Generate low-res proxy videos

View Markdown

“Oatmeal” (a meeting notes app like Granola) records hour-long calls. Users browse recordings in a list — they need tiny proxy videos that load instantly, not 2GB originals.

API

ittybit video \
  -i https://oatmeal-app.com/recordings/standup-2024-03-15.mov \
  --width 480 \
  --quality low \
  --format mp4

const task = {
  input: 'https://oatmeal-app.com/recordings/standup-2024-03-15.mov',
  kind: 'video',
  options: {
    width: 480,
    quality: 'low',
    format: 'mp4',
  },
};

const res = await fetch('https://api.ittybit.com/jobs', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.ITTYBIT_API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify(task),
});
const data = await res.json();

import requests

task = {
    "input": "https://oatmeal-app.com/recordings/standup-2024-03-15.mov",
    "kind": "video",
    "options": {
        "width": 480,
        "quality": "low",
        "format": "mp4",
    },
}

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.ittybit.com/jobs",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}"},
    json=task,
)
data = res.json()

TASK='{
  "input": "https://oatmeal-app.com/recordings/standup-2024-03-15.mov",
  "kind": "video",
  "options": {
    "width": 480,
    "quality": "low",
    "format": "mp4"
  }
}'

curl -X POST https://api.ittybit.com/jobs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ITTYBIT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$TASK"

A 480p low-quality MP4 is typically 90%+ smaller than the original. Fast to load, fine for scrubbing through.

CLI

ittybit video \
  -i standup.mov \
  -o proxy.mp4 \
  --width 480 \
  --quality low

Ultra-light preview

For thumbnail-like video previews in a grid:

ittybit video \
  -i standup.mov \
  -o preview.mp4 \
  --width 320 \
  --quality very_low \
  --fps 15

Reducing frame rate to 15fps drops the file size further. Good enough for hover previews.

Pair with a poster image

ittybit image \
  -i standup.mov \
  -o poster.webp \
  --start 3 \
  --width 480

Show the poster in the list, load the proxy on hover.