With the rise of 4K and UHD video technology, both storing and sharing your videos is becoming more difficult. Large video clips can be hard to manage, and they’re more difficult to transfer if your Mac runs out of space.

• How To Reduce File Size Video Mac
• Reduce Video File Size Mac Free Pdf
• Reduce Video File Size Mac Free Software
• Reduce Video File Size Mac Free Online

If you often have a problem with storing or sending large videos, you should learn how to compress your video files on your Mac. There are plenty of apps and tools that can help you do that.

How to Compress a Video on Mac

Your Mac comes with built-in tools that you can use to compress a video. For example, iMovie or QuickTime Player. While they might be somewhat limited in functionality, there’s an obvious advantage here since you don’t need to download or pay for them.

If you’re looking for more functionality, try one of the third-party options from our list. Some of them you’ll need to download, like Handbrake or Movavi, while others you can use online via your browser.

FFmpeg is a collection of free libraries and tools to process multimedia content such as audio, video, subtitles on Mac and other platforms. It's a very advanced and powerful compression software free for Mac that can easily reduce the file size of a video, like a 720p video from 1.7 GB to 67 MB without changing resolution or any quality loss! Guide How to Shrink Video File Size on Mac. Free download the video size reducer on Mac, or Free download it on Windows PC. Step 1: Launch it and click 'Add File' to load the video files. To decrease video file size: First, select a smaller format to downsize video files from large-size formats: like H.264 to HEVC, MKV to MP4, FLV or WMV.

How To Reduce File Size Video Mac

iMovie

iMovie is a popular built-in tool on Mac that you can use not just for video compression but for video editing in general. This software makes the process of compressing a video free and easy. To shrink a video using iMovie, follow the steps below.

FlexClip - Online & Free. FlexClip Video Compressor is an online, free video compressor that can help. Reduce video quality and resolution to shrink file size with the free video compressor for Mac. Merge video clips into a new video file. Edit videos with iMovie on Mac in timeline. Cons: It is not flexible to compress a video on iMovie. The interface is complex. Check the details here to use iMovie to compress the large videos.

1. Open the iMovie app on Mac.

2. Select the Create New icon to create a new project.

3. Use the File menu to Import Media or drag and drop your files right into the app.

4. To compress the video, go to the File menu and select Share.

5. Depending on your goal, select one of the available options. You can choose to compress the video specifically for sending it via email or select the File option to set the desired quality and resolution yourself. In the same window you’ll also see the size of your exported video.

6. Once you’re happy with your video settings, select Next… to save the clip. Select the location for your file on your Mac and select Save.

QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is considered one of the top media players and one of the best apps for Mac overall. It’s also an excellent built-in option for shrinking your videos on Mac. To compress a video using QuickTime Player, follow the steps.

1. Open the QuickTimePlayer app on your Mac.

2. Navigate to the video that you want to compress and open it.

3. From the app’s ribbon menu, select File > Export As. Here you’ll get a variety of options to choose from, like exporting your file in 4K, 1080p, 720p, 480p, or exporting audio only.

4. Once you’ve selected the desired quality, type in the name for your video under Export As, select the destination, and select Save.

You can then compare the sizes of both your imported and exported videos via right click and Get Info option to see how much your original video shrank.

HandBrake

HandBrake is an open source video converter that you can use to convert your video clips from pretty much any format to widely supported codecs. On top of that, you can use the app to shrink your video files. All you need to get started is to download the software for free. Then, to compress a video using HandBrake follow the steps below.

1. After you download and install the app, launch HandBrake on your Mac.

2. In the upper-left corner of the app, select Open Source to open your video.

3. In the upper-right corner of the app, select Presets. Then select the desired quality of your output video.

4. Make sure to select a new name under Save As and destination under Browse for your output video.

5. Select the Start button on top of the window to begin the compression.

When this is complete, you’ll see the Encode Finished message appear in the app. You’ll find your compressed video in the destination you selected earlier.

Movavi

Movavi is another useful video editor that you can use for free to compress a video on Mac. It’s beginner-friendly and has an intuitive interface. So if you don’t have any video editing experience, this is a great tool to use.

The biggest downside here is that the free version of the app will add watermark to your compressed video. If you want to remove that, you’ll have to pay for the full version of Movavi which costs $39.95.

