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• Video Compression and Editing Tips

  July 28th, 2008

  Compressing video is never simple. There are so many ways of doing it, dozens of software applications, several video codecs, countless combinations of settings. So what works best?

  I’ve been thinking about the optimal video compression settings this weekend and then coincidentally found all these great tutorials in my RSS feed reader this morning:

  First, I’d like to throw in some thoughts on quick pacing in your edit for the web from Kfir Pravda.

  Then, online video distribution company TubeMogul gives us their recomendation for optimal compression settings based on their research.

  And finally, some additional thoughts on compression from News Videographer blog - though they do add an additional step of converting to Flash which is unnecessary for all video sites, including ours, since we do that for you online.

  For the record, the compression settings I typically use for uploading my work are:

  • File format: .mov
  • Video codec: h.264
  • Keyframe: every 24 frames
  • Bit-rate: 5000 kb/s - 7500 kb/s (this number will have greatest impact on file size, go much smaller - 500-1500 - for lower quality, but quicker upload times)
  • Resolution: 16:9 - 720×405 (or 480×270 - sometimes smaller is better)
  • De-Interlace Source Video: ALWAYS
  • Audio codec: AAC or MP3
  • Sample Rate: 48.8kHz
  • Bit Rate: 160-192 kbps

  What are your favorite settings? Feel free to discuss below and share what works best for you.

  [UPDATE: more compression tips. Here's some from Nalts and a few on Squidoo.]

  Tags: how to, video, compression, tips, editing

  This entry was posted by Mark Schoneveld on Monday, July 28th, 2008 at 2:45 pm and is filed under FAQ, poptent, resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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