MPEG Streamclip compression

[HugoC]

The same old story and no solution yet: a movie (downloaded TV recording, AVI) was trimmed in MPEG Streamclip and cannot be saved, "no video compressor" is the well-known message. I can export the trimmed movie as AVI or MP4 without changing the size, however, this results in a file size five times (!) the original file size, and the video quality is the very same.

Is there an easy way to configure this program to export/save a file with a comparable size (and quality) to the original, preferably less since about 15% of the movie has been been trimmed off?

 

[fabulousrice]

Could you use FFMPEG to convert it instead of MPEG Streamclip?

 

[Gwendolini]

What codec do you use when selecting the output?

 

[HugoC]

What codec do you use when selecting the output?

Default settings, 100% quality, 558 MB became 12.7 GB as AVI output. Hard to believe, but true. Which codec should I use to get the same quality as the TV input and not blow up the file size 24x?

 

[HugoC]

Could you use FFMPEG to convert it instead of MPEG Streamclip?

I could, if this is a free program and has default settings that allow cutting/trimming and do not blow up the file size...

 

[HugoC]

Could you use FFMPEG to convert it instead of MPEG Streamclip?

Is this the program where I need to install xcode first, then homebrew and maybe some others? Come on, I am not using a Mac and then spend my time with such "experiments". Show me a program (does not have to be free, but reasonably priced) that can do an easy task such as trimming a video and saving it without quality loss in the same format and not blow up the file size...

 

[fabulousrice]

I'm sorry but what you are saying sounds a bit strange: how could you possibly have a large resolution video file, with a high-definition quality, and the file being small in size? If you are serious about storing high-quality movies, you'll need to buy 10TB hard disks by the dozen

 

[HugoC]

I'm sorry but what you are saying sounds a bit strange: how could you possibly have a large resolution video file, with a high-definition quality, and the file being small in size? If you are serious about storing high-quality movies, you'll need to buy 10TB hard disks by the dozen

I do NOT have a "large resolution file with high-definition quality", I probably have not described it correctly and you misunderstood.

The original file (the TV recording) has these parameters (I translated the German GUI terms):

Duration: 1:00:48
Data Size: 527.28 MB
Bit Rate: 1.21 Mbps

Video Tracks:
MPEG4 Decompressor (libavcodec), 640 × 360, 25 fps, 1.08 Mbps

Audio Tracks:
MPEG Layer-3 Audio stereo, 44.1 kHz, 128 kbps

Stream Files:
Wilde Inseln 1 Sansibar.avi (527.28 MB)

Then I use MPEG Streamclip and export as AVI file (I did not trim it, just for testing), the codec used is "Apple DV PAL", but any other codec gives the same size results. Here are the parameters:

Duration: 1:00:48
Data Size: 12.34 GB
Bit Rate: 29.06 Mbps

Video Tracks:
DV - PAL, 720 × 576, 25 fps, 28.80 Mbps

Audio Tracks:
MPEG Layer 2 stereo, 44.1 kHz, 256 kbps
Stream Files:
Wilde Inseln 1 Sansibar ADVPAL.avi (12.34 GB)

All I want to do is (a) trim the video and (b) save it in the very same format AND size AND quality, by all logical means this should result in a file size <527.28 MB, no 10 TB disks needed.

Is there any expert out there who can explain how this is done in MPEG Streamclip? Am I asking too much from this program (or from the experts)?

 

[fabulousrice]

I do NOT have a "large resolution file with high-definition quality", I probably have not described it correctly and you misunderstood.

