Need to reduce quicktime video file size

[Jumokeo]

Hi all
I have been using the quicktime screen recording option
However the files are too large and I am almost out of space. I tried using quicktime to export as 480 but files were still too large. I have tried encoding directly from finder but it doesn't progress. Stays at 0% all day. Any advise on what to do? Is there a problem with my encoder? Thanks

 

[treekram]

A lot of people use HandBrake
https://handbrake.fr/

It's free and very easy to use. It should be able to transcode a .mov file but I haven't specifically tried what you're doing. You can use the default settings and usually get good quality and good compression - but compression results depends will depend on several factors. If there's a lot of action in your videos, compression won't be as good.

The main encoders that HandBrake uses (H.264 and H.265) comes from the VideoLAN Organization - a non-profit group. They make the VLC Media Player but it's easier (I think it is) to use HandBrake.
https://www.videolan.org/index.html

In HandBrake, if you press the "Video" tab, there is a drop-down for "Video Encoder" and the default is set to H.264 (x264). If you have a more powerful Mac (or have the time), you can try H.265 (x265) which will result in even more compression. You need High Sierra or Mojave to view a H.265 video in QuickTime or the current VLC Media Player will play it. In almost all cases, video encoders will take up as much CPU capacity as it can and for most Macs, that means you'll hear fan noise. That bothers some people as they think their computer is about to melt down but that's how this type of software works.