Video Options. The options available for video on the web are changing constantly. At the moment your options are divided between two types:

Transcription

1 Reel Delivery: Design for Media Distribution Spring 2015 Class 6 - (Video Basics) Video Options The options available for video on the web are changing constantly. At the moment your options are divided between two types: 1 - Compress the video yourself and upload it to your own server (such as i5.nyu.edu) on a page you have created for it there. With this method in our classroom you would use Adobe Media Encoder. Apple Compressor, Squeeze, or on of many free and paid video encoding applications such as the free Smart Converter are also available. OR 2 - Upload the video to an online video platform (OVP) site that will compress the video for you and upload a pointer to that file on a page you create on your own server (such as i5.nyu.edu). With this method you would use Vimeo, YouTube, Viddler, LongTail video s Bits On The Run There is a third option which is kind of a hybrid of both - using a player (such as JW Player ) to compress and present the video. There are pros and cons with both of these methods. OR (reccommended) You can open your video in Quicktime 10, choose share, choose your OVP, and upload directly from there. It seems to work fine. Page 1 of 5

2 Pros more control over compression Compressing the video yourself Cons difficult to master difficult to make viewable on different devices (adaptive streaming) Uploading the video to an Online Video Platform (OVP) Pros easy to implement and master easy to make viewable on different devices (adaptive streaming) Cons less control as YouTube and Vimeo make further changes This being said, there exceptions to most points made - I recommend uploading the video to a site like Vimeo) that will compress it for you. General parameters if you are compressing your own video The constant here is using the H.264 video codec which will show video on most computers as well as Apple idevices which do not use Flash. Basically you need to figure out the best resolution, data rate, and H.264 encoding parameters for your video(s). (Optimal) Settings generally used by YouTube and Vimeo If uploading to Vimeo or YouTube you should export your video from Quicktime 7 first using these parameters: Page 2 of 5

3 Video Compression Guidelines for Vimeo and YouTube For Vimeo The following and more can be found at: Video Codec: H.264 A codec is the format in which your video will be encoded. Vimeo accepts most major video codecs, but for best results we recommend using H.264. If you re uploading High Definition (HD) video, choose the High Profile H.264 setting instead of Main Profile. Advanced H.264 settings: To make your uploads extra smooth, choose the following advanced settings whenever possible. Closed GOP CABAC (to reduce your file size) Here are some codecs that will not work on Vimeo: G2M2, G2M3, Canopus HQ. Frame rate: 24, 25, or 30 FPS (Constant) Vimeo recommends uploading with frame rates of 24 (or ), 25, and 30 (or 29.97). If you know the frame rate of your footage, it's best to encode your final video at the same frame rate. However, if your footage exceeds 30 FPS (frames per second), you should encode your video at half that frame rate. For example, if you shot at 60 FPS, you should encode your final video at 30 FPS. If you're uncertain what frame rate you shot at, set your frame rate to either "Current" or 30 FPS. If there is an option for keyframes, choose the same value you used for frame rate. Important: Always choose "constant" frame rate instead of "variable" frame rate. Bit rate Bit rate (also known as data rate) controls the visual quality of the video and its file size. The rate is most often measured in kilobits per seconds (kbit/s). If your video editing software gives you the option, choose a variable bit rate and set the target to at least 2,000 kbit/s for standard definition (SD) video; 5,000 kbit/s for 720p HD video; or 10,000 kbit/s for 1080p HD video. Quality Bitrate (kbit/s) SD 2,000 5, p 5,000 10, p 10,000 20,000 Resolution Common resolutions for SD video include 640 x 480 px (4:3 aspect ratio) and 640 x 360 px (). HD video is usually formatted at 720p (1280 x 720 px) or 1080p (1920 x 1080 px). Format Resolution Standard Definition (SD) 4:3 aspect ratio Page 3 of 5

4 640 x 480 px Standard Definition (SD) 640 x 360 px 720p HD Video 1280 x 720 px 1080p HD Video 1920 x 1080 px Audio Codec: AAC-LC (Advanced Audio Codec) For best results, we recommend using AAC-LC (low complexity) for the audio codec. Data rate: 320 kbit/s For best results, encode your audio at constant rate of 320 kbit/s. Sample rate: 48 khz For best results, set your audio sample rate to 48 khz. If your working setting is already less than or equal to 48 khz, leave it as is. For YouTube the following and more can be found at: Recommended bitrates, codecs, and resolutions, and more Container:.mp4 No Edit Lists (or you may lose AV sync) moov atom at the front of the file (Fast Start) Audio Codec: AAC-LC Channels: Stereo or Stereo Sample rate 96khz or 48 khz Video Codec: H.264 Progressive scan (no interlacing) High Profile 2 consecutive B frames Closed GOP. GOP of half the frame rate. CABAC Variable bitrate. No bitrate limit required, though we offer recommended bit rates below for reference Chroma subsampling: 4:2:0 Frame rates Frame rates should match the source material. For example, content shot in 24fps should be encoded and uploaded at 24fps. Content recorded at 30fps should be uploaded at 30fps. Con- Page 4 of 5

5 tent shot in 720p60, should be uploaded at 720p60. Content at 1080i 60, should be deinterlaced, going from 60 interlaced fields per second to 30 progressive frames per second before uploading. Bitrates Standard quality uploads Type Video Bitrate Mono Audio Bitrate Stereo Audio Bitrate 5.1 Audio Bitrat 2160p (4k) Mbps 128 kbps 384 kbps 512 kbps 1440p (2k) 10 Mbps 128 kbps 384 kbps 512 kbps 1080p 8,000 kbps 128 kbps 384 kbps 512 kbps 720p 5,000 kbps 128 kbps 384 kbps 512 kbps 480p 2,500 kbps 64 kbps 128 kbps 196 kbps 360p 1,000 kbps 64 kbps 128 kbps 196 kbps High quality uploads for creators with enterprise quality internet connections Type Video Bitrate Mono Audio Bitrate Stereo Audio Bitrate 5.1 Audio Bitrate 1080p 50,000 kbps 128 kbps 384 kbps 512 kbps 720p 30,000 kbps 128 kbps 384 kbps 512 kbps 480p 15,000 kbps 128 kbps 384 kbps 512 kbps 360p 5,000 kbps 128 kbps 384 kbps 512 kbps Resolutions YouTube uses players. If you are uploading a non-16:9 file, it will be processed and displayed correctly as well, with pillar boxes (black bars on the left and right) or letter boxes (black bars at the top and bottom) provided by the player. If you want to fit the player perfectly, encode at these resolutions: 2160p: 3840x p: 2560x p: 1920x p: 1280x p: 854x p: 640x p: 426x240 The YouTube player automatically adds black bars so that videos are displayed correctly without cropping or stretching, no matter the size of the video or the player. For example, the player will automatically add pillarboxing to 4:3 videos in the new 16:9 widescreen player size. If the player is re-sized (i.e. when embedded on another website), the same process takes place so that 16:9 videos are letterboxed when the player is sized to 4:3. Similarly, anamorphic videos will be automatically letterboxed when shown in either 16:9 or 4:3 sized players. The player can only do this if the native aspect ratio of the video is maintained. You can adjust the fit of your video in our player after uploading your video by using formatting tags. If letterboxing is added to a video before it is uploaded (i.e. in the case of creating a 4:3 video from a 16:9 master), the widescreen player will add pillarbox bars too, resulting in black bars all around the video (windowboxing) and a bad viewing experience (see the diagram below). Page 5 of 5