I recently imported a few personal videos I had on VHS or video 8mm tapes using Roxio Easy VHStoDVD equipment and software.

But here's the thing: the files are in .mpg format, very large, and I am wondering how I could possibly reduce them.

I tried placing them in an After Effects or Premiere Pro timeline to export in a mp4/H.264 file, but neither AE nor PP would understand the file.

I opened one of them with QuickTime, thinking the Export feature might work, but it was incredibly slow and would have taken me several weeks to get it all done.

I'm looking for a solution that can be quick (or even batched) and that would output a H.264 / mp4 file - ideally somewhere around 5-10 Mbps and deinterlaced.

On a Mac.

I recently imported a few personal videos I had on VHS or video 8mm tapes using Roxio Easy VHStoDVD equipment and software onto a Mac.

But here's the thing: the files are in .mpg format, very large, and I am wondering how I could possibly reduce them.

The encoding containers are:

Video Format: MPEG-2 Video

Audio Format: MPEG Layer 2, 48000 Hz

I tried placing them in an After Effects or Premiere Pro timeline to export in a mp4/H.264 file, but neither AE nor PP would read the file properly.

I opened one of them with QuickTime, thinking the Export feature might work, but it was incredibly slow and would have taken me several weeks to get it all done.

I'm looking for a solution that can be quick (or even batched) and that would output a H.264 / mp4 file - ideally somewhere around 5-10 Mbps and deinterlaced.

When using Handbrake, the files coming out are sometimes larger than the original files, and Handbrake doesn't allow cropping black letterbox bars on the sides (not necessary but would be a plus).

I recently imported a few personal videos I had on VHS or video 8mm tapes using Roxio Easy VHStoDVD equipment and software.

But here's the thing: the files are in .mpg format, very large, and I am wondering how I could possibly reduce them.

I tried placing them in an After Effects or Premiere Pro timeline to export in a mp4/H.264 file, but neither AE nor PP would understand the file.

I opened one of them with QuickTime, thinking the Export feature might work, but it was incredibly slow and would have taken me several weeks to get it all done.

I'm looking for a solution that can be quick (or even batched) and that would output a H.264 / mp4 file - ideally somewhere around 5-10 Mbps and deinterlaced.

I recently imported a few personal videos I had on VHS or video 8mm tapes using Roxio Easy VHStoDVD equipment and software.

But here's the thing: the files are in .mpg format, very large, and I am wondering how I could possibly reduce them.

I tried placing them in an After Effects or Premiere Pro timeline to export in a mp4/H.264 file, but neither AE nor PP would understand the file.

I opened one of them with QuickTime, thinking the Export feature might work, but it was incredibly slow and would have taken me several weeks to get it all done.

I'm looking for a solution that can be quick (or even batched) and that would output a H.264 / mp4 file - ideally somewhere around 5-10 Mbps and deinterlaced.

On a Mac.