Video Bitrate Compressor

A practical Windows batch encoder that compresses every video to a percentage of its own source bitrate. It was created to shrink mixed collections consistently—for example, reducing many videos to roughly 50% without calculating a different target bitrate for every file.

Highlights

• Percentage, fixed-bitrate, and bitrate-cap modes
• Batch queue, folders, individual files, drag and drop, and optional recursion
• HEVC/H.265, H.264, and AV1 options through NVIDIA, Intel, AMD, or CPU encoders
• Resolution, frame-rate, rotation, deinterlacing, denoise, rate-control, and advanced FFmpeg controls
• Audio passthrough or re-encoding, multiple audio tracks, channel/sample-rate controls, timing offset, and EBU R128 loudness normalization
• MP4, MKV, MOV, and source-container output
• Pause, safe stop, playable partial-file option, collision handling, and source-overwrite protection
• English by default with optional Czech available inside the app

Download and run

1. Open the latest release.
2. Download Video-Bitrate-Compressor-v1.2.0-Windows-x64.zip.
3. Extract the entire ZIP to a normal folder.
4. Double-click Start Video Bitrate Compressor.bat or VideoBitrateCompressor.exe.

The complete release includes the app runtime, FFmpeg, FFprobe, and drag-and-drop support. Python is not required. Keep the extracted files together. Check Installation.bat performs a read-only dependency check.

Basic use

1. Choose a source folder or add files directly.
2. Choose a different destination folder.
3. Leave Percentage of original bitrate selected and set the desired percentage.
4. Pick an encoder. The default CPU encoder works without a specific GPU; supported hardware encoders are faster.
5. Review audio settings, then choose Scan Folder and Start Encode.

The original videos are not edited. Completed results are written to the destination through temporary .vbc-part files and moved into place only after FFmpeg finishes. The app blocks any destination path that resolves to a source file.

Audio normalization

Open Audio Options and select either the precise two-pass or faster one-pass EBU R128 mode. The default target is -14 LUFS, with adjustable true peak and loudness range. Normalization requires re-encoding the selected audio tracks.

Source setup

Python 3.10+ with Tkinter is recommended. Install the one Python dependency with:

py -3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt
py -3 video_compressor.py

Place ffmpeg.exe and ffprobe.exe next to the script or add both to PATH. The release ZIP already includes them.

To create the portable Windows build, install requirements-build.txt, keep FFmpeg and FFprobe beside the source, and run build_windows.bat.

Notes

• Actual file-size reduction varies with container overhead, audio settings, codec efficiency, and source complexity.
• Hardware encoding depends on compatible drivers and hardware. Use libx265 or libx264 CPU encoding when hardware initialization is unavailable.
• Expert FFmpeg arguments are intentionally powerful; invalid options can make an encode fail, but the source file remains untouched.

License and credits

The application source is licensed under the MIT License. The Windows release includes separate third-party components under their own licenses; see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Created by FajkPes with assistance from ChatGPT Codex and Claude Code.