What should I convert MOV files to?

[waterjug]

I shoot HD video with my T2i, and they come out as MOV files. Huge MOV files. What should I convert them to so that they take up less space, but don't lose much/any quality? Right now I have an 11 minute video taking up 4 gigs of space which is just way too much with the amount of video I shoot.

 

[LikeLinus]

MP4 using the H.264 codec is probably your best bet.

 

[lakedude]

Yes H.264 (x264) for HD (assuming you are playing back on a system that can handle such a stream).

For less capable hardware you will need to encode to a less demanding codec, perhaps at a less demanding bit rate and or resolution...

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/home-cinema/best-codecs-for-video-and-how-to-encode-1044575

Don't get confused between the codec and the container. You can put H.264 encoded video into a MKV or MP4 container.

MKV, MP4, MOV and AVI are containers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_container_formats

While Xvid, x264, DivX and Window's Media Encoder are all codecs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_video_codecs

 

[Gooberlx2]

MP4 using the H.264 codec is probably your best bet.

I wouldn't be surprised if they already are h.264. However, cameras tend to be quite liberal with their bitrates, so yeah, I imagine they could be compressed further without much issue. I recommend handbrake.

 

[AkumaX]

i wrote a small program that auto converts the file to 1/6 the file size

the movies that the T2i / T3i / 60D / 7D / 5DM2 record are h.264 baseline profile @ 5.1 inside a .mov container, at a bitrate of 45,000kbit/s (or, ~5.7MB/s). audio is also uncompressed PCM @ 1,500kbit/s.

i transcode the file to h.264 high profile @ 4.1 inside a .mp4 container, and change the bitrate to ~ 8,000kbit/s (or, 1MB/s), and convert the audio to LC-AAC @ 128kb/s.

these settings are good enough for me, and probably retain about 96-98% of the quality (i hope...)

 

[waterjug]

I wouldn't be surprised if they already are h.264. However, cameras tend to be quite liberal with their bitrates, so yeah, I imagine they could be compressed further without much issue. I recommend handbrake.

Thanks! I do have handbrake, wasn't sure what to convert them too though, now I know.


Thanks gang!

 

[Muse]

I went through this scene today, downloading and installing Handbrake 0.98 (latest version) and reducing a 1.1GB .mov file (created with a Canon ELPH 100 HS in 1080p, a 4:28 file) to 570MB. I could probably have gotten decent results with a much smaller result but I didn't have a lot of time, and Picasa will accommodate any file under 1GB, so I'm OK with it. Here's a thread here that discusses using Handbrake with a fair amount of detail:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2215324

 

[pandemonium]

i wrote a small program that auto converts the file to 1/6 the file size

the movies that the T2i / T3i / 60D / 7D / 5DM2 record are h.264 baseline profile @ 5.1 inside a .mov container, at a bitrate of 45,000kbit/s (or, ~5.7MB/s). audio is also uncompressed PCM @ 1,500kbit/s.

i transcode the file to h.264 high profile @ 4.1 inside a .mp4 container, and change the bitrate to ~ 8,000kbit/s (or, 1MB/s), and convert the audio to LC-AAC @ 128kb/s.

these settings are good enough for me, and probably retain about 96-98% of the quality (i hope...)

You're not dissatisfied with 128k on the audio? Even for 'unprofessional' recordings I can't do less than 196k otherwise mids/highs become too distorted for my tastes.

 

[AkumaX]

You're not dissatisfied with 128k on the audio? Even for 'unprofessional' recordings I can't do less than 196k otherwise mids/highs become too distorted for my tastes.

meh, handheld videos of my 1 yr old? i think i can live with it

 

[pandemonium]

Haha, you've got a point there. ^^