video bitrate: 3000 kb/s
- Audio: AAC at 160 kb/s
Result:
- New file: 73 MB
- Time to convert: 1 minute 20 seconds
- Look: Still sharp, colors looked normal. Faces looked clean. When my niece spun around, her hair had a tiny bit of blur. I only noticed because I went looking for it.
Did it send? Yes. My mom watched it on her phone, grinned, then asked for more clips. Of course.
Real Example 2: Screen Recording for YouTube
- Source: OBS screen capture, 1080p at 60 fps, 12:05 long, MKV file, 1.9 GB
- Goal: Get a smaller file for faster upload
What I set:
- Resolution: 1920×1080 (kept it)
- Frame rate: 30 (screen stuff doesn’t need 60 for me)
- Video bitrate: 2000 kb/s
- Audio: AAC at 128 kb/s
Result:
- New file: 281 MB
- Time to convert: 7 minutes 50 seconds
- Look: Text stayed clear. Cursor trails looked fine. When I scrolled fast, it got a touch soft for a split second. But honestly, no one in the comments noticed.
Upload to YouTube was smoother. No coffee refill needed while it crawled.
Real Example 3: Soccer Game at 60 fps
- Source: GoPro Hero 8, 1080p at 60 fps, 15:10 long, MP4 file, 5.4 GB
- Goal: Keep smooth motion, cut the size way down
What I set:
- Resolution: 1920×1080 (kept it)
- Frame rate: 60 (sports needs it)
- Video bitrate: 3500 kb/s
- Audio: AAC at 160 kb/s
Result:
- New file: 416 MB
- Time to convert: 14 minutes 30 seconds
- Look: Motion felt smooth. The grass looked a bit mushy in wide shots. Faces were fine in close plays. For sharing with the team, it did the job.
I watched it on my TV and my phone. On the TV, the grass mush was easier to spot. On the phone, it looked great.
So… Did It Actually Look Good?
Most of the time, yes. If I keep 1080p and use a fair bitrate, folks can’t tell. They just watch and move on. If I push bitrate too low, you start to see blocky areas in busy parts, like confetti, water, or grass. That’s the trade-off.
Those blocky glitches—better known as video compression artifacts—are a rabbit hole I’ve fallen down before, and I wrote an entire piece on what it’s like living with them day to day.
The Bitrate Numbers That Worked For Me
- 720p at 30 fps: 1200–1800 kb/s
- 1080p at 30 fps: 2000–3500 kb/s
- 1080p at 60 fps (sports): 3000–5000 kb/s
Audio:
- Voice or screen: 128 kb/s AAC
- Music or events: 160 kb/s AAC
If you’d like to geek out on what those bitrates really mean under the hood, check out DataCompression.info for plain-English guides and calculators.
These are not fancy rules. They just worked for my clips. If I needed it smaller, I lowered resolution to 720p first, then nudged bitrate down.
Little Tricks That Helped
- Do a short test encode first. Saves time.
- Keep 60 fps for sports; drop to 30 for talking or screen stuff.
- If your player looks weird, stick with H.264. H.265 can be smaller, but some old TVs don’t like it.
- Name files with the settings in the name, like “bday-1080p-3mbps.mp4.” Helps later.
- Don’t mess with fancy filters unless you know why. I left them alone. Fewer surprises.
Stuff That Bugged Me
- Menus feel hidden. Convert/Save isn’t where my brain expects.
- Presets are thin. I wish there were clear “1080p small” or “720p tiny” presets.
- Changing frame rate sometimes caused audio to drift on one long clip. Keeping the same frame rate fixed it.
- It’s CPU-heavy. My laptop fans woke up. On my Mac, it ran warm too.
- The progress bar feels slow and vague. It finishes when it finishes.
When I Wouldn’t Use VLC
If I need fine control, batch jobs, or the best quality per byte, I use HandBrake. It has more presets and clearer sliders. For a quick shrink with software I already have, VLC is still my go-to. It’s free, fast to start, and safe.
For a head-to-head comparison of VLC, HandBrake, and a few other contenders, I documented the entire bake-off in I Tried the Best Video Compression So You Don’t Have To.
If you’re curious how compression and smooth streaming play out in the live-cam world—where performers can’t afford choppy video—a quick read of Which site has the hottest live cam girls? breaks down the leading cam platforms, highlights the video quality each one pushes, and helps you pick a site that keeps the picture crisp without burning through your bandwidth. Likewise, maybe you’re prepping a short, polished intro reel for a local companionship agency and need to see what top-tier presentation looks like before you hit “export.” The directory at University Place Escorts showcases reputable companions with professionally shot photos and videos, giving you real