Compressing a Video in iOS

compressing a video in iOS

I have figured it out, thanks to this question (Swift version): IOS Video Compression Swift iOS 8 corrupt video file

I have the objective C version. Here is the method:

 - (void)compressVideo:(NSURL*)inputURL
        outputURL:(NSURL*)outputURL
          handler:(void (^)(AVAssetExportSession*))completion  {
AVURLAsset *urlAsset = [AVURLAsset URLAssetWithURL:inputURL options:nil];
AVAssetExportSession *exportSession = [[AVAssetExportSession alloc] initWithAsset:urlAsset presetName:AVAssetExportPresetMediumQuality];
exportSession.outputURL = outputURL;
exportSession.outputFileType = AVFileTypeQuickTimeMovie;
exportSession.shouldOptimizeForNetworkUse = YES;
[exportSession exportAsynchronouslyWithCompletionHandler:^{
    completion(exportSession);
  }];
}

And calling the method:

NSURL* uploadURL = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:
                     [NSTemporaryDirectory() stringByAppendingPathComponent:@"temporaryPreview.mov"]];

[self compressVideo:self.movieURL outputURL:uploadURL handler:^(AVAssetExportSession *completion) {
    if (completion.status == AVAssetExportSessionStatusCompleted) {
        NSData *newDataForUpload = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:uploadURL];
        NSLog(@"Size of new Video after compression is (bytes):%d",[newDataForUpload length]);
    }
}];

This reduced the file size of my videos from 32 MB to 1.5 MB.

How to compress a video in swift?

I have looked at your code. Actually, you are compressing video in medium quality which will be around the same as the original video which you have. So, you have to change presetName in export session initialization as follow:

exportSession = AVAssetExportSession(asset: asset, presetName: AVAssetExportPresetLowQuality)

You can pass AVAssetExportPresetMediumQuality, So it's could be compressed as you expect.

There is the following list of format available to compress video.

1. Available from iOS 11.0

AVAssetExportPresetHEVCHighestQuality
AVAssetExportPresetHEVC1920x1080
AVAssetExportPresetHEVC3840x2160

2. Available from iOS 4.0

AVAssetExportPresetLowQuality
AVAssetExportPresetMediumQuality
AVAssetExportPresetHighestQuality
AVAssetExportPreset640x480
AVAssetExportPreset960x540
AVAssetExportPreset1280x720
AVAssetExportPreset1920x1080
AVAssetExportPreset3840x2160
AVAssetExportPresetAppleM4A

You can use above all format to compress your video based on your requirements.
I hope this will help you.

Swift - Compressing video files

This extension focuses on exporting it to a lower quality setting (in this case Medium) and uses an mp4 container, over the mov container favored by iOS. This can result in a loss of quality, but you can experiment with higher output settings and different formats as you work to fine tune your output.

extension PreviewVideoViewController: AVCaptureFileOutputRecordingDelegate {
    func fileOutput(_ output: AVCaptureFileOutput,
                    didFinishRecordingTo outputFileURL: URL,
                    from connections: [AVCaptureConnection],
                    error: Error?) {
        guard let data = try? Data(contentsOf: outputFileURL) else {
            return
        }

        print("File size before compression: \(Double(data.count / 1048576)) mb")

        let compressedURL = NSURL.fileURL(withPath: NSTemporaryDirectory() + UUID().uuidString + ".mp4")
        compressVideo(inputURL: outputFileURL as URL,
                      outputURL: compressedURL) { exportSession in
            guard let session = exportSession else {
                return
            }

            switch session.status {
            case .unknown:
                break
            case .waiting:
                break
            case .exporting:
                break
            case .completed:
                guard let compressedData = try? Data(contentsOf: compressedURL) else {
                    return
                }

                print("File size after compression: \(Double(compressedData.count / 1048576)) mb")
            case .failed:
                break
            case .cancelled:
                break
            }
        }
    }

    func compressVideo(inputURL: URL,
                       outputURL: URL,
                       handler:@escaping (_ exportSession: AVAssetExportSession?) -> Void) {
        let urlAsset = AVURLAsset(url: inputURL, options: nil)
        guard let exportSession = AVAssetExportSession(asset: urlAsset,
                                                       presetName: AVAssetExportPresetMediumQuality) else {
            handler(nil)

            return
        }

        exportSession.outputURL = outputURL
        exportSession.outputFileType = .mp4
        exportSession.exportAsynchronously {
            handler(exportSession)
        }
    }
}

