I have a bunch of my old recordings that are taking up space. Appreciate any suggestions for a good video compression app, ideally where I can compress videos up to a maximum size limit. I bought Permute but it doesn’t do a good job. Any other recommendations!
Have you tried Handbrake?
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+1 on Handbrake. Great app.
Now the more difficult question, what are the “best” settings for reducing file size while preserving video quality…
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Would like to know this as well…
And downloading Handbrake now
Video content has always been a space hog that can quickly fill any and all storage media you have available.
First tip is to properly cut and edit the footage into something you can easily digest and share. Export this to a new file, then delete the discarded bits from the cutting room floor. (Unless you know you will be reusing it for future projects.) A 4 minute highlight reel is much more valuable than 40 hours of unedited footage.
As codecs go, it seems that H.265/HEVC is the current hotness. Probably comes with plenty of options though, so Google for those.
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I have a general tip when testing things like this.
Rather than grabbing some lengthy large file and attempting various compression settings for testing - which can take a long time, I would generally grab a one minute section of the video (that might have some complex action – Good for testing) - and make it as a test file.
Then, you can try various compression settings and save them each - then compare the results for your best choice.
Also, depending on the importance of your project, you might consult various forums of video professionals in addition to the good people here.
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Pied Piper has some amazing “middle out” compression technology. 
I wish they would continue that one, it was so fun 
“The point is, I learned Ruby on Rails over a weekend when I was 17.” “All right, I’m gonna start compiling Varnish to cache the manifest.”
Top series, really.
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Been slowly re-watching it and it is still just so damn funny. And I probably am not catching half of the tech/coding related jokes they drop.
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Not a bad idea at all. I’m done watching Big Bang Theory and time to revise my Silicon Valley episodes
This is a relatively less known app, and seems to do a good job. it’s fairly priced with a one time purchase. On most videos, I can achieve between a 30% to 90% reduction, depending upon how much shift in quality I can accept. Simple to use and fast performance