I've noticed that my laptop is running low on free space mainly because of all the music and video files I've downloaded over time. Since I don't watch these videos often, I'd like to reduce their sizes without just archiving them. I'm looking for software or methods that allow for batch processing instead of having to compress each video individually. I've been using HandBrake but found that compressing a whole series at once can be very time-consuming. All my videos are in .mp4 or .mkv format; is there a way to batch compress them efficiently while keeping quality intact?
4 Answers
You might want to check out Tdarr. It allows for batch compression and if your files are in h264 format, re-encoding them in h265 could significantly cut down their sizes without compromising much on quality. Definitely worth looking into!
To truly reduce size, you'll have to compress, which often means also lowering the resolution or frame rate. If you're already using handbrake, you might need to tweak the options to see better results without losing too much quality. If you're open to it, using software like FFMPEG for batch processing or even putting files in a ZIP might help, but remember that too much compression on already-compressed videos can make it pretty slow and not always effective.
HandBrake actually has a batch processing feature! You can add your videos to the queue and set it to work through them all at once, which should save you a lot of time compared to compressing each episode one by one.
I have a simple script using FFMPEG that processes files in batch, going through the directories automatically. It's pretty handy if you're comfortable with scripting and can tailor it to your needs!
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