[SOLVED] How to Compress Videos for YouTube: Best Methods without Quality Loss
Question: Hi all! I started to stream on Twitch and at the same time, I record YouTube videos on my PC. I want to encode/compress a video in the best quality that YouTube can take. Could anyone tell me how to compress videos for YouTube without losing quality? - Post from a Reddit User
Answer: Sounds like you are rendering out uncompressed footage or using inappropriate video codecs. In the case of compressing videos for YouTube, an uncompressed 10 seconds 4K video would be around 500MB in size (H.264 encoding), while compressed MP4 would only take around 10MB. To achieve this, you have two options:
- 1. Tweak your settings in your video editor exporting preferences, it would take much longer than expected rendering time (sometimes it could be overnight)
- 2. Use dedicated encoding software.
Sufficed to say, the second option is a better choice for most casual users without sophisticated video editing knowledge. We will discuss the details about compressing videos for YouTube in 4 parts:
Part 1. How to Compress a YouTube Video with Professional Software
Depends on the format you are using, you would need to compress your video before uploading it to YouTube, favorably without suffering quality drop. Tipard Video Converter Ultimate stands out in the crowd as the top-tier quality software that covers your needs. Top features include:
- – Easily compress videos for YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, etc.
- – Create GIF with customized effects.
- – Edit Music ID3 Tag without iTunes.
- – Build-in video enhancer to improve video quality.
- – Edit videos.
- – Add watermarks, subtitles, audio track and other after effects.
- – Support both Mac and Windows PC.
- – No hidden fees with 90 days money-back guarantee.
Step-by-step Guide How to Compress a Video for YouTube
Step 1Import Videos
Open Tipard Video Converter Ultimate, click on the Add Files button on the upper left side of the top bar. Choose either Add Files or Add Folder option to import your videos into the project.
Step 2Set Compression Rate
You might consider converting your original video format to another codec with a better compression rate. Click on the Convert All to option on the upper right side of the top bar, you would be given a list of formats and codecs as options. Choose the desired encoder, click on the gear icon on the right side of your option to access more advanced settings.
Step 3Compress Videos
Select the exact path to the folder you wish to save your videos by clicking on the Save to option on the bottom left side of the corner. And subsequently, click on the Convert All button to start compressing your videos for YouTube.
Step 4Compression Completed
After the compression is completed, move to the Converted tab to check your compressed videos before uploading to YouTube.
Part 2. How to Compress a YouTube Video with Free Online Compressor
As a matter of choice, you might prefer using an online video compressor instead. Webapps are generally more lightweight and minimalistic, while they might not fit well for heavy-loaded and GPU-intensive tasks such as video editing and video compressing. One of the better choices is MP4compress. It has most of the necessary features to compress a short video before uploading it to YouTube, which is good enough for a free website.
How to Compress a Video for YouTube with Free Online Compressor
Step 1Visit the online video compressor website on either your desktop or mobile browser.
Step 2Click on the Select File button in the middle of the screen to import your videos which need to be compressed for YouTube. Then, hit the Upload Video File button to confirm.
Step 3Automatically, your video compressing process will get started. Just wait for a while and a downloadable link will be available. Download the compressed video file for YouTube usage.
Part 3. Compare Your Options: Which Way is Better?
Compression features | Video Converter Ultimate | Free Online Video Compressor |
---|---|---|
Compression Rate | High, and Customizable | Average |
Video Formats | 500+ Formats | Limited |
YouTube Support | Smoothness | Hit-or-Miss |
Video Editing Feature | Yes | No |
Compatibility | Mac OSX/Windows PC | Web-based |
Tech Support | Life-Time Support | No |
Pricing | Discounted price for a limited time | Free |
Part 4. FAQs about Compressing YouTube Videos
1. How do I reduce the MB size of a video for YouTube?
Besides compressing your video, try to downgrade the resolution rate if you are struggling to reduce your video file size. A 480P or 720P video naturally takes much less time uploading than an HD 1080P video.
2. How to avoid YouTube video compression?
Keep in mind that YouTube automatically compresses every video after uploading. The common approach for big YouTubers is to schedule their uploading hours. For smaller YouTubers, on the other hand, you might use a compressor to reduce your video size before uploading to YouTube to get better compression quality.
3. How to compress a video for YouTube with VLC?
Open Your Video with VLC Media Player. In the Media menu, scroll down and look for the Convert/Save option or hit the Ctrl+R key combinations. Configure the settings and select the compression rate you prefer. Since VLC isn't a committed YouTube video compressor, it suffers from very slow compression speed which could waste your precious time.
Conclusion
We weighed up the details about how to compress a video for YouTube with various toolkits in this article. Whether you are a veteran or freshman YouTuber, you wouldn't regret checking out our recommendations and tricks that would benefit you.