IOS Video Compression Swift iOS 8 corrupt video file

This answer has been completely rewritten and annotated to support Swift 4.0. Keep in mind that changing the AVFileType and presetName values allows you to tweak the final output in terms of size and quality.

import AVFoundation

extension ViewController: AVCaptureFileOutputRecordingDelegate {
    // Delegate function has been updated
    func fileOutput(_ output: AVCaptureFileOutput, didFinishRecordingTo outputFileURL: URL, from connections: [AVCaptureConnection], error: Error?) {
        // This code just exists for getting the before size. You can remove it from production code
        do {
            let data = try Data(contentsOf: outputFileURL)
            print("File size before compression: \(Double(data.count / 1048576)) mb")
        } catch {
            print("Error: \(error)")
        }
        // This line creates a generic filename based on UUID, but you may want to use your own
        // The extension must match with the AVFileType enum
        let path = NSTemporaryDirectory() + UUID().uuidString + ".m4v"
        let outputURL = URL.init(fileURLWithPath: path)
        let urlAsset = AVURLAsset(url: outputURL)
        // You can change the presetName value to obtain different results
        if let exportSession = AVAssetExportSession(asset: urlAsset,
                                                    presetName: AVAssetExportPresetMediumQuality) {
            exportSession.outputURL = outputURL
            // Changing the AVFileType enum gives you different options with
            // varying size and quality. Just ensure that the file extension
            // aligns with your choice
            exportSession.outputFileType = AVFileType.mov
            exportSession.exportAsynchronously {
                switch exportSession.status {
                case .unknown: break
                case .waiting: break
                case .exporting: break
                case .completed:
                    // This code only exists to provide the file size after compression. Should remove this from production code
                    do {
                        let data = try Data(contentsOf: outputFileURL)
                        print("File size after compression: \(Double(data.count / 1048576)) mb")
                    } catch {
                        print("Error: \(error)")
                    }
                case .failed: break
                case .cancelled: break
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Below is the original answer as written for Swift 3.0:

extension ViewController: AVCaptureFileOutputRecordingDelegate {
    func capture(_ captureOutput: AVCaptureFileOutput!, didFinishRecordingToOutputFileAt outputFileURL: URL!, fromConnections connections: [Any]!, error: Error!) {
        guard let data = NSData(contentsOf: outputFileURL as URL) else {
            return
        }

        print("File size before compression: \(Double(data.length / 1048576)) mb")
        let compressedURL = NSURL.fileURL(withPath: NSTemporaryDirectory() + NSUUID().uuidString + ".m4v")
        compressVideo(inputURL: outputFileURL as URL, outputURL: compressedURL) { (exportSession) in
            guard let session = exportSession else {
                return
            }

            switch session.status {
            case .unknown:
                break
            case .waiting:
                break
            case .exporting:
                break
            case .completed:
                guard let compressedData = NSData(contentsOf: compressedURL) else {
                    return
                }

                print("File size after compression: \(Double(compressedData.length / 1048576)) mb")
            case .failed:
                break
            case .cancelled:
                break
            }
        }
    }

    func compressVideo(inputURL: URL, outputURL: URL, handler:@escaping (_ exportSession: AVAssetExportSession?)-> Void) {
        let urlAsset = AVURLAsset(url: inputURL, options: nil)
        guard let exportSession = AVAssetExportSession(asset: urlAsset, presetName: AVAssetExportPresetMediumQuality) else {
            handler(nil)

            return
        }

        exportSession.outputURL = outputURL
        exportSession.outputFileType = AVFileTypeQuickTimeMovie
        exportSession.shouldOptimizeForNetworkUse = true
        exportSession.exportAsynchronously { () -> Void in
            handler(exportSession)
        }
    }
}

iOS File input for videos, video compressing terminates when screen not active anymore

It is not possible to continue an action in the background when the browser is not active. The only way to do this would be to use a native app instead of a web app. The documentation for the File API on mobile devices states https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/File/Using_files_from_web_applications is going to be "further limited" on mobile devices.

The only way to continue an action in the background when the browser is not active would be to use a native app instead of a web app.

UIImagePickerController not compressing a video

It seems that the issue is within the simulator. I ran the app on my iPhone and it chooses and compresses the video without any problem.

Compressing a Video in iOS