Wanted to share a quick ffmpeg win. Grabbed Abbott Elementary S01E07 (the “Gifted Program” episode – peak Ava chaos). Original file was ~1.2 GB (H.264). Ran it through ffmpeg with libx265, CRF 28, kept original audio (copy) and subs.

Command I used: ffmpeg -i abbott.s01e07.mkv -c:v libx265 -crf 28 -c:a copy -c:s copy abbott.s01e07.small.mkv

ffmpeg -i abbott.s01e07.mkv -c:v libx265 -crf 28 -c:a copy -c:s copy output.mkv Janine’s optimism survived. Gregory’s awkward pauses remained crisp. Even Ava’s wardrobe textures held up. For sitcoms with limited fast motion, CRF 28 is a sweet spot.

Add -preset medium to balance speed vs. compression (default is medium anyway).