The original file (the TV recording) has these parameters (I translated the German GUI terms):

Duration: 1:00:48
Data Size: 527.28 MB
Bit Rate: 1.21 Mbps

Video Tracks:
MPEG4 Decompressor (libavcodec), 640 × 360, 25 fps, 1.08 Mbps

Audio Tracks:
MPEG Layer-3 Audio stereo, 44.1 kHz, 128 kbps

Stream Files:
Wilde Inseln 1 Sansibar.avi (527.28 MB)

Then I use MPEG Streamclip and export as AVI file (I did not trim it, just for testing), the codec used is "Apple DV PAL", but any other codec gives the same size results. Here are the parameters:

Duration: 1:00:48
Data Size: 12.34 GB
Bit Rate: 29.06 Mbps

Video Tracks:
DV - PAL, 720 × 576, 25 fps, 28.80 Mbps

Audio Tracks:
MPEG Layer 2 stereo, 44.1 kHz, 256 kbps
Stream Files:
Wilde Inseln 1 Sansibar ADVPAL.avi (12.34 GB)

All I want to do is (a) trim the video and (b) save it in the very same format AND size AND quality, by all logical means this should result in a file size <527.28 MB, no 10 TB disks needed.

Is there any expert out there who can explain how this is done in MPEG Streamclip? Am I asking too much from this program (or from the experts)?

Thanks! Indeed, that helps to know what file you have there.
"If my calculations are correct", when each one of the seconds of your video weights 1 megabyte (the 1 Mbps) then one hour should be 60 x 60 = 3600 Mbps, which amounts to 3.6 megabytes.

The compression "libavcodec" is the reason why the file isn't 3.6 Gb. This isn't a public codec that you can access yourself, unless you want spend time "experimenting" like you say
Either you compress this thing, and you'll lose quality, or you don't.

I have encoded one of my favorite films from the Blu-Ray disk to take it with me, the file is over 5 Gb. If I compress, I would have a youtube type compression...

 

[Gwendolini]

What about exporting as MPEG-4 with COMMAND + CONTROL + E? There the H.264 codec is select as the standard codec. That should result in a much smaller file size than the DV codec, which is for storing DV or miniDV tapes, where 1 hour of SD DV footage takes about 13 GB. The H.264 codec should get you similar results to 700 MB per hour.

 

[moongravy]

If you get the error 'no video compressor', then you need to install Perian (or something else that can handle AVI) in order to export to AVI. This could also be an application or OS error though.

Unless you absolutly need to export to AVI for some reason, open the file in MPEG Streamclip; do the trimming and then select 'Export To Mpeg-4' from the file menu and save the file using the h.264 codec.

'Apple DV PAL' is the same format that DV tape video cameras used and will create huge files (still not lossless though).

To save losslessly, trim the video and select 'Save As' (NOT export to...) from the file menu. This should be the best option to create an AVI file, but it won't play back using Quicktime 10.

 

[fabulousrice]

moongravy, the OP didn't say they needed to export to AVI just any format in order to reduce his file.
I think no matter how you compress your file, you're going to lose quality. A file is either RAW or compressed (same with a camera of film camera, you'll either save photos or films in RAW or compressed format, with the difference in file size that it implies).

 

[HugoC]

Thanks! Indeed, that helps to know what file you have there.
"If my calculations are correct", when each one of the seconds of your video weights 1 megabyte (the 1 Mbps) then one hour should be 60 x 60 = 3600 Mbps, which amounts to 3.6 megabytes.

The compression "libavcodec" is the reason why the file isn't 3.6 Gb. This isn't a public codec that you can access yourself, unless you want spend time "experimenting" like you say
Either you compress this thing, and you'll lose quality, or you don't.

I have encoded one of my favorite films from the Blu-Ray disk to take it with me, the file is over 5 Gb. If I compress, I would have a youtube type compression...

By simply defining the bit rate to 2 mbps I was able to export the trimmed video to a reasonable size (slightly less than the untrimmed original) WITHOUT using any compression and WITHOUT further reducing the quality.

The problem now is that the program window is somewhat screwed up after a few exports, on my MBP 13" retina and Yosemite the window is either unusably scrambled or, when setting the program to "start in low resolution" it is pure white, no video pictures show, I an scroll and hear the sound, but no picture. Crappy app altogether it seems...

 

[fabulousrice]

I'd love to see screen grabs to help out... Maybe host some on imgur and post them here?

