Compress Large Video Files for Delivery to Distributors

You just got your final master from the editor. It’s 16:9, beautiful, 20GB… and totally unusable for upload.

Your distributor or aggregator wants something smaller. Maybe they gave you a spec sheet, or just said "H.264 under 5GB." But your editor’s unavailable, you don’t want to learn Media Encoder, and you’re not about to start guessing dimensions or bitrate settings.

Here’s exactly what you need to do — and how we can help.

Why You Should Compress Large Video Files for Delivery After Exporting

Your master is likely exported in ProRes 422 HQ or DNxHR — professional, high-bitrate formats that preserve detail for finishing and archiving. But they're not designed for delivery.

These files are too large for platforms like Amazon, Vimeo, or internal screeners. What you need now is a version that’s:

• ✅ Much smaller (typically under 5GB)

• ✅ In a delivery-friendly format (H.264 or H.265)

• ✅ Matching the required resolution and aspect ratio (usually 1920x1080 or 3840x2160)

• ✅ Clean and artifact-free

For a deeper dive into Amazon's delivery specs and how to avoid common pitfalls, check out our Amazon Prime Video Delivery Guide.

🧠 Our Workflow: How We Use Adobe Media Encoder

At Testament Productions, we use Adobe Media Encoder because it’s trusted, fast, and precise. When you send us a large QuickTime file and a spec sheet, we:

1. Ingest the file and check metadata

   • Frame rate, resolution, audio layout, and color space

2. Match the exact delivery specs

   • Whether your platform wants 23.976 or 25 fps, 1080p or UHD, stereo or 5.1 — we align to the requirement

3. Choose the right codec and bitrate

   • Typically H.264 at a constrained bitrate (e.g., 10–15 Mbps for 1080p) using VBR 2-pass encoding

4. Export and double-check

   • We verify that your output is under the target file size and matches all visual requirements without quality loss

   
   

   Understanding color specifications is crucial. Learn more in our guide on delivering masters for Netflix, Amazon, and theaters.

📉 File Size vs Quality: What’s Actually Lost?

Let’s walk through an example:

Original:

• Format: QuickTime ProRes 422 HQ

• Size: 20GB

• Resolution: 1920x1080

• Bitrate: ~147 Mbps

• Color space: Rec.709

Transcoded:

• Format: H.264 (MP4)

• Size: ~4.8GB

• Bitrate: ~12 Mbps (VBR)

• Resolution: 1920x1080

• Color space: Rec.709

Does it look worse?

No — not in a meaningful way for most viewers or delivery platforms.

What you lose is:

• Bit-depth cushion (if pushing heavy grade in post)

• Minor detail in high motion or heavy grain

• Flexibility for future re-editing

But what you gain is:

• ✅ File that meets the delivery requirements

• ✅ Excellent visual fidelity on TVs, laptops, and projectors

• ✅ Compatibility with streamers, aggregators, and DCP workflows

For final upload or screener delivery, H.264 is visually indistinguishable from ProRes for 95% of use cases — if it’s encoded properly.

To ensure your colors remain consistent across platforms, refer to our article on optimal video export settings.

📬 What to Send Us

Here’s what we need to handle this for you:

• 📁 Your master file (Dropbox, Frame.io, Google Drive, etc.)

• 📄 The spec sheet or email from your distributor

• 🗓️ Your delivery deadline

We’ll:

• Transcode your master to spec

• Name files appropriately

• QC the export

• Return a clean delivery file in 24–48 hours

✅ Bonus Tip: What NOT to Send

• Files with baked-in LUTs unless requested

• Subtitles unless embedded is required

• Exported files with inconsistent naming (“Final_FINAL_revised_final.mov” = 👎)

🎯 Final Thoughts

You don’t need to learn pixel dimensions, aspect ratios, or bitrate math.

You just need your file to pass.

📩 Ready to deliver your project? Contact Testament Productions and we’ll handle the export — fast and stress-free.