Brad wrote:
cfnmdude wrote:
Awesome links, thanks. For some reason, I can't access the bitrate of my files when I right click or when I open in Quicktime. I will try again tomorrow on a different computer.
I'm thinking that bitrate is indeed the culprit. The VSDC video player gives me the option of a normal bitrate or a high quality one. I always select the high quality one. I may be adding bitrate to the file, which would explain the increase in file size. I'll know more tomorrow. Thanks again!
Quicktime is an Apple product, so it's probably why a Windows (Microsoft) product may not be able to see the information. Again, AVS can convert anything to anything.
As I understand it, there are essentially three ways a video takes up space.
1. Frame size (i.e. 1920 X 1080 vs. 1280 X 720)
2. Frame rate (i.e. 30 frames/sec vs. 60 frames/sec)
3. Bit rate
If the original, raw footage is, say, 1280 X 720, increasing the frame size just makes it bigger on the screen without increasing resolution. The view can do this themselves by simply controlling the size of the screen of their media player; thus, don't increase frame size in your video editor as it unnecessarily takes ups space.
2. Frame rate is the fluidity (smoothness) of the video. Same thing applies - if you've recorded at 30 frames a second, increasing the frame rate will not make a better quality video.
3. Bit rate is how much information is flowing. It's like a series of paintings in sequence. If each painting (frame) is highly detailed, then a higher bit rate is warranted to convey the detail of each frame. However, if each painting (frame) is maxed out at a certain resolution, increasing the bit rate does not increase quality, it only increases the amount of hard disk space.
You da man, Brad! Thanks for figuring this out for me. The Bit Rate is the culprit. I looked at my files on another computer, and I discovered that they were 720p (I already knew that), 60 frames rate (I already knew that), and a Bit Rate of 128 (I didn't know that at all). My VSDC player is set to 720p with a 60 frames rate, and so I knew both factors were not increasing GB. VSDC offers three Bit Rate options: high quality at 224 kbps, normal quality at 192 kbps, and low quality at 128 kbps. I always use the high quality and thus I'm adding Bit Rate to files that contain 128 Bit Rate.
I edited the video again, taking out the same amount of footage. This time, I saved the shorter video at the normal bit rate of 192 and and the GB decreased!!! Based on what you say above, I should probably use the 128 Bit Rate since my videos use that Bit Rate, and a better bit rate does not improve quality. I'll know that for the future.
I'm a little disappointed to learn that my hidden camera takes low quality bit rate. I went out of my way to ensure 720p and, more importantly, 60 frames per second verses 30, but I never knew anything about bit rate. For me, the Frame per second is crucial. At 30 frames per second, slow motion gets too blurry and you miss out on reactions & elevator eyes. At 60 frames per second, slow motion is much clearer and you capture the girl's eyes.
Issue resolved. Thanks again. For the sake of organization, I'm still going to purchase an external hard drive and save and organize my material on it.