FCP4 Compression settings for web? at DVinfo.net

John Harwood · December 9th, 2003, 12:26 PM

New user here. Latest movie (33 mins) for web, mostly interviews, minimal graphics. First go on std settings (Export to Quicktime movie) came out at 692mb (wow). Tried minimal settings and got to 10mb but v. small window and 10 fps (non-wow).
Any suggestions? I read the manual but its quite confusing with all the options.
Can one save as a Reel media file (they seem quite small in size)
Other ideas?
(plan to post to the web for people to download)

Ted Springer · December 9th, 2003, 12:43 PM

Try this:

Video:
Custom size:
320x240
(if PAL then this will not be the correct resolution. Whatever half of the full PAL resolution is is what you want.)
Sorenson Video 3
Millions of Colors
If NTSC 30 frames per second (maybe even try 15)
If PAL then 25 frames per second (or 12.5)
50% quality
Keyframe every 30 frames
Uncheck the "Limit data rate to" box

Sound:
IMA 4:1 (all the others are pretty horrible, especially Qdesign)
32.000 Hz
Mono (or stereo if ya want)

This will ensure compatibility with Quicktime 5 and even 4, I think. If you did MP4 video and audio, it wouldn't be much smaller in file size, if any.

PS - Real Video/Real Audio/Real Media is evil. Avoid like the plague.

John Harwood · December 9th, 2003, 12:57 PM

Thanks, I'll try that.
Yes, I'm in the PAL world.

Glenn Chan · December 9th, 2003, 01:03 PM

Without buying any special programs (i.e. Cleaner with Sorenson professional codecs) and just within Quicktime export, sorenson3 works best for video and mpeg4 works best for audio.

mpeg4 is best for audio I've found. Qdesign doesn't sound very good (you need the pro codec for good results) while IMA is big.

Keyframes you can probably set higher... like every 180 frames.

Other codecs that are good are:

divX (I think there's a mac version) - lots of resources for divX on PC... check out doom9.org

VP6 - see http://www.on2.com/vp6.php3#download They claim it's better than other major codecs, and it's probably true. You need to license this but you can try the personal version for free. Windoze only I think. People may have problems playing this back (it's not very popular).

Windows Media Player 9 - The previous codecs are trash, this one is actually good. You can encode this for free if you have a PC.

Real Video 9- The Real players are pretty evil, ESPECIALLY the real one player. However, Real Video 9 offers pretty good compression and you can get people to download "real Alternative" to play those files back.

Sorry I didn't tell you which codec is "best". If you try em all out you will definitely know. A lot of the time you have to fiddle around with settings. Export small chunks to save time (however, small chunks may not accurately predict the final file size).

Ted Springer · December 9th, 2003, 06:27 PM

If you want to ensure highest compatibility, I'd stick with Sorenson 3 with IMA sound. I don't think everybody has upgraded to QT6 yet, which is required to play back the MP4 audio. the specialty codec will have limited compatibility, and Windows Media 9 will only work on a PC.

By the way, how much does Cleaner cost? It comes with the professional Sorenson 3 and Qdesign codecs? Anyone have a link? My Google search turned up squat.

Glenn Chan · December 9th, 2003, 07:41 PM

For a large download, it can be reasonable to make people download and install the latest version of Quicktime. If you're not trying to make money then it's even more ok. Bandwidth considerations may be a factor (mpeg4 audio will save space).

2- Cleaner costs a lot- $600 online. You have to buy the sorenson and qdesign codecs seperately. I believe the fraunhofer mp3 codec (a pro mp3 codec, better than Lame mp3 and other free mp3 codecs) comes with Cleaner. Cleaner-encoded sorenson3 video will look a lot better than the free sorenson3 compression.

Ted Springer · December 10th, 2003, 03:06 AM

So I guess my next question would be: Can I buy the Sorenson and Qdesign codecs without Cleaner, or do I absolutely need cleaner for them to work?

Glenn Chan · December 10th, 2003, 11:00 AM

You can buy sorenson squeeze, which lets you encode sorenson3 video but not quite as well as Cleaner. I think just buying the sorenson3 pro codec will work too (but not as good as if you'd had squeeze or cleaner I believe).

For the best results with the sorenson3 codec, you want Cleaner + the pro version of the sorenson3 codec.

