PC & MOBILE LIFESTYLE

Size Without Losing

Quality
By Mihir Patkar / August 10, 2016 10-08-2016 / 5 minutes

Mihir Patkar
1109 articles

Mihir Patkar writes on technology

and productivity when he isn't
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These days, your smartphone, your DSLR camera,

and your GoPro can all shoot high-quality, high-
resolution video — but wow, the size of that video
le can sure balloon quickly.

You will feel the pain when your memory card

maxes out or you want to upload one of these
videos to share on the Internet.

The good news is that you can reduce video le

sizes fairly easily. The bad news is that unless
you change the right settings, you will lose video
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without compromising quality? Read on to nd
out.
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tool Handbrake is the most useful cross-platform
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media convertor out there. It’s completely free
and works the same on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

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If you’re on Windows, you can also try the
Freemake Video Converter, which has an easier WINDOWS
interface. However, Handbrake does a better job Mouse Not Working in
of encoding and converting videos, so I would Windows 10? How to Fix
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Meanwhile, if your video has issues, try a video
quality enhancer to iron those out rst.

Download: Handbrake for Windows, Mac, or

Linux (Free)

2. Start With the Audio

Before you begin chopping down the quality of Don't Buy a Raspberry Pi Until
Before you begin chopping down the quality of y p y
your video, head to the “Audio” tab in Handbrake.
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You might be surprised how much space audio

channels take up. Unless you’ve shot a concert,

PC & MOBILE LIFESTYLE
always tackle the audio rst.

For any video where human speech is important

or music isn’t a priority, here’s what you need to
do.

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Check if there are more than one audio

tracks. You just need one. If it’s a movie le,
look for the “English” audio (or whichever
language you want). If it’s a video you made,
the rst track will probably be the right one.
Delete all the other tracks. Arduino Tra ic Light Tutorial
In Codec, choose AAC (CoreAudio) or MP3.
These are lossy compressed audio le
formats that are good enough for most cases.
In fact, even for concerts or other such
videos, you can choose one of these lossy
formats and sample it at a higher bitrate.

In Bitrate, choose 160 by default for most

videos. Choose a higher bitrate (256 or 320) Taste Test: Energy Drinks (What is
if you’re converting a video where music is the V?) | TGTS S3E4
main element.

I would recommend that you don’t mess with the

sample rate and simply set it to Auto, but it can
be tweaked to optimize audio le size. For human
speech, set the sample to 32, and if music is
important, set it to 48.

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Basically, the codec is the encoder/decoder that
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determines compatibility with different devices

and services).

Choose H.264 as the codec. This is the most

ef cient and popular codec for high-de nition
videos and is said to be almost two times as good
as MPEG-4 in compressing videos. It is also
recognized by most devices today, be it a simple
TV or the Raspberry Pi.
As of this writing, you don’t really need to bother
with its successor, the new H.265 standard.

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Choose MP4 as the container. Again, MP4 is

ef cient, but more importantly, it’s the most
widely recognized le format for videos. In fact,
YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook recommend MP4
as the preferred container.

4. Reduce the Video

Resolution
It’s great that your phone can shoot 4K videos,
but do you even have a 4K-ready TV or monitor to
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Resolution affects the size of the video greatly,
but the quality may not be greatly affected. How
far you sit from the screen, the upscaling

technology of the TV, and the bitrate of the video

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are going to have as much or greater impact.

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Here’s a list of commonly-used resolutions:

2160p (3840×2160)

1440p (2560×1440)

1080p (1920×1080)

720p (1280×720)

480p (854×480)

360p (640×360)

240p (426×240)

As a thumb rule to reduce le size by resolution,

check the video’s original resolution and choose
one level below it. In Handbrake, you will nd this
in “Picture Settings” in the top-right menu. You
can even check out a Preview of the lowered
resolution before you commit.

If you plan to simply upload your video to

YouTube or Facebook, then 720p is the best way
to go (assuming le size is more important to you
than resolution). Facebook even caps the
resolution at 720p but YouTube lets you go
higher till 4K.
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5. Bitrate Is the Last Resort

The biggest factor in determining the quality of a
video is its bitrate, so make that your last resort.
In simple terms, bitrate is the amount of data
being shown in one second. The more data you
allow, the more artifacts can be shown on the
screen, and the better the video quality will be.

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Most DSLRs record video at high bitrates as do

most screen recording and screencasting
software. Again, YouTube has some
recommended bitrates that you can use as a

thumb rule for any video le. Don’t go below

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these recommended numbers, but if your
current bitrate is higher, you can safely reduce it.

