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Gone are the simple days of moving pictures and practical effects. These days, movies are more sophisticated, with computer-generated special effects and high-resolution images. However, each addition to a film or episode adds to the file size, which can make both downloading for at-home viewing and the process of creating the project more complicated than ever before.
While large movie files give directors, editors, and special effects artists more to work with, those same large files can complicate the process of sharing, sending, and even editing those files. But why are files so much larger these days, and how can you improve your video file transfers?
How Big is a Movie File?
Big. But the average movie file size depends on the video quality. A standard definition (SD) movie that you download to your device for streaming tends to be between 1 GB and 2 GBs, while high definition (HD) videos are twice that, ranging from 2 to 4 Gigabytes. And those sizes only encompass the final film. How big are the many movie files – multiple takes, effects, audio files, and more – that go into creating the final product?
The size of movie files is only increasing. While HD videos are large, a 4K video is about four times the resolution of standard HD and requires four times as much storage – just two to three minutes of uncompressed 4K film, or the length of a movie trailer, can be up to 500GB. And where 8K video files were once unimaginably large, 12K is now looming on the horizon, with emerging tools that capture footage with even more detail.
Common Video Sizes
HD movie file sizes can vary, but there are currently five standard resolutions used today.
| Common Name | Pixel Size | Also Known As | File Size for 1 hour of video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 720p | 1280 x 720 | HD or “HD Ready”* | 800 – 900MB |
| 1080p | 1920 x 1080 | FHD or “Full HD” | 1.2 – 1.4GB |
| 2K | 2048 x 1080 | Digital Cinema (DCI) | 2.8 – 3GB |
| 4K | 3840 x 2160 | UHDTV1 | 20 – 22GB |
| 8K | 7680 x 4320 | UHDTV2 | 36 – 38GB |
Video File Size Chart
*Video file size recommended by YouTube
What Makes Movie File Sizes So Large?
There are many factors that go into making video files supersized. These include:
- Video length: The shorter the movie duration, the smaller the video size is likely to be. Of course, a 20-minute vlog for YouTube is a smaller file than a feature-length film, but even an animated short film will be made of up larger files than, say, a mini documentary of the same length.
- Resolution: Also referred to as “pixel size,” resolution is technically the number of pixels per unit of area, but ultimately refers to “the number of pixels arranged horizontally and vertically on a monitor.” The number of pixels impacts video quality, which then impacts video file size. The higher your film quality, the more pixels make up the image – and the larger the file size. The video frame rate will also play a role in the resolution.
- Format: The format of a video plays the biggest role in its quality and eventual file size, and certain broadcasters or streaming services have different minimum standards for delivery. Formats range from consumer-friendly to professional-grade, with others geared towards content creators of all levels. For example, highly compressed mp4 or mkv file types are typically geared toward the end consumers of media. Format is made up of two components, both of which guide your file size:
- Codec: This portmanteau of “coder” and “decoder” refers to how your files are encoded (compression for storage or sending) and then decompressed (for playback and editing). It can be either a computer code or hardware, like your camera, that dictates the file’s digital format and how it’s compressed for editing, watching, storing, or transferring. The codec that is most-used on web is currently h.264.
- Containers: It may help to think of the container as the file type; for example .mov or .mp4. This is the complete bundle of all your files – audio, visual, etc. – together as one. The container will sometimes also include metadata, such as author, frame rate, dates, and overall file information. Other popular containers include ogg, mkv, and avi.
- Frame rate: Also called “frames per second” and usually shortened to FPS, this is the rate at which back-to-back images (called frames) appear in a display and form moving imagery. Video content that we consume daily isn’t actually moving; instead, all videos are made up of images that play one after the other. If a video is shot at 24fps, this means that 24 individual frames are played back in a second. While the standard for consumer video is 30ftps, the FPS standard rate varies across mediums depending on multiple other factors.
- Camera choice: Cameras capture different file sizes simply due to the quality, size, and detail included. A higher-res camera will output larger file sizes than a more basic camera.
- Innovations: Other innovations, such as Next Gen TV, offer even more in the way of enhanced experience. This emerging tech offers both 4K ultra-high definition and interactive features. The film and broadcast industries are constantly improving and evolving to remain competitive, which results in more features, higher resolution, and – ideally – a better watching experience.
Improve Your Video File Transfer Agility
There is no best way, just the best way for your particular project. Do you have more time than storage? More money than time? The key is production agility.
The continual growth in video file size parallels the growing concern about how to manage these extra-large files without losing quality or data. Large file sizes typically results in extra processing requirements, including more storage space on memory cards or hard drives, and longer processing times to save, copy, and transfer movie files.
