How Should You Compress an Online Course Video?
Course videos often combine a talking-head shot with screen recording, and the screen content frequently includes small text, code, or diagrams — far more sensitive to compression artifacts than natural footage.
Why course videos more easily end up "looks fine, text unreadable"
The eye tolerates compression artifacts on natural footage (faces, scenery) fairly well, but is far more sensitive to regular text, code indentation, and diagram lines — the same compression strength that looks completely normal on scenic footage can leave small-font code in a screen recording too blurry to tell one variable name from another.
Suggested settings
| Content type | Suggested preset | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pure talking-head lecture | Balanced | Person-focused footage tolerates compression artifacts well |
| Screen recording / code walkthrough | High quality | Small text is very sensitive to compression artifacts |
| Diagram- or formula-dense footage | High quality | Thin lines and small fonts easily turn into blocky artifacts under compression |
Process your files now
Open the video compressor
Your files are processed in the current browser and are not uploaded as article samples.