If you've got a video yous think the whole world needs to run across, most people instinctively reach for the upload push on a service like YouTube or Facebook.

Yet, sometimes information technology's impractical. Loftier-quality videos tin can have an eternity to upload, especially if they are long. Nobody has time to sit down around watching a progress bar slowly crawl towards 100 pct – in that location are far better things yous tin can exercise with your time.

And so, what's the solution? How can you quickly compress a video file and so yous can upload it to the web more chop-chop? Certain, professional picture studios offer the feature, but you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy software – Windows Movie Maker works perfectly well!

Here'due south how to use Microsoft's ubiquitous video app to compress video files for the web.

Installing Windows Movie Maker

Sadly, at the fourth dimension of writing, Windows Movie Maker is non an official part Windows. It used to be part of Microsoft Essentials – but the visitor shuttered the widely-used suite of productivity apps in January 2017.

At the fourth dimension of the announcement, Microsoft suggested a new version of Movie Maker would eventually discover its way onto the latest release of the operating system, but the quote has now disappeared from its website. Furthermore, Essentials is no longer available for download from the Microsoft website.

The result is y'all'll need to find a re-create of Windows Movie Maker 2.half dozen. It was the last version of the software that wasn't bundled into the Essentials suite. As such, yous can install it as a standalone app. I plant my copy on FileHippo, just brand certain you scan annihilation you download for malware before you click install.

If you discover a copy of Windows Motion picture Maker 2012 and try to install it, the process will neglect. Information technology's because the installation program is trying to pull data from nonexistent Microsoft servers.

Bated from an updated user interface, the two versions are virtually identical. Regarding this tutorial, either version will suffice.

Choose Your Video

For this demonstration, I'm going to compress a video of a Mexican soccer match I attended back in 2014.

As you can see from the screenshot to a higher place, the current size of the file is 49.iii MB. It's not too large, simply big plenty to be annoying if I'm waiting for information technology to upload. If the file you lot want to compress is larger, don't worry. The steps I'm going to outline work with videos of any size.

Restrictions

Windows Movie Maker doesn't work with all file types. Y'all need to take the video y'all're planning to shrink saved in either the AVI, MPG, M1V, MP2V, MPEG, MPE, MPV2, WM, WMV, or ASF format.

If your file is in a different format, you can use a free desktop tool or an online converter to turn it into a supported file type.

How to Compress Your Video

Once you've found the video yous desire to shrink, the steps are straightforward.

Import the Video

When y'all first open Windows Movie Maker two.6, you should come across an selection called Import Video beneath Capture Video in the peak correct-hand corner of the window. If it'south non at that place for whatever reason, click the Tasks tab in the header to actuate the menu.

Discover the video y'all want to convert and click Import to load information technology into the app.

The process could have some fourth dimension to consummate, depending how large the file is.

When the importing is finished, you'll encounter your file in the Drove console in the center of the app. Left-click it, and drag it into the Timeline panel which runs along the lesser of the window.

Compress the Video

That'southward phase one finished. Next, you need to save the file in the newly compressed format.

Firstly, head to File > Save Movie File.

The app will prompt you to select the destination file. What y'all see on your own screen may differ slightly from the image below, depending what locations you accept available to you lot. For most situations, you should select My Calculator and click Adjacent.

You'll be asked to give your new file a name. Enter something appropriate and once over again click Next.

At present it gets interesting. On the next screen, y'all volition need to select your Flick Settings. By default, the app recommends you save your file in the best quality for playback on your computer. Ignore the prompt, and click Show More Choices.

You have two options. Yous can either enter a desired file size or choose a setting for a particular internet speed. Some of the internet speeds expect quite dated given the historic period of the program, just the slower the internet speed you choose, the smaller your file volition exist.

My recommendation is not to go below Video for broadband (512 Kbps). Your video will become also pixelated and lose quality. You lot can see the predicted new file size in the bottom right-paw corner of the window.

Once you're happy with your selection, tap Adjacent. The app will starting time compressing the file. Once more, depending on the size, it might have a while.

The Finished Production

So, how much of a difference did the compression make? If you recollect, my original file was 49.iii MB.

Here's a screenshot of the new file:

I've slashed it to a mere one.05 MB. You lot'll be able to upload it to the web in a blink of an centre.

And here'southward a comparing of the two video files side by side:

Original

New

Sure, it'south more than pixelated, but every bit a video for Twitter is more than adequate. If it's too pixelated for you, you can choose a faster internet speed in the Picture Settings screen. Proceed testing until you lot find a level y'all're happy with.

How Do You Shrink Video Files?

In this article, I've shown you how to easily use Windows Movie Maker to shrink video files so they are small plenty to quickly upload to the web.

If you're already familiar with Windows Movie Maker, I firmly believe this is the most painless procedure available to y'all.

However, I'thousand sure some readers will disagree with me. I'd love to know which tools you use when you want to shrink a video file. How easy are they to use? Do they have the same range of options as Windows Movie Maker?

As always, you can let me know all your suggestions, recommendations, and opinions in the comments beneath.

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About The Author

Dan Price (1604 Articles Published)

Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Director since July 2020. Reach out to him for inquires about sponsored content, affiliate agreements, promotions, and whatsoever other forms of partnership. You tin can too discover him roaming the testify flooring at CES in Las Vegas every yr, say hi if you lot're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.

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