Getting the best quality possible can come with tradeoffs. Says Director of Pro Video Marketing Matt Feury, “there is no best way, just the best way for your particular project. Do you have more time than storage? More money than time? The key is projection agility.” But compromises can have negative returns too.
Related Reading: File Transfer for Live Events
One of the most common tools used to simplify data movement is file compression, but it’s not the end-all-be-all solution. Compressing videos adds complications, including data loss, which can result in lower-quality files to work with. The choice to compress video files needs to take the resolution, frame rate, and any visual preferences into account.
The goal is always to deliver the best possible final product that fits the budget and timeline. That’s where FileCatalyst for video file transfer comes in.
Related Reading: How FileCatalyst and Scale Logic Partner to Accelerate Media File Transfers
Using a fast file transfer solution like FileCatalyst can reduce the number of trade-offs you make as you film and edit your video files. Fast file transfer solutions are adept at transferring extremely large files over long distances, which means you can create longer films at higher resolutions without worrying how you’re going to get the data from A to B.
How to Send Media Files Faster: FileCatalyst
Media houses and broadcast companies rely on FileCatalyst to provide them with blazing fast file transfer speeds, reliability, and security for every file transfer in their workflow. Regardless of location or distance, FileCatalyst can successfully complete transfers that once took hours in minutes!
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2022-02-17T10:42:39-05:00January 26th, 2022|Categories: Blogs, Broadcast Media, Fast File Transfer, Live Sports|Tags: Data Storage, fast file sharing, HD, , Media Asset Management, movie file sizes, video file sizes, Video File Transfer Agility|
About the Author: John Tkaczewski
John Tkaczewski is a Senior Solutions Engineer at HelpSystems working with HelpSystems Managed File Transfer (MFT). As the co-founder of the company that created FileCatalyst suite of file transfer solutions, his focus is on accelerating, securing, and simplifying file transfers for organizations like yours.
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FAQs
What is the average size of a movie file? ›
But the average movie file size depends on the video quality. A standard definition (SD) movie that you download to your device for streaming tends to be between 1 GB and 2 GBs, while high definition (HD) videos are twice that, ranging from 2 to 4 Gigabytes. And those sizes only encompass the final film.
What is the average file size of a 2 hour movie? ›Streaming Movies or TV
(30 fps is the standard frame rate for most movies in the United States.) A 1080p HD 60 fps 2-hour movie averages 6 GB in file size. A 1080p HD 30 fps 2-hour movie averages 3 GB in file size. A 720p HD 2-hour movie averages 2 GB in file size.
High definition (HD) videos, on the other hand, use 3 GB per hour. And 4K Ultra HD streams use up to 7 GB per hour of video. This means you'll use around 2 GB to stream a two-hour SD movie, 6 GB to stream the HD version or 14 GB for the 4K stream.
What is the best size for movies? ›The 21:9 ratio is the best aspect ratio for cinematic videos. It provides an ultra-widescreen effect that adds depth to a scene and creates an immersive viewing experience, especially on larger displays.
How many GB is 1 movie size? ›Typically, downloaded standard definition Digital Movie files take up approximately 1-2 Gigabytes of space, and high definition files can take up to 2-4 GB.
What is the most common size of film? ›As we noted above, 35mm film is the most popular size – it's the cheapest type of film to shoot, the easiest to find, easiest to get developed, and there are significantly more 35mm film cameras available than any other type. 35mm film is also referred to as 135 film – we'll use both names going forward.
How big is a 1 minute video file? ›...
Understanding Video File Size.
| Video Resolution | Length of Recording | File Size (approximate) |
|---|---|---|
| VGA | 1 minute | 24.1mb |
| High Definition (HD) | 1 minute | 88.3mb |
| 1:1 | 1 minute | 110mb |
| Full High Definition (30FPS) | 1 minute | 124mb |
A 5 minute MP4 video of 'normal' quality uses around 8.7MB file space compared with a video saved as AVI that will use 30.4MB file space.
What is the average MP4 movie file size? ›On average, MP4 files are usually uploaded somewhere between 1GB to 10GB. Of course, it depends on the length of the video and the quality, but generally speaking, you're looking at 4K video up to 20 minutes or 8K video up to 40 minutes.
How many hours of Netflix is 100GB? ›With 100GB of data you could watch around 30 hours of high-quality streamed video. So that's enough for roughly 1 hour every day. But if you watch in normal or low quality then you can stream far, far more, with Netflix's low-quality setting allowing for around 600 hours of streaming with 100GB of data.
