Video Compression Tips

**remember to add compression markers before & after EVERY transition**

Vimeo Compression suggestions:

• Codec

  Choose H.264 for the video codec. Choose AAC for the audio codec.

• Frame rate

  This is usually 30, in Europe it’s usually 25. If there is an option that says “current” just go with that. Please note that Vimeo converts all HD videos up to 24 frames per second for optimum playback performance.

• Keyframes

  Every 30 frames. This is basically how often the compressor references your uncompressed video.

• Data rate

  1800 kbits/sec (for regular video) or 5000 kbits/sec (for high definition). Making this number higher will increase both quality and size.

• Size

  640×480 (for regular video) or 1280×720 (for high definition). Please note, 1440×1080 videos will not be widescreen on Vimeo, you must compress them as 1280×720.

• Deinterlace

  Yes. If you do not deinterlace, you will often get weird-looking horizontal lines in your video.

• Sound sample rate

  44.100 kHz

• Audio quality

  You want audio with a bit rate of 128 kbps. You can set your audio to really good quality without increasing file size too much.

Those are the basic principles that will apply to almost all of the video programs out there. Eugenia, an active member in the Vimeo community, has made some tutorials for specific programs that you can view here and here.

YouTube Compression Setting:

YouTube can accept almost any video format for upload, but for most users we have found the following settings give the best results.

• Video Format: H.264, MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 preferred
• Aspect Ratio: Native aspect ratio without letterboxing (examples: 4:3, 16:9)
• Resolution: 640×360 (16:9) or 480×360 (4:3) recommended
• Audio Format: MP3 or AAC preferred
• Frames per second: 30
• Maximum length: 10 minutes (recommend 2-3 minutes)
• Maximum file size: 1 GB

Note: The H.264 version formatted for Vimeo did not look good on YouTube.  MPEG-4 looked better.

Podcasting with Podpress:

*iTunes hates the H.264 format for podcasting.  We use MightySeek for podcasting and they claim support for all of the following file types:

Automatic Media player for MP3, OGG, MP4, MOV, FLV, SWF, ASF, WMV, AVI, YouTube, and more, with inline and Popup Window support.

DVD Authoring:

Remember no compression is necessary!  Export–>Quicktime Movie.