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It’s best to keep your bitrate variable rather than

constant. In Handbrake select Video > Quality >
Average Bitrate, and key in a number that best
corresponds to your video’s resolution, using the
above chart. Also check the box for 2-pass
encoding.

6. Don’t Change Frame Rates

If anyone tells you that you should reduce the
frame rate, don’t listen to them. Every video
expert, video hosting site, and video editor says
that you should keep your video at the same
frame rate that it was recorded in.
 PC & MOBILE LIFESTYLE

The human eye only needs 24–30 frames per

second (FPS) for a decent picture, so it might
seem logical to lower the frame rate to that range.
However, doing that can affect the smoothness of
the video, and especially make movement seem
jerky or unnatural.

So avoid this unless you are experimenting with

slow-motion videos.

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Got Any Other Tricks to

Share?
With this guide, you should be able to
substantially reduce the le size of a video
without greatly affecting the quality. Remember,
go step by step, you might hit your intended
target size much before you need to reduce the
resolution or the bitrate. What tricks do you use
to bring down the size of a video that you want to
share?
share?

And if you perform your editing on your mobile

device, check out these free video editing apps

for iPhone and iPad.

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The 6 Best Free Video Editing

Apps for iPhone and iPad
Looking to make some memories from
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READ MORE

Image Credits:scale pan by kulyk via Shutterstock

Explore more about: File Compression, Record Video, Video

Editor.

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p
Echo Dot: Speaker or No
Speaker?
By Dan Price / June 3, 2019 03-06-2019 / 5 minutes

Dan Price
1219 articles

Dan is a British expat living in

Mexico. He is currently a Senior
Email Facebook Pinterest Twitter
Writer for MakeUseOf. At various
times, he has been the Social
Although other options are available, the most popular way
Editor, Creative Editor, and Financ
to interact with Amazon Alexa is via an audio speaker. Editor. He is also an Editor for
MUO's sister site, Blocks Decoded
Amazon manufactures the three Echo speakers (the Dot,
Prior to his writing career, he was
the Echo, and the Echo Plus) for precisely this purpose. But Financial Consultant. You can follo
the company also makes the Echo Input. him on Twitter and Facebook.

What are the differences between the Echo Dot and the
Echo Input? Which is the best speaker for an Echo Input?
And which solution is right for you?

What Is the Amazon Echo Input?

The Amazon Echo Input is mainly aimed at people who
have old “dumb” speakers in use around their homes
have old dumb speakers in use around their homes.

Much like the Chromecast Audio brought wireless

streaming to people’s non-smart speakers, the Echo Input

adds Amazon Alexa capabilities to any speaker.

PC & MOBILE LIFESTYLE

The speaker to which you want to connect the Echo Input

needs to either support Bluetooth connectivity or have a
3.5mm headphone jack.

Unfortunately, that means the Echo Input cannot connect

to Wi-Fi-only speakers (like the original Sonos line-up). Nor
is it compatible with speakers that use A/V cables to
connect to amps and other audio equipment.

Amazon Echo Input vs. Echo Dot:

Cost

In the United States, the price difference between an Echo

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Input and an Echo Dot is about $15. You can typically pick Insta360 Evo: Now
up the Input for around $35 and the Dot for $50. For Anyone Can Make M
for VR
reference, the full-size Amazon Echo speaker costs $100,
and the Echo Plus is $150.
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Outside the US, some buyers have complained that the Until You’ve Seen Cr
Echo Input is the same price as the Echo Dot. In some All-in-One Kit (Revie
and Giveaway!)
cases, users have reported that the Input is actually more
costly.
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Given that you can upgrade an Input to a Dot for a few Decent Indoor Secur
Given that you can upgrade an Input to a Dot for a few
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extra dollars, it raises the question of why you would buy an
Echo Input.

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Despite the similar cost of the Amazon Echo Input and the
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Echo Dot, there are lots of times when owning an Input
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might be more bene cial. Decent Indoor Secur
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Sound Quality
BUYING GUIDES

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Sure, the range of Amazon Echo speakers provide decent
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sound. But they’re not on the same level as the top-of-the- Perfect Choices!
range products from Bose, Sonos, Bang and Olufsen, or
any of the other luxury speaker brands. DIY , ENTERTAINMENT

Build Your Own Ama

Therefore, if you already own an expensive hi- system, Alexa Smart Speake
you’re not going to replace it with Amazon Echo speakers With a Raspberry Pi
just to have access to Alexa.

