Apple Internet Video Made Easy!
Now that I am done editing my video masterpiece, it may be time to output the video to a format necessary for the Internet. Uploading a video to YouTube is pretty easy. Making it look good is a bit of a challenge. Most online videos are plagued with artifacts, pixelations, and lag time (the latter is mostly dependent on my Internet connection). But I have a Mac, so I can make a fantastic looking video for the web using Final Cut Studio, iMovie, or Quicktime Pro.
Last time I heard, about 20% of the population has actually purchased a HDTV for their home. Yet everyone seems so content watching the poorest quality video on YouTube. Now that AppleTV has been released, a flood of similar products will probably hit the market. This will bridge the gap between online videos and television. It is time to start making online videos at a reasonable quality for both the Internet and TV.
I am going to make this easy by providing the settings necessary to output a fine looking video for the Internet with Final Cut Pro near the end of this post. This method can also be done with the Output/Share settings in Quicktime Pro or iMovie. It is important to note: All video editing applications created by Apple use Quicktime as a backbone. Every Apple video editing application basically outputs video using the screens below (written during the release of Final Cut Pro ver. 5.1.2, Quicktime ver. 7.1.3).
In video speak we want the following: A video with a 300 kbits/sec data rate, small file size, a resolution of 640×480, 22.050KHz AAC audio compression, few key frames, and high quality. I will elaborate on these points below for the beginner.
Data Rate
This is an extremely important concept to understand. Streaming video is really only available to those with a high speed connection to the Internet. 56k modems just don’t cut it. This is because streaming video needs to transfer at speeds higher than around 100 kilobytes per second, double that of a 56k modem. Basically, video needs a bigger pipe to fit through. Most high speed connections can transfer at speeds up to 700kbps. A poor high speed connection can transfer at around 100 kbps.
Most video we capture from a camera is extremely large in file size and quality. To make video suitable for the Internet, we need to “compress” the video to make it fit through the pipe we want.
In order to compress the video we need to choose a codec for it. A video codec is similar to the make of an automobile. There are various makes of cars out there: Audi, Ford, Subaru, Saab to name a few. They all have four wheels and can be driven by a person, but each has a distinct look and feel. Video comes in all shapes and sizes. DV, HD, MPEG2, H.264, for example. The latter is what we will be using, since H.264 is ideal for streaming video and was created by Apple.
Small File Size
All of the settings I explain in this tutorial are targeted to result in a video of the best quality / smallest file size. If the file size is small, this means the video can fit through the pipe we want quickly. This will prevent lag over the Internet, at the expense of quality. This solution will yield a good quality with a small file size.
640×480 Resolution
This is the Standard Definition of Television. 640 pixels across X 480 pixels down = Resolution. Anything smaller, when blown up on a television will create glitches and pixelation in the video. All videos on YouTube are 320×240, half that of a television set.
AAC Audio Compression
Audio compression is the same concept as video compression. We need to shrink the file size of the audio track by giving it a lower quality. There are many audio codecs out there. MP3 is the most famous audio codec. Do not use the default Integer (Big Endian). I’ve noticed audio will be slightly out of sync using it on YouTube. AAC works great and can be compressed to a sampling rate of 16.000 KHz and Bit rate of 24 kbps stereo to give us decent sound and small file size.
Keyframes
A keyframe, in regards to compression, is a frame with a complete image. To make the video have a smaller file size, there must be few key frames. More key frames, better the quality.
High Quality
There are two ways Quicktime will look at the video in order to compress it: Spatially and Temporally. Spatial Quality, meaning the depth of the pixels in each frame of video. A lower spatial quality means similar colors in each frame will start to blend together. Colors will be more distinct with a higher quality. Temporal Quality is the way pixels change from one frame to another. A low spatial quality is good for talking heads and video with very little movement. High spatial quality is suited for fast motion. Apple provides a Quality slider that controls both.
