[Detailed Guide] Top 4 Ways to Compress/Reduce Video Size with VLC

Reducing the size of a video file is also a good option for sending a large video via email and loading video content on the web faster. No matter what your purpose is, VLC (a free, portable, and cross-platform media player) can help you finish the video compression task in a walk. Follow the simple guide below to make VLC shrink video size.

VLC video compressor free download on your PC for preparation: https://www.videolan.org/vlc

Generally, a video codec with a higher compression efficiency can make your video size smaller. In this case, you can first try to change the video codec to HEVC (High Efficiency Video Codec), or other video codecs like VP9, AV1, etc. to compress the video while keeping the original quality.

Let's see how to change video codec/format in VLC:

Step 1: Open VLC and go to "Media" > "Convert/Save".

Step 2: Click "+ Add" to import your large-sized videos. Then press "Convert/Save" at the bottom of the window.

Step 3: Select "Video – H.265 + MP3 (MP4)" or "Video – H.264 + MP3 (MP4)" as the output profile.

Step 4: Click "Browse" to specify an output path and click "Start" to compress the video by changing the video codec/format.

Altering video parameters, like resolution, bitrate, etc. is the most common way to reduce the video file size since the file size is determined by those video encoding parameters.

Therefore, to compress video in VLC, you can try to downscale these parameters.

Step 1: Open the VLC media player app and click "Media" in the top menu bar.

Step 2: Select "Convert/Save", and the "Open Media" window will pop up.

Step 3: Click the "+Add" button, browse and select the video you want to compress. Then click the "Convert/Save" button below.

Step 4: In the Profile drop-down list, choose an output video profile. To make VLC reduce video size, tap the "Edit selected profile" button, navigate to the "Video tab", tick the "Video" box, and decrease video bitrate, lower the frame rate, or downscale the resolution. Then, click "Save" to save the settings.

Step 5: Click "Browse" to set an output path. Finally, hit the "Start" button to export the compressed video file.

A longer video means a larger video size. So, if you want to reduce the video file size, you can cut the unwanted part of the video. However, VLC Media Player doesn't offer the trimming or splitting feature. But you can "cut" the video by recording the wanted part.

The following shares the detailed steps:

Step 1: Open VLC, click "View" and select "Advanced Controls". You can then see a new toolbar at the bottom side.

Step 2: Then, hit "Media" > "Open File" to import the media file.

Step 3: Play the video and hit the record button to start recording. Once you reach the end point, press the record button again to stop recording.

The trimmed video will be saved as a new video in your Videos folder on the PC.

Besides adjusting the video parameters to reduce the video file size in VLC, you can also try to change the audio parameters like audio codec, bit rate, sample rate, and more.

However, note that the audio encoding parameters won’t influence the video size a lot. But if you are concerned about image quality with less regard to audio output, just give it a try.

To alter the audio encoding parameters in VLC:

Step 1: Launch VLC and go to "Media" > "Convert/Save".

Step 2: Click "+ Add" to import the video file. Press "Convert/Save" at the bottom of the window.

Step 3: Choose a desired output format and click the wrench icon next to the Profile options.

Step 4: Switch to the "Audio codec" option and then you can adjust the audio parameters.