How many GB is a 2 hour 4K movie? ›
An average one-hour-long 4K video is approximately 14 GB. An hour and a half-long 4K movie is about 21 GB, while a two-hour 4K movie is 28 GB. However, other factors such as bit rate and compression also affect file size.
How many GB is a 4K movie? ›Roughly 4k is about 233 MB per minute, or 14 GB per hour, or 21 GB for 90 minutes.
What is the most size efficient video format? ›...
Other common video file types include:
- MOV (Apple Quicktime Movie)
- AVI (Audio Video Interleave – Microsoft)
- WMV (Windows Media Video – Microsoft)
- FLV (Flash Video Format)
264/MPEG-4 Part 10 AVC – commonly known as H. 264 – is the most widely used format. Blu-ray movies usually come in 16:9 widescreen resolutions of 1280 x 720 pixels, which is known as HD (High Definition) or 720p, or 1920 x 1080 pixels, which is Full HD or 1080p, where p stands for “progressive”.
What is the longest movie ever? ›Cleopatra remains the longest Hollywood movie ever made, with a runtime of four hours and eight minutes (248 minutes). This is closely followed by Gone with the Wind, which comes in just 10 minutes behind.
How much data is a typical movie? ›The resolution you use also affects the amount of data you use. According to Netflix, you use about 1GB of data per hour for streaming a TV show or movie in standard definition and up to 3GB of data per hour when streaming HD video.
Is 1 GB enough for a movie? ›As a rough guide, 1GB of data would let you do one of the following: Watch one hour and 20 minutes of video at Standard Definition. Stream roughly eight hours of high quality music (320kbps)
Is 100GB enough for watch movies? ›High definition (HD) streaming uses 2.5GB per hour. 100GB gives you 40 hours of HD streaming. 4K Ultra HD streaming uses about 6GB per hour.
What is the smallest film size? ›- 35 mm format (Full Frame; FX)
- 24 mm format (DX) Advanced Photo System (APS)
- 35 mm film / 135 film / full frame.
- 16 mm film.
- 8 mm film.
- 1-inch digital (CX)
"Large format" refers to any film (and camera) type in which a single frame is 4×5 inches or larger. Other common sizes include 5×7, 8×10, and 11x14. This film is not on a roll, but rather it is in individual sheets (which is why it is also referred to as sheet film) that are loaded into film holders.
What is the average resolution of film? ›
Film industry
Most digital cinema is displayed in 2K or 4K resolution; 2K is only a small amount more resolution than the consumer-oriented 1080p HD format.
If you were to watch a movie at a different quality like 720p, you would use about 0.9GB per hour. 2K and 4K would use about 3 GB and 7.2 GB an hour, which doesn't put into account other factors.
How large is a 1 hour video file? ›The approximate size of each uncompressed frame is 5MB. At 30 frames per second, a raw HD video will need 5MBx30 = 150MB storage space per second. We are going to need around 540GB per hour for the raw footage. that's a lot of disk space even today.
How large is a 30 second video file? ›30 frames per second vs 15 fps. Depending on the aforementioned, a 30-second video could be anywhere from 1 to 30 megabytes.
How much storage is 10 hours of video? ›STORAGE A client has 10 hours worth of video and they are encoding it for 28.8 and 56k, look at the chart above. A (1) hour video encoded for 28.8 takes up 9MB of storage. If you have (10) hours of total video then the calculation would be 9MB x 10 hours = 90MB for the 28.8 clips.
How large is a 24 hour video file? ›In this case, the total space occupied by this 24- hour video file is 263.67 GB. The most important factor in measuring the file size is the bit rate. The Bitrate is the measure of the amount of information transmitted every second. It is measured in Mbps or Kbps.
How many MB is good for video? ›8 Mbps is a decent speed for standard HD streaming, but it should be noted that ultra-high definition is usually synonymous with 4k resolution, which needs much more bandwidth. We recommend a connection with at least 25 Mbps to get the best quality video.
Is mp4 file size big? ›Even though the data contained in mp4 files are already compressed, they are very large files. To compress mp4 files is to make them more manageable.
Is 100GB a lot of data for a year? ›100GB data (or 100,000MB) is functionally almost unlimited. Even with video streamed in high quality you could manage around 30 hours a month (depending on the source). Chances are you don't need that much, or would be fine with medium quality, which gives you a lot more.
How long does 100GB of wifi last? ›Your data should normally refresh every month or 30 days, so theoretically you have an average of 720 hours to fill a month. 100GB can last almost non-stop for the entire month, so you'd never have to connect to Wi-Fi if you didn't want to.
How much is 100 GB of WIFI? ›
A 100GB data plan will allow you to browse the internet for around 1200 hours, to stream 20,000 songs or to watch 200 hours of standard-definition video. Nowadays, the key difference between mobile phone price plans is how many gigabytes of data it comes with.
