Question about large .avi files

Hi all,
I'm trying to download video clips onto a site and my .avi files are too large. I admit I am new at all this; for the experts, should I compress my .avi video files to make them smaller? Is that what codec does? I'm new to this stuff, so I'm wondering should I download free software from the net that will do what I need?

Thanks for any help in advance.

Kras,

 

Yes, codec stands for Compression/Decompression. It will make your video much much smaller in file size while sacrificing only a little image quality and integrity. This is adjustable when you compress so you can decide between video quality and file size, its a trade-off.

DivX is fantastic for AVI files and there is a fantastic program that will compress your large avi files smaller than you ever imagined at http://www.virtualdub.org

You will need the DivX codec available at http://www.divx.com/divx/
Download the free one that is like 3mb and install it.


Quick Tutorial to get you up and running with VirtualDub

1. File -> Open (your large avi file)

2. Audio -> No Audio (unless you have audio)

3. Video -> Compression -> select DivX

4. File -> Save as AVI


And there you go, you'll be compressing your large AVI files into tiny files in no time, ready for internet download.