CRF Basics: Picking the Right Quality Level

Updated: 12/19/2025

CRF Basics

Featured Videos

FFmpeg in 100 Seconds
YouTube 1080p CRF Quality Comparison

What CRF means

Lower CRF = higher quality, larger size
Typical range 18–28
Visual quality vs file size trade‑off

Practical choices

Social: CRF ~23
Email: CRF ~28
Archive: CRF ~20

Tips

Preview short segments
Avoid extremely low CRF for web delivery
Combine with proper presets

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