December 9th, 2003, 12:26 PM	#1
John Harwood Tourist Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: London UK Posts: 3	FCP4 Compression settings for web? New user here. Latest movie (33 mins) for web, mostly interviews, minimal graphics. First go on std settings (Export to Quicktime movie) came out at 692mb (wow). Tried minimal settings and got to 10mb but v. small window and 10 fps (non-wow). Any suggestions? I read the manual but its quite confusing with all the options. Can one save as a Reel media file (they seem quite small in size) Other ideas? (plan to post to the web for people to download)

December 9th, 2003, 12:43 PM	#2
Ted Springer Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Glendale CA Posts: 328	Try this: Video: Custom size: 320x240 (if PAL then this will not be the correct resolution. Whatever half of the full PAL resolution is is what you want.) Sorenson Video 3 Millions of Colors If NTSC 30 frames per second (maybe even try 15) If PAL then 25 frames per second (or 12.5) 50% quality Keyframe every 30 frames Uncheck the "Limit data rate to" box Sound: IMA 4:1 (all the others are pretty horrible, especially Qdesign) 32.000 Hz Mono (or stereo if ya want) This will ensure compatibility with Quicktime 5 and even 4, I think. If you did MP4 video and audio, it wouldn't be much smaller in file size, if any. PS - Real Video/Real Audio/Real Media is evil. Avoid like the plague.

December 9th, 2003, 12:57 PM	#3
John Harwood Tourist Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: London UK Posts: 3	Thanks, I'll try that. Yes, I'm in the PAL world.

December 9th, 2003, 01:03 PM	#4
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Without buying any special programs (i.e. Cleaner with Sorenson professional codecs) and just within Quicktime export, sorenson3 works best for video and mpeg4 works best for audio. mpeg4 is best for audio I've found. Qdesign doesn't sound very good (you need the pro codec for good results) while IMA is big. Keyframes you can probably set higher... like every 180 frames. Other codecs that are good are: divX (I think there's a mac version) - lots of resources for divX on PC... check out doom9.org VP6 - see http://www.on2.com/vp6.php3#download They claim it's better than other major codecs, and it's probably true. You need to license this but you can try the personal version for free. Windoze only I think. People may have problems playing this back (it's not very popular). Windows Media Player 9 - The previous codecs are trash, this one is actually good. You can encode this for free if you have a PC. Real Video 9- The Real players are pretty evil, ESPECIALLY the real one player. However, Real Video 9 offers pretty good compression and you can get people to download "real Alternative" to play those files back. Sorry I didn't tell you which codec is "best". If you try em all out you will definitely know. A lot of the time you have to fiddle around with settings. Export small chunks to save time (however, small chunks may not accurately predict the final file size).

December 9th, 2003, 06:27 PM	#5
Ted Springer Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Glendale CA Posts: 328	If you want to ensure highest compatibility, I'd stick with Sorenson 3 with IMA sound. I don't think everybody has upgraded to QT6 yet, which is required to play back the MP4 audio. the specialty codec will have limited compatibility, and Windows Media 9 will only work on a PC. By the way, how much does Cleaner cost? It comes with the professional Sorenson 3 and Qdesign codecs? Anyone have a link? My Google search turned up squat.

December 9th, 2003, 07:41 PM	#6
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	For a large download, it can be reasonable to make people download and install the latest version of Quicktime. If you're not trying to make money then it's even more ok. Bandwidth considerations may be a factor (mpeg4 audio will save space). 2- Cleaner costs a lot- $600 online. You have to buy the sorenson and qdesign codecs seperately. I believe the fraunhofer mp3 codec (a pro mp3 codec, better than Lame mp3 and other free mp3 codecs) comes with Cleaner. Cleaner-encoded sorenson3 video will look a lot better than the free sorenson3 compression.

December 10th, 2003, 03:06 AM	#7
Ted Springer Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Glendale CA Posts: 328	So I guess my next question would be: Can I buy the Sorenson and Qdesign codecs without Cleaner, or do I absolutely need cleaner for them to work?

December 10th, 2003, 11:00 AM	#8
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	You can buy sorenson squeeze, which lets you encode sorenson3 video but not quite as well as Cleaner. I think just buying the sorenson3 pro codec will work too (but not as good as if you'd had squeeze or cleaner I believe). For the best results with the sorenson3 codec, you want Cleaner + the pro version of the sorenson3 codec.