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Download Bandicam (Free)How to record a video with smaller file size
Do you want to reduce the file size while you are using a screen recording program? To reduce the file size, you have to understand the relationship between video resolution, FPS, video codec, video quality, and file size.
- If you reduce the video resolution, the file size becomes smaller.
- If you reduce the FPS value, the file size becomes smaller.
- If you use high-compression video codecs such as AV1, HEVC, or H.264, the file size becomes smaller.
- If you decrease the video quality, the file size becomes smaller.
- If you use high-compression audio codecs such as AAC/MP3, the file size becomes smaller.
- If you reduce audio bitrates, the file size becomes smaller.
- If you reduce audio frequency, the file size becomes smaller.
- ...
Do You Want to Reduce the File Size while Recording?
Major factors of a video’s file size are its resolution, FPS, video codec, and quality. Bandicam is popular because the recorded file size is smaller compared to that of other screen capture software. Bandicam records and compresses the video while recording (it records and compresses the recording at the same time). You can reduce the recorded file size by changing the video resolution, FPS, video codec, and video quality value in the Bandicam format settings, which you can see in the image below:
- If you change the video size from "Full size" to "Half size," you can reduce the video file size.
- If you change the FPS (frames per second) value from "30" to "15," you can reduce the video file size.
- If you use high-compression video codecs such as AV1, HEVC, or H.264, you can get a good quality video with a small size.
- If you change the Quality value from "80" to "40," you can reduce the video file size.
- If you don't need any audio, uncheck the 'Record sound' option.
![Uncheck the Record sound option]()
Overall, in order to record low file size with high quality, you have to adjust the Bandicam settings to best meet your requirements.
Comparison tables for video resolution and file size
The table below shows the relationship between video resolution and file size. (Recording time: 1 minute, Codec: H264, FPS: 30, Quality: 80).
| Feature | Resolution | File Size | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video Resolution | 640x480 | 7.7 MB | If you reduce a video resolution, the file size becomes smaller. |
| 960x540 (Half Size) | 13.3 MB | ||
| 1280x720 | 17.7 MB | ||
| 1920x1080 (Full Size) | 34.1 MB |
Comparison tables for FPS and file size
The table below shows the relationship between frame rates and file size. (1 minute, Resolution: 1920x1080, Codec: H264, Quality: 80).
| Feature | Frame Rates | File Size | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FPS | 5 FPS | 8.9 MB | If you reduce the FPS value, the file size becomes smaller. |
| 15 FPS | 21.1 MB | ||
| 30 FPS | 34.1 MB | ||
| 60 FPS | 59.0 MB |
Comparison tables for video codec and file size
The table below shows the relationship between video codec and file size. (1 minute, Resolution: 1920x1080, FPS: 30, Quality: 80).
| Feature | Codec | File Size | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video Codec | AV1 (GPU) | 15 - 18 MB | If you use high-compression video codecs such as AV1, HEVC, or H.264, the file size becomes smaller. » Best video codec for recording |
| HEVC (GPU) | 29 - 36 MB | ||
| H264 (GPU) | 31 - 40 MB | ||
| H264 (High 4:4:4 lossless) | 217 MB | ||
| Xvid | 52.9 MB | ||
| MPEG-1 | 38.8 MB | ||
| Motion JPEG | 420 MB | ||
| YV12 | 5,210 MB | ||
| RGB24 | 10,400 MB |
Comparison tables for video quality and file size
The table below shows the relationship between video quality and file size. (1 minute, Resolution: 1920x1080, Codec: H264, FPS: 30).
| Feature | Quality Value | File Size | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video Quality | Quality 40 | 8.9 MB | If you reduce the video quality value, the file size becomes smaller. |
| Quality 60 | 19.5 MB | ||
| Quality 80 | 34.1 MB | ||
| Quality 100 | 59.4 MB |
Video Quality 80
Video Quality 60
Video Quality 40
How to reduce the file size after recording with Bandicut
If you want to reduce the file size after recording, download the free version of Bandicut, import the recorded video file, select unwanted parts of a video, and cut the video file through Bandicut’s [High-Speed mode].
You can also convert the recorded video through [Encoding mode] to reduce the file size. Follow these steps to convert the video file: import the recorded video file, click the 'Encoding Settings' button, and change the video codec, video quality value, video resolution, and FPS in the Bandicut encoding mode settings.
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