2 Easy Ways to Compress H.264 Video Without Losing Quality

H.264 (Advanced Video Coding, AVC, or MPEG-4 Part 10) is the most popular video compression standard, also by far the most commonly used format for recording, compressing, and distributing video content. Many multimedia container formats work with this video coding format, such as MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, FLV, TS, etc.  

H.264-encoded video files are usually smaller than other videos of the same quality, but sometimes you still need to make them smaller for easy sharing or storage. So, how to compress H.264 video files? Read on to find useful tips to shrink the size of your H.264 encoded videos.

Compress H.264 by Trimming and Lowering Resolution and More

The first way you can compress H.264 encoded videos is to remove unwanted parts with a video trimmer and cutter like MiniTool MovieMaker. It is an easy-to-use and feature-rich video editor that allows you to trim, split, crop, rotate, flip, and reverse videos, apply filters and effects, add text and animated stickers, and more. Use this program to compress H.264-encoded MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, and FLV video files in just a few clicks.

Additionally, MiniTool MovieMaker lets you reduce the video file size by modifying video parameters including resolution, frame rate, bitrate, format, etc. Follow the steps to compress H.264 files in this application.

Step 1. Download and install MiniTool MovieMaker on your computer.

MiniTool MovieMakerClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2. Launch the video compressor and close the project library window to enter the main user interface. Click the Import Media Files button under the Media tab to open your video.

Step 3. Add the video to the timeline by clicking the + icon on the bottom or just dragging and dropping.

Step 4. To trim a video to remove the beginning or end, select it on the timeline and hover over the clip’s start or end point until a double-headed arrow appears, then click the arrow and drag it inward.

To remove the middle section of the clip, separate the target part using the Split tool. Drag the playhead to the start point of the clip you want to remove, and click the Split icon; continue moving the playhead to the end of the clip, and click the Split icon again. Then, right-click on the clip and select Delete.

Step 5. Click the Export option in the upper right corner.

Step 6. In the Export window, first, give the file a name and choose a destination folder and format. Then, you can change the video resolution and frame rate. Then, click Settings to adjust the video quality and bitrate, and click OK to save the changes.

Next, check the estimated size of the video. If you’re satisfied with the result, click the Export button to export the video. If not, do some edits and export it again.

Compress H.264 by Converting H.264 to H.265

H.265 (HEVCand MPEG-H Part 2) is a common video compression standard. It is not as good as H.264 in terms of compatibility, but it achieves higher compression efficiency (up to 50%) than H.264. Therefore, you can convert H.264 to H.265 to compress H.264 files. For this purpose, a free HEVC converter is a must.

MiniTool Video Converter is one of the best free video converters that enables you to convert between various video formats, such as HEVC, H.264, MP4, WebM, MOV, and more. Here’s how to convert H.264 to H.265.

Step 1. Download and install MiniTool Video Converter on your computer.

MiniTool Video ConverterClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2. Click the Add or Drag files here to start conversion area to import your video. Click the diagonal arrow in the Target box, go to the Video tab, and select MP4. You can select a low-resolution MP4 profile to compress the original one.

To convert it to H.264 for a smaller size, click the + Create Custom button to open the Settings window. Then, set the Encoder to HEVC, and select the desired resolution, bitrate, and frame rate. Finally, click Create.

Step 3. Find and click the HEVC format to set it as the output format.

Step 4. Check the video file size and click Convert to start the conversion task.

Conclusion

H.264 is an efficient video encoder that can compress video into small file sizes, but it can be further reduced. With the tips explained in the post, I believe you can compress H.264 files without any hassle.