Read the Guidelines
Every video service has guidelines for submitting a video. There may be limits on file size and duration, even the codec. YouTube has two basic guidelines for uploading a video: The filesize must be no larger than 100MB and the duration may not exceed 10 minutes. When I upload to a video sharing site, the service will then process the video to it’s own specifications. YouTube will shrink the video to 320×240, but Google Video will retain the 640×480. So, just double check how the service handles the video. Final Cut Pro will give us a fantastic Online Video Master, that we can upload to any video sharing site or embed on a website with Quicktime.
How To
Every Apple video editing application uses the same method of exporting video via Quicktime. Below are the methods of reaching the above window in Final Cut Pro, iMovie HD, and Quicktime Pro.
Final Cut Pro
Go to File in the menu bar and Select Export -> Export using Quicktime Conversion.
iMovie HD
Go to Share in the menu bar and Select Quicktime from the drop down list.
Select Expert Settings in the Compress Movie For: menu
Quicktime Pro
Go to File in the menu bar and Select Export from the drop down list.
Now all the steps become exactly the same, no matter which application I am using. When the above window appears make sure Movie to Quicktime Movie is selected in the Export: menu.
Hit Options
The next window is a current overview of the export settings. The image below is what this window will look like when we have finished entering the settings.
Make sure Video, Audio, and Prepare for Internet Streaming are all checked.
Click Settings under the Video checkbox. The following window will appear. This is where we will apply the concepts we just learned.
H.264 is the best codec for Internet Video. Select H.264 in the Compression Type: drop down menu.
Under Key Frames: Select Every and Enter 1000 in the frames field. The higher the number I enter, means lower the quality and smaller file size.
We can restrict the “Data Rate” of the video. Select Restrict to and Enter 300 in the kbits/sec field.
This is a very important tip: Never slide the Quality slider below Medium! The video will just fall apart. Slide the Quality to High. The Quality I just set was the Spatial Quality. To adjust the Temporal Quality, Hold Down Option and use the Slider. If my video has little movement, I can turn the Temporal Quality to Low. If my video has a lot of movement, slide the Temporal Quality to High.
Select Faster encode (Single-pass). I can select best quality, but usually I am in a rush to get an Internet video online, so I opt for the faster encode. The file size may grow with best quality.
Click OK. Now I return to the Movie Settings window. Select Size… under the Video check box.
In Dimensions: Select 640×480 VGA. Check Deinterlace Source Video.
Click OK. Now I return to the Movie Settings window again. Select Settings… under the Audio check box.
Here I will lower the quality of the audio, allowing me to keep the file size of the output video small. In Format: Select AAC. Keep it Stereo (L R). Change the Target Bit Rate to 24. Select 16.000 from the Rate drop down menu.
Click OK. Now I return to the Movie Settings window for the last time.
Double check that all the settings match with the image above of the Movie settings window. Click OK and I will be directed back to the first screen I saw. Here I enter a name for the file and choose the destination to save it. Click Save and the export process will begin. This could take anywhere from a few minutes to hours depending on the length of the clip and the speed of my Apple Computer.
What did you learn in this post?
Or did it leave you with further questions?
Comment here to Ask Steve Blue!
Written by Steve Blue
steveblue@iuseapple.com
Dustin
Awesome tutorial, I’m using it right now. Thanks.
Apr 19th, 2007 9:05 am
Jake
I am trying to do this on iMovie HD and every time i do it is way over 100 MB I saw that thats what it said above but it was confusing since it explained it on all three programs. I am trying to put a movie on Youtube but i do not have the H.264 compression type, is that just for final cut pro and quicktime pro, or is it for iMovie too? Am i reading this wrong?
If you could help me out that’d be great.
Apr 19th, 2007 1:20 pm
steveblue
Jake,
The first step in the tutorial is the only one that is different in all three applications. The second step is Hit Options.
So, for iMovie :
Go to Share in the menu bar and Select Quicktime from the drop down list.
Select Expert Settings in the Compress Movie For: menu
Every Apple computer has the H.264 codec since the release of Quicktime 6.
