So I have hundreds of videos of ~1 minute recorded from my phone ~10 years ago, and they generally don’t have that great compression, nor they are stored in a modern and advanced video format.

For archiving purposes, I want to take advantage of my workstation’s mighty GPU to process them so that the quality is approximately the same, but the file size would be strongly reduced.

Nevertheless, compressing videos is terribly hard, and way more complex than compressing pictures, so I wouldn’t really know how to do this, what format to use, what codec, what bitrate, what parameters to keep an eye on, etc.

I don’t care if the compression takes a lot of time, I just want smaller but good looking videos.

Any tips? (Links to guides and tutorials are ok too)

Also, unfortunately I am forced to use Windows for this (don’t ask me why ), but I know nothing about Windows because I hate it. Practical software suggestions are very much welcome, too!

Making The Codec Communicator From Metal Gear Solid - [3DSage] likes building replicas of hardware from movies and video games, often wi... - https://hackaday.com/2025/06/01/making-the-codec-communicator-from-metal-gear-solid/ #metalgearsolid #walkietalkie #mischacks #metalgear #codec

trying to update my knowledge of video codecs for #resolume so I can chop up video clips with audio more precisely. Recommendations from the KB are from over a decade ago, then download links for #codec tools are two insecure HTTP hops deep into feeling like it's the era of K-Lite Mega Codec Pack all over again; looking at u #quicktime

One of the most useful tools is to be able to cut an mp4/mov video, but not have to re-encode it. Avidemux used to do that for years on Linux, but now there's LosslessCut with a more modern interface (appimage found on github, there's also a flatpak).

Audio On Pi: Here Are Your Options - There are a ton of fun Raspberry Pi and Linux projects that require audio output –... - https://hackaday.com/2024/08/12/audio-on-pi-here-are-your-options/ #usbaudiocard #raspberrypi #featured #hardware #usbaudio #how-to #codec #sound #i2s

Me: "Obi Wan never told you why #GNOMEShell still uses the VP8 #codec to record screencasts, instead of newer codecs…"

Them: "He told me enough! He told me #GNOME hates its users!"

Me: "No. It's mostly a temporary performance tradeoff around a #Linux middleware & #softwarepatents problem."

Them: "No… No… It's not true… That's impossible!"

Me: "Search the commits log. You KNOW it to be true."

Them: "DO NOT WANT"

Source: https://mastodon.social/@nekohayo/112615135771775130

I am currently making some 8bit inspired music, so I am using a lot of bit crushing. Encoding the audio as AAC file noticeably alters the sound, and now I am that kind of person who has a strong opinion about the right type of audio degradation.

I purchased this gpu for video encoding (VP9/AV1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSFJN835?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 . It's a little encoding powerhouse, and for the low $99 price tag IMO it's a really good value. I'm able to encode a 2hr BluRay movie using VP9/AV1 in about 10 minutes. The only negative about the card is the onboard fan. It's pretty noisy.

Hands on with Boondock Echo - Perhaps no words fill me with more dread than, “I hear there’s something going aro... - https://hackaday.com/2023/11/10/hands-on-with-boondock-echo/ #store-and-forward #hackadaycolumns #amateurradio #publicsafety #radiohacks #audiokit #repeater #reviews #baofeng #scanner #codec #esp32 #ham

Explore FFmpeg From the Comfort of your Browser - If you’re looking to manipulate video, FFmpeg is one of the most powerful tools ou... - https://hackaday.com/2023/08/27/explore-ffmpeg-from-the-comfort-of-your-browser/ #softwarehacks #compression #encoding #webbased #ffmpeg #codec #video

Break Free from Proprietary Digital Radio - Digital modes are all the rage these days in amateur radio — hams are using protoc... - https://hackaday.com/2023/08/05/break-free-from-proprietary-digital-radio/ #amateurradio #digitalvoice #radiohacks #reflector #hamradio #standard #codec2 #audio #codec #radio #m17

I just updated my article "Resize a video with FFmpeg for Mastodon" with new parameters for #FFmpeg to convert a #video to a #WebM #container using the #VP9 #codec for #video and the #Opus codec for #audio which are all #open, #royaltyfree and well-supported #formats.

This way you can easily convert very heavy videos before uploading them to #Mastodon while remaining within the strict limits.

https://www.paulox.net/2022/11/17/resize-a-video-with-ffmpeg-for-mastodon/