Follow the steps below to compress a video using Movavi.

1. Download, install, and open the app on your Mac.

2. Drag your video clip into the app or click the Plus icon to add it.

3. Click Video and select the preferred video quality for your output file. Here you’ll see the size of the output video as well.

4. You can save your video in the same folder as the original, or select a different location under Save to.

5. When you’re happy with all the settings, click Convert to compress your video.

Clipchamp Video Compressor

If you don’t want to waste time downloading and installing new software, you can use one of the online video editors to shrink your video files. Clipchamp offers a video compressor that you can use to compress videos of up to 20GB in size for free. To compress a video using Clipchamp, follow the steps below.

1. Open Clipchamp Video Compressor in your web browser.

2. Select Compress a video now.

3. Sign in with Google, Facebook, or your email.

4. Drag and drop the video that you want to shrink or click Convert my video to add it.

5. Select the desired Resolution, Format, and Quality.

6. Click Start to begin the compression.

7. When your video’s ready, you can select to Save or Upload & Share it straight away.

YouCompress

YouCompress is a free online file compressor for anyone looking to compress videos on Mac hassle-free. Here you don’t need to set any configurations, as the app will choose the suitable parameters itself for the best result. So if you’re looking to quickly compress one or two videos without quality loss, here’s how to do it using YouCompress.

1. Open YouCompress in your browser.

2. Click Select file to add your video.

3. Click Upload File & Compress.

4. All that’s left is to Download your compressed video file.

On the same screen, you can select to Delete your file from the server after you download it.

Free Up Space On Your Mac By Compressing Your Videos

If you notice that your Mac often runs out of space, it might be because of the large video files that you’re storing on it. Compressing your videos will help you make some space on your Mac for other important files and apps.

Have you ever had to shrink your videos? What software do you use to compress videos on your Mac? Share your experience with video compression in the comments below.

Video files especially HD ones are mostly large and occupy much space. And even if you are not running out of blank disks sooner or later you’ll need to reduce your video files size. That’s what you need to reduce video file size:

I am trying to reduce the file size by at least in half without dropping serious quality. A little is okay, but I don’t want to watch a crappy dark blurry movie. I watch the movies on my 13-inch Macbook. How to Reduce Video Size with Handbrake. While the theory behind video compression can appear to be an endless quagmire of confusion – you don’t need to know any of it to reduce video size. Handbrake is a free, open source program available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to create an MP4 with handbrake.

• • • your large video file.

You might believe that quality loss is inevitable, but that’s not true. This article provides several FREE ways to reduce video file size maintaining its original quality at the same time.

Reduce Video File Size on Windows & Mac [FREE]

There are two programs you may use to make your video lighter: Freemake Video Converter and HandBrake. The easiest is Freemake Movie Converter. You can either add your file and let the software make the job for you or choose custom settings. Let’s see how it works.

SEE ALSO: 12 Effective Free and Paid Ways of Compressing Any Audio File [TEST RESULTS]

6 Ways to shrink video file size with Freemake Resizer

Freemake Video Converter allows its users to shrink video size both automatically and manually. Each procedure is extremely simple. Check them below and choose the one you like more.

Way 1: Automatically

Follow these steps to resize your video automatically:

1. install and run Freemake Video Resizer;
2. add a video;
3. choose an output format;
4. set a desirable file size as shown on the image;
5. convert the video.

Please note you should not insert size lower than the allowable one or the video quality may be spoiled.

This solution suits well if you need a concrete output video size and don’t want to dig in video parameters. The software will automatically adjust them all to the specified size. However, if you feel strong into video encoding aspects, you may also try the following methods to shrink video file size. Thus, you may easily change the output file size of any HD video, for example convert MTS files from moderm camcorders.

Way 2: Change video resolution

Reduce Video Size For Email

More likely you don’t need a 1280×720 or higher resolution video for purposes mentioned above. A resolution of 800×600 or 640×480 can be a good substitution for your HD video. Easy graphics program for mac. Though you can even choose a 320×240 resolution suitable for a smartphone.

Here is a way to change a resolution with Freemake Video Converter:

1. Download for free & start the program;
2. add the video;
3. click on an output format you need;
4. choose a ready preset (640×480, 640×360, etc.);
5. click Convert.

