File Compression Ultimate Guide
If you’re editing videos, you’re bound to come across MOV files at some point or another. Editors with Apple products love the way that MOV files work seamlessly with their workflows, and some cameras even shoot natively in ProRes, outputting MOV files. But as good as they are, sometimes they can be a little too large and cumbersome to work with, and you’re better off compressing them. Here’s how to compress a MOV file using VideoStudio Pro.
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What is a MOV file?
A MOV file is a high quality Apple Quicktime Movie, a video file used by Apple products that contains video and audio tracks. It’s also been adopted worldwide by other platforms so is a very versatile video file. Generally MOV files are quite uncompressed and retain a lot of data which makes it perfect for filmmakers demonstrating their work but can also make the file sizes large, particularly if the clips are long.
An editor might prefer to use a MOV file when exporting a final version of a film to use as a master file, from which they can create compressed versions of MP4s which are more accessible for the web. The disadvantage of this is that full resolution MOV files can be huge and difficult to share, so if retaining all of the quality is a lower priority than uploading it to digital storage, then you might want to consider compressing it.
The benefits of compressing a MOV file
As beautiful as films delivered as a MOV file are, sometimes the sheer amount of data makes it difficult to share with a client or your team, especially if internet speeds are slow. Large files can also be tricky to play on a slower system as they require much more processing power and storage to work with. Compressing a file will make it smaller and easier to play back and share.
General data storage may also be an issue, as the larger the files the more space they take up on a hard drive. Compressing a file will shrink the amount of data required for storage, leaving you with more space on your hard drive to continue to work.
How to compress a MOV file
It’s easy to compress a MOV file within VideoStudio Pro, and all it takes is just a few clicks to export the project as a new file.
- Open up VideoStudio Pro.
- Import your MOV file into VideoStudio Pro by selecting the file in the Import from disc or external drive icon in the Capture screen.
- Drag the video onto the timeline in the video layer.
- Navigate to the Share screen.
- Select MOV from the grid of file types.
- Next to Profiles, click on the dropdown menu to reveal the list of options. This will provide you with plenty of preset modes you can choose from to reduce the size of the final output.
- If you want to create your own custom settings, click on the Plus icon and enter the details to create your own custom profile.
- Select the destination of where you want your new file to end up. On the left of the screen you’ll see the predicted output size of the new file.
- Finally, simply hit Start to begin compressing the file.
This will create a new, smaller, compressed file in your chosen location.
Compress MOV files to reduce their size
If you love working with high quality video files, then MOV files are great. The trade-off is that with high quality comes large file sizes which can be difficult to play back on systems and edit with, and take up more space. If quality isn’t your highest priority and you want to create a file that’s easy to share, compress MOV files using VideoStudio Pro in just a few clicks. Download a free trial today!