How to Compress Large Video Files on iPhone
Don’t compress your video just to transfer it – no matter how large they are, you can send them for free with Smash!
IN THIS GUIDE, YOU’RE GOING TO READ THE 3 OTHER OPTIONS TO COMPRESS VIDEO FILE ON iOS:
You’ve taken some high-quality video on your iPhone and you want to share it with the world – but you’ve got a problem. The video file is too big to attach to an email, too big to send with Messages, and you know the resolution you worked hard to maximize is going to get hammered if you send it via WhatsApp. So, what is your best option to send a large video file from your iPhone?
For many the answer is to zip or compress the file. By compressing the file, you can make it small enough to attach to an email, drop into a message service, or fit within your limited cloud storage. But what is the best option for compressing a video file on iOS? We’ve got you covered: read on!
The Best Way to Compress a Video File? Don’t Compress It!
When you have a large video file that you want to share, what do you really want? Well, you want to be able to send that file without reducing the resolution of the video, in complete security, at lightning speed, and without spending a fortune. Compression is an answer, but it’s not the best one.
Your best option is to use a file transfer service like Smash. With Smash, you never have to compromise on the quality of your movie, fiddle with the length of your video, or live with a lower quality resolution on the other end of the transfer. Instead, you can send your video file no matter how large rapidly and in complete security from your mobile iOS device. Using the Smash iPhone app you can send your file for free from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world – it takes just a couple of taps and you’re done!
With Smash there is no impact on the quality of your video, there is no danger that the file will be damaged during compression or decompression, and your recipient doesn’t have to download any special software to access the file. With nothing more than your iPhone and the Smash iOS app, your high-quality video will be on its way in just seconds – and no zipping is necessary.
Three Other Ways to Zip a Video File on iOS
If you have your heart set on compressing your large video file on your iPhone, then there are some options out there to consider.
1. Video Compress
Video Compress is a free app for iOS that allows you to choose the size of your compressed file, save it to your iPhone Photos folder, and then send it anywhere and anyhow. The intuitive user interface (UI) makes it simple to take a high quality video file measured in the gigabytes and compress it down to something far smaller with just a slide of your finger. Here’s how it works:
Open the app and tap the cog icon to select an output file format from the Export File Type
Select your video from the Photos folder on your iPhone
Use the on-screen slider to select the rate of compression and keep an eye on the file size counter that will adjust as you move the slider left or right.
When you have identified the file size you need, tap the Download icon – the file will be saved in your Photos folder, and you can delete the original if you need the space
Pros: It is easy to use, fast, and you have complete control over the size of the compressed file that is produced.
Cons: You’ll destroy the resolution of your video if you compress it too much. Sure, you can email it as an attachment now…but it’s going to look terrible!
2. Media Converter
Media Converter is another free app for iPhone that will help you compress your large video file. Unlike Video Compress, though, it does so not with a sliding scale of compression but by helping you to choose various video format options that will see your video file size reduced. It can convert from and to all popular video file formats and access a variety of CODECs to help reduce the size of your final file. Here’s how:
Choose Compress Video from the Media Converter app menu
Select your video from your Photos or Files app, then choose your Compression mode and ratio
Adjust the bitrates for audio and video, choose your preferred resolution, and choose the target size of your compressed file
Click Start to begin the compression, and then find the compressed file in the My Creation tab
Pros: You have a lot of control over the compression including audio and video quality, and the output resolution. It’s free to download and free to use.
Cons: The resolution of the video is going to suffer, no two-ways about it. Your final video is going to be smaller, but it won’t look as good as the one you shot.
3. Filmr Pro Video Editor
Filmr is a lot more than a file compression and decompression tool for your iPhone. It’s a full-featured video editing tool with everything you need not only to make your video smaller but also to make it shine. It’s a free download from the iOS App Store, but you’ll need to upgrade to the paid Pro Subscription if you want to access the most powerful features and – maybe most importantly – remove the Filmr watermark from your work. Here’s how Filmr recommends making your files smaller using their app:
Open the Filmr app
Click on the Camera Roll icon and select the video you want to compress
Trim anything unnecessary from the video – you can even remove the audio if you wish! – and then choose the resolution you want to export the file into
Save the file, and send to your recipient
Pros: It’s a fully featured editing tool that will allow you to edit your video, trim it, remove audio, and adjust scenes before you compress the file. It’s straightforward to use and very fast.
Cons: There are plenty. You have to pay a subscription to get the premium features and remove the watermark on your creations, your file quality is going to suffer when its resolution is reduced, and while removing the audio and trimming the video can make your file size smaller, that’s no good for the person who wants to see your quality film on the other end.
The Best Way to Compress a Large Video File on iPhone
Weighing up the different options and it becomes clear that the best way to compress a large video file on an iPhone is…not to compress the file!
Instead of zipping the file and suffering the loss in resolution, the loss of audio and video quality, and the resulting low-quality video file at the end of the process, sending the large video file using Smash means that your recipient gets the best quality, totally original file without having to worry about speed, resolution issues, or cost. Smash is free to use, never messes with the quality of your film, and is super-fast: the moment that the video is uploaded, it’s available to download. With a native app for the iPhone and a simple, intuitive user interface, Smash is the best way to send a large video file bar none.
Need To Compress Large Video Files on iPhone?
Use Smash, it’s no file size limits, simple, fast, secure and free.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes! If you want to upgrade your Smash experience you can, and a lot of content creators, media professionals, and leading production teams around the world have done so. But sending a file of any size for free will always remain a part of the Smash experience – try it for yourself: if you can upload it, you can send it for free.
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Two reasons. First, small screens don’t mean low-quality screens. Modern smartphones have great displays, and your low-quality video is going to look terrible even if the screen real estate is small. Second, just because you are sending your video from an iPhone doesn’t mean it will be viewed there. With a tap or two your video can be played on a large display or projected onto a cinema screen where every dodgy pixel is going to draw attention for the exact wrong reason.
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You’ll save some space in your smartphone’s memory so you can shoot some more 4K video – but do you really want to reduce the quality of the video you’ve already shot to fit in better quality video in the future. If space is an issue, invest in cloud storage instead of dragging your existing files into low-resolution hell.