You must set the codec in the Compression Type: in the Standard Video Compression settings window.
Apr 22nd, 2007 2:23 pm
Andrew
Steve,
I tried this and was skeptical when the 5-minute video I’d created in Final Cut Pro HD that I’d been trying to reduce to less than 100 MB ended up as 12 MB! But I uploaded it and it works fine…better, in fact, than some of the direct Quicktime renderings that were considerably larger. Thanks very much for the information! You are truly a vid-guru!
Apr 24th, 2007 5:04 pm
Jake
got it now, thanks.
Apr 28th, 2007 1:45 pm
steveblue
Jake, I am happy everything worked out. If you have any questions, feel free to post another comment or email me directly at steveblue@iuseapple.com. If anyone else needs a different explanation, or a specific question please email me.
Apr 29th, 2007 10:45 am
hans
i wouldn’t set the sample rate as low as 16kHZ
I would rather set it to mono and use 32kHz, or better 44 kHz.
because the audio is a relative small part of the filesize
May 11th, 2007 6:54 am
G
Thank you for such a well written tutorial! I was about to throw a basket of fruit across the room because I simply couldn’t upload my imovie onto youtube. You’re simplicity and straightforwardness spared me the tantrum. not only that, but I actually understood why it was that I had to change the settings
Thanks again! Keep up the great work.
Sincerely,
G
May 23rd, 2007 7:36 pm
Deryn
Thanks for this info. Everything else I found was about making the file as small as possible, but then the quality was bad. This worked very well.
Jun 3rd, 2007 5:00 pm
Pip
“You must set the codec in the Compression Type: in the Standard Video Compression settings window.”
Hey this may sound like a stupid question but where can i access this window? I’ve tried looking everywhere but i can’t seem to find it :/
Jun 5th, 2007 4:06 am
steveblue
Pip,
Did you find the Movie Settings window like in the image above?
Click the Settings… button under video and it will whisk you away to the Standard Video Compression Settings window.
Jun 6th, 2007 6:04 am
Alison
thanks so much for this tutorial, i just uploaded my first video to Facebook! I’m now experimenting with the setting and trying to get better quality.. my video is only like 16MB after exporting it using your tutorial, but i’m allowed up to 100MB. one thing i tried is on the compressor quality slider, i held down ‘option’ and it did indeed change to say ‘temporal’, but won’t allow me to move the slider from medium to high. why is this?
Jun 24th, 2007 11:25 am
steveblue
Alison,
First of all, I think it is great you are uploading videos to the internet. This medium empowers you to do what only television stations could do a short while ago. Isn’t it simply amazing?
But beware, if you are a college student posting videos of your friends puking all over the Azalea bushes after a frat party, think about their future first. What goes on the Internet stays on the Internet. Internet videos work like a virus and will be copied and replicated. Companies are increasingly searching for potential applicants on MySpace and FaceBook.
But an answer to your question:
If you set the Data Rate: to variable you can then change the quality sliders. But since you have restricted the Data Rate to a specific value of 300 kbps via this tutorial, the slider is unavailable. Once you set the data rate to variable, you can change the quality sliders. It’s a trade off, since setting the Data Rate to variable will not guarantee a consistent quality throughout the video. But you can still give the encoder an idea of how nice you want the video to look by changing the quality sliders.
This deserves a bit of an explanation. The Data Rate is how big of a pipe the video needs to stream through. The quality is then how the encoder manipulates the pixels in the video to fit through the pipe.
So, when we give Quicktime a value like 300 kbps or 500 kbps, it assumes that the quality should fit into that pipe and does the sliders for us.
But when we set the data rate to variable, we then can give Quicktime a ballpark estimate of what the data rate will be by changing the quality.
Jul 9th, 2007 5:45 am
Kate
Wow! That was incredibly helpful! I really appreciate it.
