Making a large MP4 file into something I can mail to someone

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Please move if this is in the wrong forum.

I have a video on my computer that is in the .mp4 format. I want to send that video to someone, but don’t know how because it’s over an hour long and about 500G big.

Is there  a way to do what I want? We’re far enough apart that we can’t be awake at home at the same time to just babysit my sending it, assuming our ISP’s would let us send something that big. Also, it has to be a cheap method. I’m living on Social Security and barely making ends meet.

Thanks in advance.

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There is no way to send a 500GB file by email (not a 500MB file even!!).

You can get online storage (like DropBox) that will give you enough storage room upload the video, then share it with the other User. But it may not be free for that much space.

Are you sure it’s not 500MB? If that’s the case, you could put it on a CD (up to 700MB) or DVD (up to 8.5GB for Double Layer) and mail it by snail mail.

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Dumb me! Yes, the file is 448, 944, 844 bytes, so megabytes, not gigabytes.

I have a free Google Drive, but I don’t think it’ll hold that much. I have no idea how big my MS One drive is because I’ve never used it. My ISP account limits how much I can mail to less than 5M, so that’s out. I do have have GMail, but have no idea how big a file I can mail.

I will see if I can simply copy the file to a CD. If so, problem solved! Thank you so much for catching my error.

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500 MB these days is nothing. I’ve never used Google Drive but I know if you have a gmail account you automatically have either 10 or 15 GB of free storage, some or most of which could be used in Google Drive.

I take care of a Windows 10 computer and it’s One Drive has a 5 GB storage for free.

I haven’t solved your problem but but I’d be amazed that your cloud storage – either from Google or MS – would be unable to handle 500 MB.

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areader,

Since you have Gmail, you also have 15GB of Google Drive cloud storage as part of your Google account. This will permit you to email a link to your file stored on Google Drive.

You can verify the space in your Google Drive by logging into your Gmail Inbox and scrolling to the bottom of the page, where you will see something like the following at the left side:

You can click the square with the embedded arrow to see the details of the Drive usage. From your Gmail session, you can go into your Drive by clicking the dotted square (Google apps) to the right of the gear icon at the top right of your page. From there, you can upload your file and share its link, using Google Help for the details.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Phil

P.S. BTW, the maximum Gmail attachment size is 20 MB.

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areader wrote:

it’s over an hour long and about 500G big.

It can’t be 500GB. It is probably 500MB.

If you use a cloud drive service : Microsoft OneDrive, Google drive.. you can upload the MP4 file and share with your friend.

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Thanks for repeating my post.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Alex5723

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There are different ways. You can email or use other programs but would have to split the file into smaller pieces with 7z or other programs depending on file size limit.

 

1. $$ -You could copy the file to a thumb drive or portable hard drive and send that but that cost money.
2. Free- You could use Skype or ICQ to send it. You would have to leave the computer online until it finished after split. No need to baby sit.
   • Limit 300MB-https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA34644/skype-file-sharing-file-types-size-and-time-limits#:~:text=If%20you%20send%20a%20file,secure%20and%20reliable%20cloud%20storage.
   • Limit 4GB https://icq.com/filetransfer/ua
3. Free-I am assuming like posters above that the file is 500MB. You would split the file into 20MB size pieces if your email provider has that limit which will be about 25 emails.
4. Free-If it is 500GB, than you would have to split it into 10GB and use this method that zdnet mentioned recently
   • How to send large files in Gmail — up to 10GB!
   • https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/work-life/how-to-send-large-files-up-to-10gb-in-gmail/
5. Free or $$-There are 8 other sites to consider (some are free others are pay)
   • https://www.raysync.io/news/8-best-ways-to-send-large-files-for-free/

 

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areader wrote:

I have a free Google Drive, but I don’t think it’ll hold that much.

The standard free Google Drive is usually 15GB, which is ample.

Copy the .MP4 file to the Public folder of Google drive then send your friend a link to the file.

I find the web interface to be easier to use than the client app. In the web interface, click on the MP4 file once it’s uploaded to the Public area then select the Get link icon:

Paste the link into an email to your friend.

Hope this helps…

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It does. Thank you!

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When I had a similar issue, I found that editing the video to reduce its size was the best approach.

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Hi, realizing it takes some experimentation, though my go to for, shrinking video files is the free https://handbrake.fr/ utility.  There’s a lot more to this topic, and I’m no video expert, but after making sure my source is trimmed to the content that’s most important, reducing the size of the source (i.e. in PowerPoint, save the file but have it reduce the graphic files ahead of time, https://hdkb.clemson.edu/phpkb/article.php?id=146, then create the mp4), I then use Handbrake to reduce it further, then publish or send.

Take care,

IT Manager Geek

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WSRRCinci wrote:

When I had a similar issue, I found that editing the video to reduce its size was the best approach.

There’s this professional video editing software, Movavi, which I’ve been using. It’s great because it’s straightforward and beginner-friendly, ideal for just resizing a video. They have a trial period, so you might not even need to spend anything if it’s a one-time task. Also, consider cloud storage options or file transfer services, but keep an eye on their size limits or potential costs.

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