What's up with youtube at DVinfo.net

David Allen Smith · December 17th, 2008, 12:30 AM

I tried to download a video on to youtube today and the results were atrocious. The video was shot in 720p 30. widescreen exported out of FCP.

This is the conversion process I used.

Went to File, Export, and chose Using Quicktime Conversion. Format Quicktime movie. Clicked settings, and under compression type I selected H264

Size. Clicked the dimensions tab and clicked on CUSTOM. Exported at 480 X 360,

Set letterbox.

Final Cut Pro Web Export Audio

Encoded the audio. Made sure Sound is checked and clicked on settings. Under format select IMA 4:1.

Under rate selected 22.05

In the past these settings resulted in a very good quality download but today they were very bad. I went back and reviewed an older video that I had downloaded a while back and it appears to have lost a substantial amount of quality from what it was when I originally downloaded it.

Has youtube reformatted? I did notice the viewer window is larger then what it had been in the past. Did youtube reformat it for a larger screen thus rendering these settings obsolete?

Does anybody have any suggestions as to what I can do to remedy this problem?

Perrone Ford · December 17th, 2008, 12:41 AM

Youtube is now HD. Upload at 1280x720.

David Allen Smith · December 17th, 2008, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perrone Ford

Youtube is now HD. Upload at 1280x720.

So is that what I need to convert at?

1280x720 instead of 480x360

Forgive my ignorance I am new at this.

Karel Bata · December 17th, 2008, 06:12 AM

Better still 640x360 and you will get HQ. Upscaling to HD is a waste of time for something that is 480x360. This is an example of HQ quality: http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?swf...D18&fs=1&hl=en

Like my video you have one that is non-widescreen. You'll have to export with 'maintain aspect ratio' and 'letterbox' function selcted to add the black panels on the side to fill out the space, otherwise the video will get stretched horizontally. And set keyframes to auto and best quality.

The file for the video above was over 300MB...!

Perrone Ford · December 17th, 2008, 08:07 AM

He said he converted the video to that small size. I doubt it was the original video size.

Karel Bata · December 17th, 2008, 08:20 AM

Ah yes. My turn to be told to read things more carefully.

I guess it depends on your target audience. If it's a video intended for family and friends I'd avoid the HD route and go HQ.

In fact I fail to see the point of posting in HD for most users when HQ is available. I still get folk telling me they can't watch something I posted in SD on Vimeo!

BTW that doesn't mean I think it's pointless shooting in HD. The video above was shot in 35mm and the quality really shows.

December 17th, 2008, 12:30 AM	#1
David Allen Smith Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: FTW Texas Posts: 77	What's up with youtube I tried to download a video on to youtube today and the results were atrocious. The video was shot in 720p 30. widescreen exported out of FCP. This is the conversion process I used. Went to File, Export, and chose Using Quicktime Conversion. Format Quicktime movie. Clicked settings, and under compression type I selected H264 Size. Clicked the dimensions tab and clicked on CUSTOM. Exported at 480 X 360, Set letterbox. Final Cut Pro Web Export Audio Encoded the audio. Made sure Sound is checked and clicked on settings. Under format select IMA 4:1. Under rate selected 22.05 In the past these settings resulted in a very good quality download but today they were very bad. I went back and reviewed an older video that I had downloaded a while back and it appears to have lost a substantial amount of quality from what it was when I originally downloaded it. Has youtube reformatted? I did notice the viewer window is larger then what it had been in the past. Did youtube reformat it for a larger screen thus rendering these settings obsolete? Does anybody have any suggestions as to what I can do to remedy this problem?

December 17th, 2008, 12:41 AM	#2
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	Youtube is now HD. Upload at 1280x720. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

December 17th, 2008, 06:12 AM	#4
Karel Bata Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London, Antarctica Posts: 199	Better still 640x360 and you will get HQ. Upscaling to HD is a waste of time for something that is 480x360. This is an example of HQ quality: http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?swf...D18&fs=1&hl=en Like my video you have one that is non-widescreen. You'll have to export with 'maintain aspect ratio' and 'letterbox' function selcted to add the black panels on the side to fill out the space, otherwise the video will get stretched horizontally. And set keyframes to auto and best quality. The file for the video above was over 300MB...! Last edited by Karel Bata; December 17th, 2008 at 07:30 AM.

December 17th, 2008, 08:07 AM	#5
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	He said he converted the video to that small size. I doubt it was the original video size. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

December 17th, 2008, 08:20 AM	#6
Karel Bata Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London, Antarctica Posts: 199	Ah yes. My turn to be told to read things more carefully. I guess it depends on your target audience. If it's a video intended for family and friends I'd avoid the HD route and go HQ. In fact I fail to see the point of posting in HD for most users when HQ is available. I still get folk telling me they can't watch something I posted in SD on Vimeo! BTW that doesn't mean I think it's pointless shooting in HD. The video above was shot in 35mm and the quality really shows. __________________ What are the Alternatives to YouTube?