Practical Way to Resize Video in Handbrake

Videos are a great medium to share thoughts, concepts, guides, and memories, but regardless of how far technology has come getting them online can pose an issue sometimes. These obstacles often tend to be because either a video clip is too long or the amount of data in it is so high that the service just cannot upload the file to its servers and make it available for the intended receiver.

To solve this issue, users often need to resize a video so that the data cap, which behaved as a restriction, is no longer applicable. Now, there exist multiple software that can do this, and most video editor programs include the ability to export videos in less data-hungry sizes or formats.

So, if you ever face a similar issue, here is a guide on how you can resize videos via Handbrake and Wondershare Filmora. The former is a lightweight tool perfect for batch resizing videos, while the latter is a powerful free video editing software.

How to resize video with Handbrake

Open Handbrake and follow the steps listed below.

Once open, the software will present you with options to either import a single video file for resize or a whole batch via folder selection.

Note: If you do not have Handbrake, you can download it by visiting the official website. Also, you will need Windows .NET Framework 6.0 to use Handbrake. If your system does not have the correct config Handbrake will let you know and fail to launch.

Once you have imported the video file, the software will present you with two choices.

• Option 1: Use a preset available in the application — the best choice for beginners to choose for beginners.
• Option 2: Set a custom resolution via the Dimensions Tab.

Note: To ensure the resize is perfect, find out which file format plays best with the end location of your video and convert the video clip to that version.

How your screen will look once you have imported a video file.

How to Resize Video via Option 1

Step 1: Import Video File by choosing

• Single Import, or
• Batch Import

Step 2: Choose a Preset in Handbrake.

Step 3: Click on Start Encode after choosing the desired preset.

Step 4: Wait for the Encode to finish. The application shows progress in a bar at the bottom of the screen.

Step 5: Click on Browse in the bottom right corner to enter the Save File dialogue. At this point, you can set a file name and select a new save location.

How to Resize Video via Option 2

Step 1: Import Video File by choosing

• Single Import, or
• Batch Import

Step 2: Click on the Dimensions Tab to open up a dialog box that will let you edit video resolution.

The Dimensions Dialog Box

Step 3: Modify resolution to ensure the clip you get is in the right setup.

Note: If you see 1920 x 1080 on your screen, the first number (1920) stands for the width of the video file, while the second number (1080) stands for the height.

Tip

The one thing to keep in mind while using Option 2 is to ensure that the aspect ratio of the video file is maintained; this will prevent the final video from looking like its skewed and prevent it from becoming too tall or too wide

Via Option 2 you can also add borders to the final video if desired, while resizing it to your liked resolution.

An easier way to resize video with Wondershare Filmora

While the resize feature in Handbrake is capable of working on multiple video files at once, the user interface of the application may seem daunting to some. Hence, if you’re just starting to learn, we recommend accessing more user-friendly software, say Wondershare Filmora Video Editor . You can resize videos in the video editor by following the steps we have detailed below.

Just keep in mind, when using WonderShare Filmora the resize option appears at the end of the video editing process — during the export action.

Step 1: Import a video file into Wondershare Filmora.

Step 2: Drag the video file onto the timeline and then choose Export from the top bar.

Author’s Notes: Here, I recommend using the Export to Device option as having a local copy which you then manually upload to services like YouTube is a process that you can have more control over.

Step 3: Choose the video file format (marked in Red) and then choose the resolution you require (marked in Yellow).

Tip

If you press on the settings tab (marked in Yellow, in the image above) and choose custom you can modify more aspects of your video file. Including the configuration used by the audio components.

Choose Custom under the Settings Option to customise Video Details with more precision

Step 4: Click on Export once you’ve decided on the resolution.

With this you will now have a video file that has been resized to a size or converted to a format that will hopefully function well with your desired platform.

Note: You can also reset the resolution of an entire project before hand in Wondershare Filmora by choosing the right configuration from the Project Settings option, found under the File Tab.

The Bottom Line

Having read this piece, you may have noticed that software capable of resizing videos can prove quite useful. Wondershare Filmora is this, plus a lot more, its convenient and intuitive user interface is also something we believe will feel welcoming to users. Speaking of Handbrake, while effective and great for batch encoding — if you want to resize more than one video we recommend having Handbrake handy — its bare-bones interface can be intimidating. Regardless, both programs are convenient to utilize and perfectly capable of doing the task at hand with relative ease.