Optimize video for mobile apps

View Markdown

“Pocket” (a short-form video app like TikTok) needs video optimized for mobile — small files, fast starts, appropriate resolution for phone screens.

API

ittybit video \
  -i https://pocket-app.com/uploads/video.mov \
  --width 1080 \
  --codec h265 \
  --quality medium \
  --format mp4

const task = {
  input: 'https://pocket-app.com/uploads/video.mov',
  kind: 'video',
  options: {
    width: 1080,
    codec: 'h265',
    quality: 'medium',
    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://pocket-app.com/uploads/video.mov",
    "kind": "video",
    "options": {
        "width": 1080,
        "codec": "h265",
        "quality": "medium",
        "format": "mp4",
    },
}

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

TASK='{
  "input": "https://pocket-app.com/uploads/video.mov",
  "kind": "video",
  "options": {
    "width": 1080,
    "codec": "h265",
    "quality": "medium",
    "format": "mp4"
  }
}'

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

H.265 is natively supported on iOS and modern Android. 1080px wide is full resolution on most phone screens.

CLI

ittybit video \
  -i video.mov \
  -o mobile.mp4 \
  --width 1080 \
  --codec h265 \
  --quality medium

Resolution guide for mobile

Device class	Width	Notes
Budget phones	720	Saves bandwidth, still sharp
Standard phones	1080	Most common phone resolution
Tablets	1280	Good balance of quality and size

Mobile feed optimization

For infinite-scroll feeds, optimize for fast loading:

ittybit video \
  -i video.mov \
  -o feed.mp4 \
  --width 720 \
  --quality low \
  --fps 30

Lower quality + lower resolution = fast loads on cellular connections.

Thumbnail for the feed

ittybit image \
  -i video.mov \
  -o thumb.webp \
  --start 1 \
  --width 720

Load thumbnails first, then stream video when the user scrolls to it.