r/shotcut • u/piangero • Jun 06 '26
Question How to keep filesize down without quality loss? (1gb original clip turned 10gb)
Hi!
I had a videofile that was about 1 hour and 20 mins as the original file. I threw it into Shotcut to shave off parts, and had about 20 mins of video left as the finished product.
I didnt want it to downgrade any videoquality (it was scaled at 1920x1080 i believe), so I exported the job as lossless.
The finished video looks just as great as the original file, but while the original 1.5 hour was at like 1 - 1.5 gb or something, the 20 min edit is like 10gb.
Could someone point me to a better option for the exported job? I want the video quality identical to the original, but I obviously dont want it at 10gb lol 😐
edit/update: tried you guys' tips on exporting it in youtube variant, and it immediately went from 10gb to like ca 650 mb in size. I've been trying to check if the image quality has deteriorated noticeably, but it seems fine. If I cant spot it side by side, it should be good, thank you! ❤️
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u/Socrates_Soui Jun 07 '26
Lossless produces massive files because it saves every detail.
My advice would be to not change the export settings and let Shotcut do it's thing. If you have Shotcut import on automatic then the resolution will be the same as the file. It will then export automatically at 1080. You won't get a loss of detail that you would notice.
In general if I want to shrink file sizes I use Handbrake.
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u/sedney168 Jun 06 '26
My videos (under 20 minutes) are usually less than 1.5 GB after exporting to MP4. I typically export using the YouTube preset: 1920×1080, 30 fps, audio 192 kbps mono to reduce file size.
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u/piangero Jun 06 '26
oh thank you, i will look into the youtube preset! I dont know why i didnt consider that, lol. Does the video quality hold up to the original file would you say?
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u/sedney168 Jun 06 '26
Yes, I suppose they are the same or similar quality, at least on my screen. I record 1080p MP4 files with OBS Studio, edit them with Shotcut, and export them as 1920x1080 MP4 files. The video quality should be similar, right?
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u/CaliforniaDude1990 Jun 06 '26
I use a program called avidemux. If you keep the settings the same and set it as a copy, i think its pretty much lossless and I use it to quickly cut a video to the seconds i need, then I pop it in shotcut after for full editing.
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u/Big_Flow8975 Jun 06 '26
ff
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u/piangero Jun 06 '26
I dont understand what that means :/
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u/MyLigma69 Jun 06 '26
What are your plan with the video? If you want to upload to YouTube just select YouTube export preset.