What settings in handbrake to create a sensible size and quality file?
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Not limited to a small file, where I can test it fully for a week I am happy to buy a program though.
handbrake also has the command line tool 'HandBrakeCLI'
trac.handbrake.fr[slash]wiki[slash]CLIGuide
You can tweak parameters in plain text in a shell script & set the job running & then evaluate what works best for your media.
Some of the handbrake apps give you a clue to the command they are using for various settings, so you can read about the arguments via 'man HandBrakeCLI' (on Mac or Linux).
Using --start-at-preview 1 --stop-at duration:30 gives you short clips to demo.
ffmpeg is another free option too, but I got bored of compiling that on my Mac.
MPEGStreamclip should also handle the files if you need a GUI (installed codec's permitting)…
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