4K Video Compressor: Why and How to Reduce 4K Video File Size

Now, most cameras and phones are capable of taking 4K videos. Also, 4K video content has quickly occupied the market of streaming services, desktops, TVs, etc. 4K video is much clear than standard HD 1080p, but it takes up more storage and it’s hard to share.

This MiniTool Video Converter post will mainly talk about several 4K video compressors to help you reduce the file size of 4K video, so you can easily upload it to social media platforms or send it to others.

What Is 4K Video

Before going into the 4K video compressor, let’s learn what the 4K video exactly means.

4K video refers to a video with 4K resolution. In recent years, 4K resolution has gained great popularity in the film and television production industry and television display technology. 4K refers to a horizontal display resolution of about 4000 pixels, which means excellent image quality and an immersive visual experience.

4K video is also known as Ultra high-definition (UHD) video, and the standard for 4K resolution in the video/movie projection industry is 4096 x 2160 pixels, whereas the dominant 4K standard for television and monitors is 3840×2160 pixels.

Resolution determines the amount of detail in a video and is the main factor affecting the quality of the video image. Compared to full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels), 4K video has a resolution four times the resolution of 1080p video. Therefore, 4K produces better and crisper image quality than 1080p.

Why You Need to Compress 4K Video

Since 4K videos are now widely supported by many devices and have Ultra high-definition image quality, why do you still need to compress 4K videos? Here’re 2 main reasons.

1. Large File Size

With the rise of 4K videos, now, almost all new cameras and phones support shooting 4K videos like iPhone, GoPro, DJI, Canon, etc. 4K video brings you and your audience the perfect visual enjoyment and greatly increases the immersed sense, but it also means a large file size and takes up more storage space than 1080p video.

The specific file size of a 4K video depends on the parameters of your recording device, but there’s no doubt that 4K video file size is large. The higher the resolution of the video, the more pixels, the better the quality, and the larger the file.

Of course, 4K video will take up a lot of your storage space. Some people even need to purchase a larger external hard drive to store 4K videos.

2. Not perfect for sharing videos

Until now, almost all social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok don’t support direct 4K uploading. If you upload a 4K video, it will automatically compress it to a low quality. For instance, if you upload a 4K video to TikTok, it will automatically be downsized to 1080p that’s the maximum resolution for TikTok videos.

In addition, it might take a long time to process a 4K video while uploading. The processing time varies based on the video format, length, frame rate, and quality. For instance, a 4K video with a frame rate of 60FPS will need a longer time to process and upload.

Moreover, a large 4K video can’t be sent through email because of the file size limit. What’s more, 4K video may lead to issues like choppy playback.

In general, a 4K video is worth it if you have enough storage or that’s used for movie projects in high resolution. However, 4K is not perfect for small projects like online videos. That’s why you need a 4K video compressor to shrink the file size for easier uploading, sharing, and storing.

Understand Video Compression

Before we start discussing the best 4K video compressors, let’s go over the basics of video compression.

The goal of video compression is to reduce the size of the file because videos take up much space and the bandwidth is limited. More specifically, video compression is the process of reducing redundancy and storing information more compactly.

There’re many methods to reduce the video file size including changing the resolution, changing the format, and trimming a clip. In addition, the size of a video file can be shrunk by optimizing some video parameters like frame rate, bitrate, encoder, etc.

Generally speaking, MP4 using H.265 (HEVC) codec is currently the best-recommended video format because of its best compression efficiency, universal compatibility, and good quality. However, you should select the video format and encoder according to your needs. For instance, the accepted video format by most social media services is MP4 using the H.264 codec.

Best 4K Video Compressor

A video compressor is an application that reduces the size of video files by eliminating some data. Now, it’s time to know the best 4K video compressor for your devices.

Best 4K Video Compressor for Windows

First of all, let’s look at some of the excellent 4K video compressors that are compatible with the Windows operating system.

MiniTool Video Converter

If you need a free 4K video compressor without watermarks, MiniTool Video Converter should be your first choice. This software can easily compress 4K videos using advanced encoders like HEVC (H.265) and H.264. Also, it lets you downsize 4K video by lowering the resolution, frame rate, and bitrate.

How to reduce 4K video file size using MiniTool Video Converter? Here’s a clear guide.

Step 1. Download and install MiniTool Video Converter on your computer.

MiniTool Video ConverterClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2. Open MiniTool Video Converter and click Add Files or click on the Add or Drag files here to start conversion area to upload your 4K video.

