How to Compress Large Video Files on Windows
Don’t waste your time zipping a file when you can send it in full resolution for free with Smash!
IN THIS GUIDE, YOU’RE GOING TO READ THE 3 OTHER OPTIONS TO COMPRESS VIDEO FILE ON WINDOWS:
1. ZIP with the Native Windows Utility
So, you’ve shot the perfect video, edited it into something even better, added a fabulous soundtrack, and compiled the whole thing into a perfect piece of filmmaking. Whether it’s for your boss, your client, your colleague, or your family reunion, you’re ready to share it with the world – but it’s too big.
Sending a large file from a Windows machine can be a challenge. If it’s too big to email or drop into an instant message, your options start to narrow down. One tactic that has proved popular, though, is compressing the video file. By zipping the file, you can reduce the size of your video and, with a little luck, transfer it via email or via instant message. But what’s the best way to zip a video file on Windows? Read on: we’ve gathered all the best options right below!
Don’t Zip Your Video, Send It With Smash Instead
Compressing a video might help you solve the problem of a large file you can’t email or transfer, but it also creates a new problem: a low-resolution, lower-quality video that no one is happy with. Wouldn’t it be better to send the video you have on your Windows machine as it is, in all its high-resolution and with every pixel as perfect as it is on your computer? With Smash, it’s possible!
Smash is not a file compression service but a file transfer service. This means it is built from the ground up to help you send your large files from your machine to another, no matter whether you are sending from a Windows PC, your iPhone, an Android device, or a Mac. With Smash you simply upload your file, then share the URL in an email, an instant message, or a text. Your recipient clicks to download, and the file is quickly on their machine.
There’s no loss in resolution, there’s no decompression or unzipping to do on either end and your transfer is completely secure. Gone are the days of worrying about a corrupted file or a low-quality, pixelated image. Instead, your client, colleague, or best friend gets the file exactly as it appears on your machine. 4K, 8K, or even 12K footage? No problem: if you can upload it, you can send it for free with Smash.
Smash is available through any browser, just:
Go to fromsmash.com
Click to select and upload your file
Enter your recipient’s email address to send it straight to them, or click to copy and paste the URL
Drop your URL into a message and you file is ready to download – it’s free, it’s fast, and it’s totally secure.
Three Ways to Compress a Video File on Windows
If you decide that you want to compress your file instead of sending it as it is, then there are a few different methods you can use. We’ve identified three of the best for zipping video files on Windows, and we’ll outline the pros and cons of each below.
The three methods here are:
Zipping the file using the native Windows utility
Compress the file using Microsoft Video Editor
Compress the file using VLC Media Player
For each one we’ll explain what it is, how to do it, and look at the pros and cons.
1. ZIP with the Native Windows Utility
The Microsoft Windows OS makes it easy to zip a file with only a couple of clicks of a mouse. With luck, your video file will be compressed enough that you’ll be able to attach it to an email (under 25MB) or drop it in an instant message. It’s straightforward, secure (all the processing takes place right there on your Windows machine), and the ZIP archive is easy for any receiving it to decompress on the other end of your message. Here’s how to do it:
Select the big video file that you want to compress
Right click on the video file and select Send to and Compressed (zipped) folder
Windows automatically creates a new archive and saves it in the same place as your original video
Pros: It’s fast, easy, and secure. Once you have your zip archive you can send it on with ease.
Cons: Zipping does not reduce the size of a large file to nothing so the end result might not be small enough to email. What’s more, you still need to send the file somehow, so you’ve really only solved half your ‘compress and share’ problem.
2. Compress with Microsoft Video Editor
Windows 11 comes with video editing software as standard. While it might not be as fully featured as some professional tools, it can serve as a handy way to reduce the size of your large video file. The processing is done on your device so it remains secure, you have some real control over the resulting file size, and you can see the video quality of the finished product right there in the application before you generate the final file. Here’s the way to reduce the size of your video file with Video Editor:
Open Video Editor using the Start Menu and click on New video project
Click + Add and import the video file, then right click on the video and Place in the storyboard
Click Finish video and choose an option from the Video Quality dropdown menu, then hit Export
Pros: It’s easy to manage and you have some control over the end result – you can choose between 1080p, 720p, and 540p resolutions.
Cons: When you reduce the resolution of your video it means a lower quality video. That great, high definition video on your machine becomes something less, and that’s not great for your work, brand, or presentation.
3. Compress with VLC Media Player
VLC is a leading media player utility, but it does a lot more than just play video files. VLC can be used to reduce the size of your video files by compressing it. Change the resolution, generate a smaller file size, and send it on its way thanks to the power of free and open source software. It’s a little more complicated than a simple click and zip on the Windows right-click menu, but it’s still straightforward. Here’s how it works:
Open VLC, click Media in the menu and then select Convert/Save
Click Add, add your video file, and hit the Convert/Save button
On the Profile dropdown menu, you can choose the resolution and from various codecs – use the spanner icon to input your preferences, then click Start
Pros: You aren’t just compressing the file in order to decompress it later; instead, you are reencoding the file and generating a new, smaller file you’ll be able to share.
Cons: The smaller file is going to suffer when it comes to resolution – it might be smaller, but at the cost of definition and quality.
The Best Way to Compress a Large Video File on Windows
So, what’s the best way to zip a large video file on a Windows device? Don’t zip it, Smash it!
Instead of using a Windows utility or PC application to reduce the size and quality of your video, use to Smash to send it as it is. There’s no reduction in quality, it’s entirely secure, it’s lightning fast, and you retain everything that is good about your video because it is the same video! You can send a large video file with Smash for free via the web portal, dedicated apps for Mac, iOS, and Android, or through plug ins for Microsoft Outlook, too. Sending a large video file through the portal or the apps is free no matter how large the file is, and your recipient will have access to it the moment you have shared the URL: no waiting, no fuss.
Try Smash today for free and send your high-quality, high-resolution video today!
Need To Compress Large Video Files
on Windows?
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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A few years you might have been able to get away with a low resolution video if you were sharing to a mobile device or posting a video on social media. Small screens and rapid-fire scrolling might have allowed you to share a low resolution video and maybe a link to a higher quality version for download. But the quality of mobile device screens and the expectations of social media users have changed and today sharing a low resolution video just looks unprofessional. If you have the choice – and with Smash, you do! – you should avoid compressing to a low quality, smaller video file size.
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Sharing from the cloud means paying for cloud storage and having your file sit in that storage until you remember to remove it. You’re also paying a subscription for that sharing and it comes at an environmental cost, too. File transfer services, on the other hand, are purpose built to share files fast, in a green way, and securely, too. Choose a service like Smash to share your files and you won’t pay a cent for the privilege while getting your video where it needs to go.