Why are 4K files so large? ›In addition to the codec and compression, file size of 4K video can vary greatly, depending on bitrate, color depth, frame rate, and camera choice taken by the recorder. The higher the frame rate and bitrate, the more data it will use.
What is the file size difference between 1080p and 4K? ›You can see the difference between these resolutions in the diagram: 4K video is four times the resolution of 1080p video (double the width x double the height), resulting in a file size that's four times bigger overall.
How many movies can you watch on 10GB? ›...
How Long Does 10GB Of Data Last?
| Activity | 10GB data is equal to... |
|---|---|
| Downloading or streaming video (SD) | 20 hours |
| Downloading or streaming video (HD) | 5 hours |
What internet speed does someone need to watch 4K video? The viewer needs a download speed of around 50 Mbps to reliably watch 4K streams. So-called high-speed internet from most ISPs usually only starts at around 25 Mbps.
How many GB is a 8K movie? ›In the graphic below, each circle represents one hour of video for the specified format. One hour of 8K RedCode Raw 75 amounts to 7.29 TB. That's 121.5 GB per minute for raw 8K footage.
Are 4K Blu Rays really 4K? ›4K Blu-ray
These are standard Blu-ray discs that have been scaled down from a 4K picture. They offer a wider range of color, but it is not the same as a 4k Ultra HD Image. A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc has a much higher capacity than a standard Blu-ray disc which allows it to store a movie with Ultra HD resolution.
MP4. MP4 is one of the most popular video file formats because of its universal compatibility. It is also capable of playing high-quality videos with a small file size. The file format uses a unique algorithm that identifies and removes redundant files.
What is the best quality for a video? ›4K resolution (ultra HD)
What is the most common type of movie file? ›MP4. MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14) is the most common type of video file format. Apple's preferred format, MP4 can play on most other devices as well.
What movie took the longest to make? ›
| Film | Release year | Number of years |
|---|---|---|
| Shoah | 1985 | 11 |
| Sholay | 1973 | 3 |
| Shrek | 2001 | 6 |
| The Simpsons Movie | 2007 | 9 |
- Gettysburg (1993) – 4 hours, 31 minutes.
- Once Upon a Time in America (1984) – 4 hours, 11 minutes. ...
- Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) – 4 hours, 2 minutes. ...
- Hamlet (1996) – 4 hours, 2 minutes. ...
- Gone with the Wind (1939) – 3 hours, 58 minutes. ...
- Cleopatra (1963) – 3 hours, 53 minutes. ...
The longest film ever made was the 85 hour The Cure for Insomnia (USA 1987), directed by John Henry Timmis IV and premiered in its entirety at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA from 31 January to 3 February 1987.
How large of a file is a 4K movie? ›An average one-hour-long 4K video is approximately 14 GB. An hour and a half-long 4K movie is about 21 GB, while a two-hour 4K movie is 28 GB. However, other factors such as bit rate and compression also affect file size.
How large is a MP4 movie file? ›On average, MP4 files are usually uploaded somewhere between 1GB to 10GB. Of course, it depends on the length of the video and the quality, but generally speaking, you're looking at 4K video up to 20 minutes or 8K video up to 40 minutes.
How big is a 2 minute video file? ›It would be around 700–900 mb with dolby atmos / dtsX sound.
How big is a 2 hour movie in 4K? ›You will use about 6 GB to stream in HD or 14 GB for a two hour movie in 4K.
How much bigger file is 4K than 1080p? ›Because 1080p is four times smaller than 4K, in most cases the workflow is faster and far less time consuming.
What is a large video file size? ›What is considered a large video file? While each platform determines what constitutes a “large” video file, about 2GB is often the cutoff. The video file size “formula” equals bitrate times duration times compression ratio.
How big should a 1 hour video file be? ›The approximate size of each uncompressed frame is 5MB. At 30 frames per second, a raw HD video will need 5MBx30 = 150MB storage space per second. We are going to need around 540GB per hour for the raw footage.
How long is a 1 hour video? ›
An hour of video has 3600 seconds, so that's 7200 megabits, which is 900 megabytes of video.
How big is a 5 minute MP4 file? ›Both allow the recording, editing, converting and exporting of video files in a variety of qualities and formats including MP4. A 5 minute MP4 video of 'normal' quality uses around 8.7MB file space compared with a video saved as AVI that will use 30.4MB file space.
How big is a 30 second video file? ›30 frames per second vs 15 fps. Depending on the aforementioned, a 30-second video could be anywhere from 1 to 30 megabytes.