 

[HugoC]

No problem, I try here. The ones here are all taken with the app NOT set to "open in low resolution", I only resized the windows several times...

 

[HugoC]

And this is how it looks when I start the app with "open in low resolution". The main window stays white in whichever size I choose. I can play the video and I can hear the sound alright, but simply no image will appear.

 

[fabulousrice]

And this is how it looks when I start the app with "open in low resolution". The main window stays white in whichever size I choose. I can play the video and I can hear the sound alright, but simply no image will appear.

View attachment 576625

Where is the "open in low resolution" setting? I can't find it on the latest version of MPEG Streamclip... This seems to be bugging quite a lot.
I think MPEG streamclip is still less professional as a tool than premiere pro or after effects... I would love to see what happens if you place it in Premiere Pro (the trial version is free)

 

[HugoC]

This is not a setting in the app but in OSX, right-click on the program file and show the app information, there you will find the open option (German OS: In niedriger Auflösung öffnen = Open in low resolution).

I so have the full version of Premiere Pro since i subscribed to the full Adobe CS or whatever it is called today. But for a simple task such as trimming and saving in the same format/resolution/quality Premiere Pro is a bit "too much"...

 

[HugoC]

Just tried to import the AVI file into Premiere Pro CC 2015: Error, the file has no audio and no video stream. How come that I can see the video nicely on the screen with any program that can play AVI movies? I don't get it...

 

[Gwendolini]

Easier solution would be to use MediathekView next time, since that downloads a more compatible format than AVI.
For the current show it does not work though, as it is out of the Mediathek of 3sat.

As for Wilde Inseln, can you share it via Dropbox so others might take a look? I cannot find libadoced something AVI files, but all AVI files I open in MPEG Streamclip are white, be it XVID or DIVX.

 

[HugoC]

You can download the video here for the next seven days.

http://we.tl/9Y4YRebyA2

 

[Gwendolini]

Thanks. Found the source. I am confused, why it has MPG and AVI as suffix, but I suppose, the uploader does not really know what it is anymore. Might have been an MPG and then converted to AVI.
MPEG Streamclip shows a white video for now. Will look for the appropriate codec.

MediaInfo says this about the video:

General
Complete name : /Users/sim/Downloads/Wilde_Inseln_15.08.06_14-55_3sat_40_TVOON_DE.mpg.HQ.avi
Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
File size : 666 MiB
Duration : 55mn 47s
Overall bit rate : 1 668 Kbps
Writing application : Lavf54.17.100

Video
ID : 0
Format : AVC
[B]Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec[/B]
Format profile : High@L3
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
[B]Codec ID : H264[/B]
Duration : 55mn 47s
Bit rate : 1 463 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 576 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Standard : PAL
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.141
Stream size : 584 MiB (88%)
Writing library : x264 core 125 r2200 999b753

 

[HugoC]

This is from the German (?) service "Online TV Recorder" http://www.onlinetvrecorder.com/ ; some older or not so frequently wanted shows are from external services. They also record on request for a modest fee and you can download the movies or send to an FP server.

 

[Gwendolini]

This is from the German (?) service "Online TV Recorder" http://www.onlinetvrecorder.com/ ; some older or not so frequently wanted shows are from external services. They also record on request for a modest fee and you can download the movies or send to an FP server.

HQ Mirror has the same file too.
Am currently converting the AVI to MP4 via Handbrake using the Apple TV 3 preset, then will compare the visual quality and then share it back to you. That file should be easily handled within MPEG Streamclip.

Well, installing Perian helped me open the AVI file in MPEG Streamclip (MSC), but I couldn't open the MP4 from Handbrake in it.
I will trim something with the AVI and look for export options.

 

[Gwendolini]

I could open the AVI in MSC when PERIAN was installed.
The I cut and trimmed some parts and then could export it as MP4 as shown in this video.
I limited the data rate to 1 Mbps and got a 475 MB file.