Jul 25th, 2007 9:17 am
Kerry
Steve, brilliant. Thanks. I’ve been looking, reading and testing all night… now it’s done. I’ve got quality video, reasonable sound and a small file size. It did help to read the ‘technobabble’ on all those other sites as I now understand the why and wherefore, but none offered your easy-to-follow steps.
Sep 16th, 2007 9:22 am
Kerry
I’m back. Interesting, I experimented and got an unexpected result. Following your steps the first time, the result was good - 5.7mb for 3:06 mins clip. I did this: H.264; Fr.rate = current; KeyFr = 60; Restricted D.rate = 300; Best Q encoding (m/pass). AAC stereo L/R; 16kHz; 24 bitr.
I aimed for a smaller file size so I trimmed some content - the result looks better and the audio is still reasonable, but the file has grown to 6.78mb for 2:52 mins. Why?
The new settings I tried: H.264; Fr.rate = 15; KeyFr = 60; Rest.D.rate = 300; Fast encoding (single). AAC mono; 16kHz; 24 bitrate.
I tried the above mono sound settings again, this time keeping Fr.rate to current. Result 6.9mb.
I don’t understand something.
Sep 16th, 2007 8:48 pm
steveblue
Kerry,
Always keep the framerate to current, anything below 18 fps can become noticeably choppy. Have you checked the resolution of the video? Is it the same? Higher dimensions (ex. 640 x 480) means more pixels = more data. Also, is the new video deinterlaced?
Anything below 100mb for upload to different sites is acceptable, as long as you have the internet connection to transfer large files. Remember, filesize is not the most important measure of a clip’s quality. It really depends on how it appears on screen.
Sep 17th, 2007 7:52 am
Jenna
Steve,
I used this method and it did a great job with reducing the file size but I’m having a hard time getting rid of the “blocky” look my video has. Anything you can tell me so the picture is more clear? Thanks in advance!
Jenna
Oct 31st, 2007 5:33 pm
steveblue
Jenna-
Try tweaking rhe Quality slider or raise the Data Rate (sometimes I raise it from 300kbps to 500kbps successfully). Any video with a lot of motion will succomb to the compression.
Steve
Nov 1st, 2007 6:17 am
Jenna
Steve,
I tried this and still I get a picture that has the digitized blocks. Could it be the quality of my tape? Or the the speed of my internet? It looks fine when I play it on my desktop, but once on youtube it looks blocky. Sorry for all the questions, I really appreciate your help.
Jenna
Nov 1st, 2007 7:46 pm
jerry
just a question….when you output the vid at 640X480 and its blocky……will the blocks go away when they recompress it at 320×240???
thanks
Feb 22nd, 2008 7:04 pm
steveblue
Jerry, no the blocks (also called artifacts) will not disappear. Re export the clip 640×480, but turn up the quality. If the source footage you used has the same kind of artifacts, I don’t know of a way to clean them up. What you are speaking about is caused by the compression of the video. If the video is compressed too much, colors blend together, creating the blocks you see.
Feb 22nd, 2008 7:28 pm
Lynne
Awesome! I’ve been searching everywhere for an answer. This was perfect, thanks!
Mar 7th, 2008 9:21 am
alex
im really ecxited about this cos this seems to be the best site to get the right knowledge-however im still frustrated i just followed the exact procedings(exporting from fcp 4.1) to memory stick -themn mem stick to facebook on a pc -facebook just keeps sayin it wont recognise. i just changed the rate for the audio and this time its takin 30 mins to export.im a documentory film maker whose made a few films have realized that i need to get web savvy cos the more u know about all the media functions the easier things r -yet i spent three hrs tryin to get this on the net -im gettin wound up!
Mar 24th, 2008 4:02 pm
Alex
got it working in the end mate -many thanks.i closed fcp and imported into imovie instead -just got my panda rap vid on my facebook -u can check it out if u like-panda rap on Alex halls facebook -many thanks -most of us r screwed without the good knowledge of people like ureself.im an experienced editor yet new to the net publishing game-many thanks
Mar 25th, 2008 2:56 pm