An Echo Input lets you maintain your sound quality while

still being able to take advantage of the bene ts of Alexa. Latest Videos
Add Music Streaming Capabilities

The Amazon Echo Input doesn’t only offer Alexa. It also lets
you stream services like Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Google Play
Music, and Pocket Casts directly to your speaker.

If you want to be able to listen to Spotify on your old

speakers without using a wired headphone connection, an
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Echo Input is the way to go.

Portability

amazon echo input

The Echo Input and the Echo Dot are both small enough to
be considered portable.

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For reference, the Input is 3.1 x 3.1 x 0.5 inches (80 x 80 x
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13.8mm) and the Dot is 3.9 x 3.9 x 1.7 inches (99 x 99 x
43mm).

However, from a weight standpoint, there’s no contest. The

PC & MOBILE LIFESTYLE
Echo Input weighs 2.75 ounces (78 grams); the Echo Dot
clocks in at 10.6 ounces (300 grams).

Furthermore, if you’re in a position—perhaps because of

your job—where you frequently need to stream content on
public speakers while you’re on-the-go, the Input is the
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better choice.
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Power Consumption

As you would expect, the Echo Dot—as a speaker—uses

considerably more power than the Echo Input. The current
third-generation Dot pulls 15W of power, up from 9W on
the second generation. The Input only uses 5W.

For comparison, the most expensive Echo product, the Arduino Tra ic Light Tutoria
Plus, uses 30W.

Accordingly, if your use case is such that you don’t need an

additional speaker in the area where you want to access
Alexa, it makes nancial sense to opt for the Echo Input.

Best Speaker for Echo Input

How to Fix the "Windows Can
If you’re looking for an Echo Input speaker to pair with your
Automatically Detect This
device, there are a few great picks to choose from.

Here are three of the best Echo Input speakers

1. Bose SoundLink Mini II

Bose SoundLink Mini II

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AMAZON

$153 00
 $153.00

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At 1.5 pounds in weight, the Bose SoundLink Mini II is StackSkills $

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small enough to throw in a travel bag but beefy enough to Unlimited:
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offer stunning sound. It also has a low center of gravity,
meaning it’s tough to knock over while you’re on-the-go.

As is fairly standard for small portable speakers, the The Complete $

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SoundLink Mini II offers hands-free calling. It can provide
Master Class
10 hours of battery life.

2. Bang and Olufsen Beoplay A1 The Complete $

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Certification
Bang and Olufsen
Beoplay A1
Pay What You $
BUY NOW ON Want: The
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to

The Bang and Olufsen Beoplay A1 is another of the best

Bluetooth speakers for an Echo Input.

It’s ultra-portable (it only weighs 1.3 pounds (600 grams))

and yet can achieve an impressive maximum output of
140W.

If you own two Bang and Olufsen Beoplay A1, you can
wirelessly pair them for stereo sound.

3. UE Boom 3

UE Boom 3
BUY NOW ON
AMAZON

$119.99
 May also be available from: eGlobal Central ($122.99);
Dell ($149.99); Nordstrom ($149.99); Verizon
($149.99).

The last Echo Input speaker we’ll recommend is the UE

PC & MOBILE LIFESTYLE
Boom 3. It is the lightest of the three speakers (1.3 pounds),
has a water and dust resistance rating of IP67, a 30-foot
range, and 15 hours of battery life.

Uniquely, you can also personalize your UE Boom 3 thanks

to a large selection of patterns and colors.

Amazon Echo Dot vs. Echo: The

Winner
As it’s fully functioning speaker, the Echo Dot is clearly the
better all-around product. But in truth, the two products
are targeting a different market—they offer different
solutions for different problems.

The Echo Input is trying to ful ll the space vacated by the

Chromecast Audio. Google took the surprising decision to
cease production in early 2019. The company has been
tight-lipped on whether a replacement product is in the
pipeline, though a new Google Home Mini 3 with a 3.5mm
output is rumored to be on the release list for late 2019.

And remember, if our list of Echo Input speakers didn’t

provide you with a solution, you can always check out our
lists of the best Bluetooth speakers and the best portable
speakers.

The 7 Best Portable Bluetooth

Speakers
Looking for the best portable Bluetooth speakers?
We have you covered with options for every
budget and need.

READ MORE
Explore more about: Alexa, Amazon Echo.

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LIFESTYLE

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