free software to shrink .avi file size?

[tizerist]

Hi. I have various .avi files that are, basically 500mb file for every 5 minutes. I need to get this down to a smaller size, without losing video quality. I have tried AVS video converter but when I convert to a mp4 (which should be smaller from what I know) I tried keeping the same aspect ratio and bitrate but the size remains the same. Windows movie maker doesn't deal with .avi files.
So what is the best free app to do this? It seems there are reams and reams of apps that claim to do this, perhaps too many, and some of them are not really free or leave a watermark or whatever.
So what apps do you recommend to do this?
Thank you!

 

[PuperHacker]

Handbrake. Free and trustable.

 

[cherry blossoms]

Besides Handbrake, you can always try:

If you desire a frontend for the command line, you can always try MediaCoder

http/www.mediacoderhq.com/

No safety, you CAN set combinations of parameters that don't encode correctly, but if you know what parameters you want, you can set them through the menus or the override "pass these to the encoder" parameter area. You have to play around with what encoder/decoder you want to use, as they don't all play nice with each other, but an option.

Other frontend freebie options to try would be StaxRip or Hybrid

https/www.videohelp.com/software/Hybrid

https/www.videohelp.com/software/StaxRip

Xvid4PSP also easy to use:

https/www.videohelp.com/software/XviD4PSP

Please note, if you are choosing constant bitrate transcoding, if you select a different codec it will still be roughly the same size. You are looking to recode to either H264 or H265 I am assuming. You may want to set a variable bit rate with a max setting and use 2 pass mode. Also look to recode your audio and what tradeoffs you can achieve there.

AVI is a container like MKV, you need to know whats in it.

 

[kenrivers]

MPEG Streamclip is another good one in addition to Handbrake.