OT: MPEG Videos, Any way to reduce file sizes? Options

[Part Pricer]

My sister has a problem, so naturally it is now my problem. I know that some of you have some expertise in this area (Hi Sean (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wavey.gif) ) So, I'm hoping that you can provide me with some guidance. Here is the deal:

My sister is a casting director. She does movies, TV, commercials, all that stuff. However, her clients are producers that are located all over the world. I've come up with a system that gives her clients secure and easy access to auditions from aspiring talent (actors). The clients love the way it works. People working on the same project in different locations can login to a secure server, view the auditions, and leave their comments on each audition so that it is available to the rest of the team. That part is good.

The part that I am unsatisfied with is the size of the MPEG files that are generated and we are currently working with. My sister has two complete digital video studios in her office. I think that they just turn on the equipment, say "action" and then hit stop when they are done. The size of the files seems to average anywhere between 30 and 40 meg for short auditions.

Now, here comes my question. Is there any software that can optimize MPEG files to reduce the file size without losing much in the way of quality for the stuff that is being viewed over the Internet? We would still like to maintain the original files since they are all eventually burned to DVDs and archived.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks