Techniques for Getting Around the 512MB Limit?

[SamirD]

I've got a few videos that are more than 512MB when they come out of my camera. I can usually just upload most of them directly since they are <512MB.

So what are some good methods to get around the 512MB limit? Re-compressing is probably one of the top methods. What have you used that works consistantly?

[docwalker]

Some options...

Check the file format. Some are larger than others by nature.

Use some compression. Depending on the video, a little compression goes a long way. Use a quality setting at 90% or something like that depending on your video editor.

Use Smart editing techniques. Cut out the dead air. Leave in the meat. You do not need a 30 second intro slide. (yes, I have seen them)

Figure out what the video will be used for. If it does not need HD quality, drop back to standard.

[SamirD]

Format is raw from the camera, probably mpeg1. Don't really have time to edit it or even really mess with it. I just need it online and would rather use SM than google video or other solutions.

I've thought about using virtual dub to re-compress the video into another codec, but that's pretty time consuming. What about just compressing audio? Has anyone tried that? What about a good program to just divide a clip into smaller segments?

[SamirD]

I found this quick and dirty command-line utility to split the file quickly. It can also do simple time-based cuts: http://mpgtx.sourceforge.net/

[docwalker]

Samir,

I use MPEG StreamClip to recompress and change formats. This is probably something best asked in the video editor thread in the action forum.

A little compression and editing goes a long way to help with reducing the file size.

--Doc