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Compress a video: smaller file, same quality

Shrink a video's file size without a visible loss. Step by step with Compress video, which measures quality, plus H.264 versus H.265.

A video too big for email, heavy on WhatsApp or filling your disk needs compressing. The trick is to throw away detail the eye won’t miss. The Compress video tool in Weditra does this by measuring quality; no project is needed and your original file is never touched.

Step by step

  1. Open Compress video: from Quick tools on the start screen, from the File menu (“Compress video…”), or from Smart tools.
  2. Drag your videos into the window or use the file picker. MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM and others work; several files are compressed one after another.
  3. Choose the Quality level:
    • Keep quality: the difference isn’t visible; the safest, shrinks less.
    • Balanced: a good trade-off for most videos: a clear saving, very little difference.
    • Small: shrinks the most; fine detail may soften slightly.
  4. Choose the Format: H.264 (MP4) plays on every device. H.265 (MP4) is roughly 30–40% smaller at the same quality, but may not play on very old devices.
  5. An estimated size range appears for your choice. Press Compress.
  6. The quality is measured first, then the video is compressed. The result reads as “before → after · percent smaller”.

The output is written as “name (compressed).mp4”, and no existing file is ever overwritten.

Why measure quality?

Most programs compress with a fixed setting, which comes out worse than needed for some videos and bigger than needed for others. Here each video is measured and the smallest file that reaches the target quality is written. If the target can’t be reached on a video, the tool says so and asks you to check it by eye. Some videos are already efficient; if no smaller file of the same quality comes out, the tool says the video is already efficient and writes nothing. That isn’t a bug, it’s an honest answer.

Shrinking size while you edit

If you’re editing a project, the Export window has settings that affect size too:

  1. In the Where to list choose WhatsApp: it aims for 720p and a small file.
  2. Or lower Resolution, Frame rate and target bitrate by hand. The advanced settings also let you choose the file format and encoder.
  3. H.265 can give a smaller file at the same quality.

With a graphics card, Fast export (GPU) speeds things up.

Tips

  • Taking a phone video from 4K to 1080p shrinks it a lot, and on a small screen the difference is slight.
  • Don’t compress a compressed file again; quality drops each time. Keep the original and compress from that.
  • For an important video, start with Keep quality and move to Balanced if the size is still too big.
  • To try the output on a short piece, set in and out points first.

Privacy

Quality measurement and compression happen on this computer; the video is never sent anywhere. For more on exporting see the One-click export page.

FAQ

Does quality drop when I compress? Every compression drops some information. At Keep quality the difference isn’t visible to the eye. More shrinking means more difference.

Is my original file deleted? No. The output is a separate file and nothing is overwritten.

Does the sound shrink too? Yes, sound is encoded as well, but most of the size is picture.

Weditra is free with no watermark; see the Download page for the Windows version.

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