What Does Each Option in the Custom Compression Panel Do?
The three presets (max compression / balanced / high quality) cover most cases, but if you need more precise control over quality or size, the custom panel lets you adjust CRF, encoding speed (preset), and whether to keep the audio track independently.
The three core options in the panel
| Option | What it controls | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| CRF | The quality target | Lower = better quality, larger file |
| Encoding speed (preset) | How much time the encoder spends searching for a more efficient encoding | Slower = smaller file at the same CRF, but longer processing |
| Remove audio track | Whether audio is kept | Removing it saves whatever share the audio track took up |
When to reach for custom instead of a preset
If none of the three presets (CRF 18/23/30) quite fits — the balanced tier's quality is fine but you want it a bit smaller, or high quality's size is acceptable but you want a bit more sharpness — the custom panel lets you dial in a precise value between them instead of being limited to three fixed options.
Another common case is a video that genuinely doesn't need sound (a pure background loop, a silent animated demo) — removing the audio track in the custom panel saves that share of the file, and there's no need to agonize over what audio bitrate to pick.
Test on a short clip before committing
There's no single "correct" custom setting that fits every piece of content — the same CRF value can produce very different size and visual results depending on the material. Before adjusting, test on a short representative clip that includes fast motion and dark detail, and confirm you're happy with it before processing the full video — that way you don't discover a setting was wrong only after processing the whole thing.
- Test on a small clip before processing the full video, especially for long or important footage.
- If unsure how far to adjust, start from the value the closest preset uses and tweak from there rather than guessing from scratch.
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