Hi George,

Firstly, a big thanks for your kind answer and the thought and effort you've put into it, I really do appreciate it.

I totally follow everything you said and it makes perfect sense. That's why I'm confused that it doesn't seem to be working for me.

I have two .wmv files that have been created with a piece of software called Microsoft Lync, it’s a videoconferencing program, with which I record meetings and lectures at work. They then need to be uploaded to our intranet site, where the requirement is, that they are no larger than 100 MB.

I have two files, both .wmv videos, one is 1h 30 min and 154 MB in size, the other is 45 min long and 60 MB in size.

Here’s what I do:

- I go to MEP 2013, create a new project, the default value for the movie setting is “PAL 16:9, 720x576; 25fps), “Audio sample rate” is set at “48000”.

- I drag-in the first video, I receive a warning that the project is set at the above mentioned values and that the video I’m trying to import has a resolution of “1920x1080 (16:9), 10fps” and am given a choice, whether I want to adjust the file to the values, set on the project. I choose “Adjust”.

- I drag in the second clip, this time, I get no prompt to adjust.

- Now I have both clips in my timeline and perform the desired trimming.

I choose “File -> Export Movie” and choose “Video as MPEG-4…”. Resolution is set at 640x480, Frame rate at 25, Aspect ratio at 4:3. I don’t change any settings and click “OK”. I then receive a prompt, telling me that “The export settings differ from the movie settings…”. If I click “Customize”, I’m returned to the program, where I’m not sure, what to change.

- If instead of choosing MPEG-4, I select “Windows media export” in the “Export Movie” menu and leave the settings alone, there is no prompt and the process begins. At the end, I get a very large file, which is much too large for what I need to deliver.

Sorry for the long explanation, I just wanted to make clear what I’m doing as I’m sure my mistake is somewhere in there and I just don’t see it.

You mentioned file converters, is there any particular one that you would recommend, which would get the job done and wouldn't be too hard to use for an obvious beginner such as myself?

Any further help would be greatly appreciated and thanks again for your time.

Best,

David

Hi David,

This youtube video will show you how to use Anyvideo Converter to reduce bitrate/file size.

There is a newer version with a different interface but the idea is still the same. I just like the old interface better.

When you download this and go to install it, choose "custom installation" and uncheck the toolbar option, otherwise you will get a toolbar and reset your browser home page.

This is how to use the new version

Good Luck,

George

Hi David

As George has mentioned - the problem is the default MEP WMV template is encoding to completely different parameters to your original file eg 25fps compared to 10fps and a bitrate (=Quality) that is probably 10 times higher than the conferencing data rate. Just the extra fps would make your encoded file 2.5x bigger although this would be offset to some degree by the 576p compared to 1080 resolution.

It is best to maintain as many of the original files characteristics as possible to avoid transcoding and scaling losses so I would use the Export as WMV template then click on the advanced button and you will be able to try adjust to match your original files specs. Unfortunately the quality slider is in % and does not give you a bitrate figure so you would need to experiment with that but default is 95% which is probably about 8000kbps or more so nock that back to about 25% for starters. Set fps to 10 as in your recordings and if 1080p res is making the file still too big use 720 or 576.

Alternatively go to File > Export to device >Select device> User defined>Video>WindowsMedia and select one of the lower bandwidth device presets from the dropdown at the top (eg Pad or phone) as a starting point and modify through the advanced settings button, if the file is too big or small.

BTW let MEP adjust the project settings to your imported material's settings when it prompts. This will not affect whatever different export parameters you choose. The prompt on export is telling you to set the project setting to your target export format and then see if everything still looks as you expect it to look. For instance a big change in resolution can affect the appearance of titles, if they have been added during the project.

Cheers

Ss

@ Scenestealer,

"Alternatively go to File > Export to device >Select device> User defined>Video>WindowsMedia and select one of the lower bandwidth device presets from the dropdown at the top (eg Pad or phone) as a starting point and modify through the advanced settings button, if the file is too big or small"

Thank you, I did not know that you could use this method to export at different bitrates in MEP.  You just saved me a step by not having to convert using an external product.  I actually don't like adjusting frame rate, I much prefer using bitrate as it has a greater effect on file size and you don't get the lag that you sometimes do by adjusting frame rate if there is fast motion.  For a conferencing video getting the frame rate set to the source material is probably fine, but if the video was shot at a higher frame rate I would rather sacrifice the quality of a lower bit rate to get the file size down than I would the frame rate to make sure I got the motion.

George

George