Step 3. Click the diagonal arrow circled in the below screenshot, then go to the Video tab, and select a format on the left, like MP4. Then, you’ll see multiple profiles with different resolutions. To compress 4K videos, you should choose a lower resolution like 1080p or 720p.

MiniTool Video Converter also empowers you to create a custom format by adjusting some parameters. To do this, follow the steps below after choosing an output format like MP4.

Click + Create Custom to open the Settings window.
Name the custom format.
Click the Encoder menu and choose one.
Expand the Resolution list and click the target one.
Change the frame rate and bitrate.
Click Create to finish the custom format.
Find and click the custom format.

Step 4. Now, you can compare the size of your source and target videos. If you’re happy with the target video file size, click Convert to start the 4K video compression task. Once done, go to the Converted tab, and click Show in folder to locate the converted video file.

In addition to compressing 4K videos, you can use MiniTool Video Converter to convert between a board variety of video formats like MOV, AVI, ASF, MKV, WebM, and more. As one of the most popular video converters, MiniTool Video Converter also lets you convert videos for Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, and Instagram and provides built-in presets optimized for devices like iPhone, Huawei, Samsung, Android, etc.

What’s more, MiniTool Video Converter is capable of converting audio files, extracting audio from video, recording everything on your screen, saving your favorite videos from YouTube, etc.

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MiniTool MovieMaker

If you want to compress 4K by removing unnecessary portions of the clip, you can try MiniTool MovideMaker, a 4K video compressor with rich editing features. You can use this program to trim and split videos and delete unwanted parts to make the video shorter, and the file size will be reduced. Also, you can change the video resolution, bitrate, or more to shrink the size.

Here’s how to compress 4K video with MiniTool MovideMaker.

Step 1. Download, install, and launch MiniTool MovieMaker on your PC.

MiniTool MovieMakerClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2. Click Import Media Files to open your 4K video and drag it to the timeline.

Step 3. To split or trim a video, click the clip on the timeline, click the Split icon, and choose Full Split.

Step 4. In the Split tab, use the Zoom in/Zoom out slider to locate each frame precisely. Drag the blue playhead to the target place where you want to start splitting, and click the scissor icon. Repeat this step to split the video into several parts, and click OK to apply changes.

You’ll immediately return to the main interface and see several small clips on the timeline. Delete some clips you don’t want to keep.

Step 5. To trim the video, switch to the TRIM tab. Also, you can use the Zoom in/Zoom out slider to locate the frame.

Drag the playhead to the start point of the part you want to save, and click the scissor icon next to Start. Continue to move the playhead to the end point of the portion you want to keep and click the scissor icon next to End. Click OK to save changes.

Step 6. If you don’t need to trim or split the video, just ignore step 4 and 5. Click the Export button at the top right, select a video format and click Settings to change the video parameters, and click OK.

Once you’re satisfied with the video size, click Export to get the video compressed and save it on your PC.

4K Video Compressor for Mac

Also, there’re many tools to reduce 4K video file size for your Mac computers. HandBrake is one of the best 4K video compressors you can try because it’s a 100% free and open-source video transcoder.

HandBrake supports nearly all video formats for input and then converts them to MP4, MKV, and WebM. Apart from that, HandBrake supports several video codecs like H.265, H.264, MPEG-4, VP8, VP9, Theora, etc. You’re allowed to compress 4K videos with these codecs depending on the output format.

Online 4K Video Compressors

You can try some online 4K video compressors if you don’t want to install apps on your computers. But the downside is that it may take some time to upload the video file. Here’s a list of websites that lets you reduce 4K video file size.

FreeConvert (https://www.freeconvert.com/video-compressor)
OnlineConverter (https://www.onlineconverter.com/compress-video）
8mb.video (https://8mb.video/)
HDconvert (https://hdconvert.com/)
YouCompress (https://www.youcompress.com/)

Please note that not all online 4K video compressors are free to use. Some sites can be used for free but have limits on the size of uploaded files.

Final Thoughts

4K video generates an excellent visual experience, but it’s not good for sharing and storing. If you want to compress 4K videos for easier sharing or saving your storage space, these 4K video compressors are useful solutions.

If you have any questions while using MiniTool Video Converter or MovieMaker, you can contact us via [email protected] for instant help.

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About The Author

Cora Follow Us

Position: Columnist

Cora works as an editor at MiniTool for many years, writing articles about video editing, video conversion, and screen recording. She also writes articles about Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and Twitter. During her spare time, Cora loves reading, traveling, and watching movies.