MP3 export file size issue

I exported a 2 hour video as MP3 to use as a podcast and I first I exported it as an MP4 video then used the VLC feature to save audio only. When I did this, the audio for the 2 hour file was around 104MB.
Then I learned that I can export directly from Shotcut as an MP3 so avoid the step of converting it via VLC. However, when I exported the exact same file as an MP3 directly from Shotcut, the 2 hour MP3 fiile size was 208MB. That’s double the size.
I’m using the free tier of Redcircle to upload podcasts and their limit is 200MB. So I had to revert to exporting as an MP4 then converting to MP3.
Does anyone know why the direct MP3 export doubled the file size?

Probably because the Shotcut preset’s bitrate is set at a higher quality. I don’t know what the bitrate of the file you exported from VLC was set as but in Shotcut the default bitrate is 256k.

Can it be altered and is there any way to see a projection of the output file size before committing?

shotcut_J0ZC5Ngd5v

To reuse the same export settings in other projects, you can also create your own Export presets:

shotcut_h1m1lk4ia1

Excellent help.
Thank you so much.

1 Like

This topic was automatically closed after 90 days. New replies are no longer allowed.