Before a video leaves your phone, Telegram lets you choose what size it should be. A minute of 4K is several hundred megabytes; the same minute at 480p is a fraction of that, and on a phone screen the difference is often invisible.
The slider that decides this is in the media editor and most people never move it. Knowing when to drop it — and when not to — is the difference between a clip that arrives in seconds and one that is still uploading when the conversation has moved on.
What you will be able to do
- check_circle Change the resolution of a video before sending, and see what it will cost.
- check_circle Choose a setting from the screen it will be watched on, not from habit.
- check_circle Send something untouched when the quality is the point.
- check_circle Understand why a compressed video starts playing before it has finished downloading.
The estimated file size updates as the slider moves, which is the only number on this screen worth reading.
tune The work happens on your phone
Choosing a smaller size re-encodes the video before it is uploaded. That takes a moment of your device's time and then saves a great deal of network time, which is a good trade on any connection that is not fibre.
It also changes what the recipient gets. They receive the smaller version and nothing else — there is no original hiding behind it to fetch later. That is the whole decision: you are choosing on their behalf, once, for everyone the clip is ever forwarded to.
Compressed videos also get their index written at the front of the file, which is why they begin playing almost immediately instead of after a full download. A video sent untouched as a file does not have that arranged for it and behaves like a download.
Choose from the screen it will be watched on
The right setting is not about your video. It is about where it is going to be looked at, and by whom.
speed The smallest settings
play_circle The middle of the range
image The highest compressed setting
folder Not compressed at all
Default to the middle, drop it for records and screen captures, and leave compression entirely only when the file has work to do afterwards.
settings Using the control
- Attach the video The paperclip, then pick the clip.
- Open the quality control In the editor above the preview. It shows the resolution and an estimated size.
- Read the estimate, not the label The number of megabytes is what actually decides whether this is a good idea.
- Trim first if you can Cutting five seconds off each end saves more than a step on the slider, and improves the clip.
- Send The re-encoding happens on the device, then the upload starts.
This page is what leaves your phone. The curriculum step is the other direction: what arrives on it automatically, separate rules for mobile, Wi-Fi and roaming, and how to keep a data allowance intact without missing anything.
At a glance
- 1Pick the quality
Choose a resolution before sending and see the size.
- 2Match the screen
Phones need less than a TV.
- 3Send untouched
Send as a file when quality is the point.
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