How do I make digital movie files smaller without losing resolution?

Published January 29, 2011 | By Bman

Question by funkervogt47: How do I make digital movie files smaller without losing resolution?
I recently used a device to scan a whole bunch of VHS tapes to .avi files on my computer. These things files are TV-quality video and sound resolution and are all 720×480, but their file sizes are HUGE and are 12 GB for each hour of film. I’m not a computer expert, but I know that this is very inefficient use of disk space since a single-layer Blu Ray disc holds 25 GB.

How can I shrink these movie files down in size without losing any visual or audio fidelity and without altering the dimensions of the picture? Is there a simple, free program I can download to do this? Keep in mind I’m using Windows 7. Thanks.

Best answer:

Answer by Colanth
You can convert them to another file type, then convert them to avi again. You won’t lose anything – avi is higher resolution than VHS. (Or get a better conversion program for the first conversion – that’s what’s causing the problem.)

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Posted in Making Movies | Tagged digital, files, losing, Movie, resolution, smaller, without