Way 3: Change video codec

There exist lots of various video codecs and naturally they vary in parameters. A proper codec can reduce video file size by 2-3 times. One of the most space efficient is H.264. Using H.264, you can keep the same resolution of an HD video file. Although if you don’t have a modern graphic card you’d better lower the frame size (resolution) as well, otherwise your video may freeze up. So download free Freemake tool and change codec as shown on the screenshot below.

SEE ALSO: How to Convert Video to H.264
SEE ALSO: What is a Video Codec and How to Identify It?

Way 4: Lower frame rate

Frame rate is a number of frames displayed per second. It generally varies between 24-30 fps. By lowering the frame rate using Free Video Reducer (available for free download here), you can significantly decrease video file size. However, this method is not highly recommended because it affects video smoothness.

Way 5: Get rid of unnecessary parts

When ripping a DVD or converting an HD movie, avoid unnecessary extras like additional movie scenes, trailers, behind-the-scenes, interviews and commentaries, and audio tracks you don’t need. Black edges take up space as well so crop them out. Leave only the title track.

Click on the video to preview it, then use cut video tool to crop them out (see the guide). Choose a custom preset and then the tab “Zoom & crop” to get rid of black edges.

Reduce Video File Size Mac

Way 6: Lower video bitrate

The less bitrate value you select the smaller size you get. Just don’t lower it too much otherwise your video may lose quality. Name of the program to wirless connections for mac os x. download free, software and fine-tune the bitrate. It’s better to keep bitrate value between 1400-2000kbps.

Reduce video file size with HandBrake (for Mac users)

Handbrake is one more nice tool that can help you get the job done. The software can be installed on Windows, Mac OS and even Linux based computers. If you want to use this tool, follow the guide:

1. download and install HandBrake;
2. run the software;
3. add your video by clicking the Source button;
4. choose a destination folder for a ready video;
5. Select output settings. Better choose MP4 since this format is the most space-efficient and it’s also supported by almost all modern devices.
6. Select Web Optimizer box.
7. Click the green Start button to run the conversion process.

Reduce Video File Size Mac Free Pdf

Please keep in mind that you can make your video size smaller if you delete all unnecessary audio and subtitles tracks in case your video has a lot of them. Go to Audio and Subtitles tabs and choose only what you need leaving the rest behind.

Reduce Video File Size in iMovie on Mac

If you use Macbook Pro, Macbook Air or any other Apple computer, you can either use HandBrake for your goal or use iMovie. The latter usually comes pre-installed. To resize video with iMovie you should:

Reduce Video Size online, free

1. launch the software;
2. drag-n-drop your video into iMovie or use the Import button to add the video;
3. place the video on iMovie timeline;
4. click the Share button and choose Export Movie;
5. click Options and set framerate, bitrate, image size, file format and other parameters;
6. type a title for your video and click Export.

Please be attentive while inserting new parameters to keep the video quality fine. In case you are not sure what to insert, you may google for bitrate calculators. There are a lot of them online. Just choose the one you like, add your original video length, bitrate, codec, and other data and you’ll be given the minimum settings.

Do you shrink the size of your videos? What other ways do you use? Please share them with us in comments.

Comments

Reduce Video File Size Mac Free Software

comments

Reduce Video File Size Mac Free Online

Windows Phone devices record videos only at high resolutions (720p or 1080p), and when you share them through apps like WhatsApp, only the first seconds are sent. -Change the resolution of your videos with a great encoder, reducing file size to share full length videos. -Choose quality level. -Check the original and encoded video sizes. -Switch between Normal and Best mode to prioritize quality over encoding speed. -View progress and cancel the operation anytime. -Play original and encoded videos from the app. Get Video Compressor Advanced to: -View estimated file size and bitrate before start encoding. -Set desired file size or video bitrate before encoding, getting proportional audio and video quality automatically. -Use 'WhatsApp Optimized' preset, to get best possible quality until WhatsApp file size limit or resolution bitrate limit is reached. -Future advanced features will be added only for Advanced Mode. -More improvements and languages to come. If you want to contribute with translation voluntarily, please mail [email protected] asking for the translation table. Contributors will have their names in the about screen. Update 1.6.5 -Play original and encoded videos from the app. -Added an option to browse destination folder for each video. -File size will now accept any decimal separator. -Brazilian Portuguese language added. -Globalization is now supported.