Introduction
Digital Juice has produced an excellent video explaining Youtube. View it here. This is provided for information only, as the latest YT parameters are mentioned next.
There is a comprehensive Help section on the Youtube website here.
I also use Vimeo as my video host. The Youtube screen can get messy with ads and other movie links that it detracts from the experience. Vimeo, on the other hand, has a clean screen with far less "distractions". It also allows you to password protect your movies. Viewers do not need to have an account with Vimeo; all they need to do is enter the password you give them to view your movies. Neat.
Quality/Codecs
Why don't I use the MEP Youtube export function (File>Internet>Youtube...)? Because it doesn't work for me (MEP 14 can't log me on to Youtube), and also, it appears that you cannot control the encoding parameters for the file that you upload to Youtube.
The latest advice about codecs and quality from Youtube is shown here. Vimeo is similar.
Here is a summary, as I see the situation:
Codecs
Frame Size
Framerate
No change from the original eg 24, 25 or 29.97 FPS. Do not do "pulldown".
Quality/Bitrate
Maximum file size for Youtube is 2gb and 10 minutes.
The bitrate should be as high as you/your upload time will tolerate! The higher the better, but obviously it's going to take longer to upload.
You have various options for encoding your video for the Internet.
After a bit of research, I use the following:
MEP 14 Plus:
Overall, this method results in noticeably lower quality per mg than MEP 15 Plus Flash export. In other word's you need to upload much bigger files to achieve the same standard as MEP 15 Plus Flash files.
MEP 15 Plus:
Of interest is the relationship between the file size/bitrate and the end product from Youtube. Increasing the bitrate and therefore filesize does not increase the download time from Youtube. What it does do is increase the quality. So my suggestion is to keep the bitrates high (as high as you can while tolerating the slower upload times). This will maximise the Youtube quality.
Viewing
Youtube:
If you upload your movie to Youtube with a width of at least 480 pixels, you/others will be able to view it in High Quality depending on download speed. This significantly improves the video quality, as shown in these screen captures:
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Youtube standard quality 480x268 |
Youtube high quality 480x268 |
To view the High Quality version of a Youtube video (like the right-most screenshot above) that doesn't display automatically or doesn't have a "watch in high quality" link at the lower right of the player), add "&fmt=18" (without the quotes) to the end of the web address of the video.
To watch a Youtube video in High Definition, click the "watch in HD" link at the lower right corner of the player or if that isn't present, add "&fmt=22".
The speed of your Internet connection seems to determine whether you are presented with the "watch in high quality" or "watch in HD" options at the bottom of the player.
Procedure
MEP 14 Plus:
See this page.
MEP 15 Plus:
Choose File > Export Movie > Video as MPEG 4 (ALT+K). This screen will appear:
In the Presets dropdown list there are numerous profiles that you can use. If you're after HD (1280x720) or PAL, you can use one of these presets:
If you're an NTSC user wanting a non-HD preset, you'll notice there isn't a Flash option for 720x480 normal or HQ. No problem; just use the NTSC preset up the list a little:
As mentioned above, the tradeoff is between the size of your files for uploading verses final quality for viewing, so you need to experiment. Try the lowest option first (Flash ; you might be surprised by how good your video looks.
After you have selected your profile from the dropdown list, make sure the settings displayed are correct, in particular the Aspect Ratio. I have found that the presets, even though you choose 16:9 on the main export screen, do not change (resulting in a 4:3 file, despite what is shown on the main export screen) and this has to be done manually.
Next, click Advanced to check the settings:
Now click "Advanced video settings..." and then the "Main Settings" tab:
When happy, click OK twice to get back to the main export screen:
That's it. Export your movie and then upload it at your leisure.
Results
Vimeo: this 20 second movie was exported to Vimeo using the MEP 15 Plus MPEG-4 Flash PAL 720x576 preset (adjusted to 16:9). The file size for upload was 2.3mb.
Youtube: here's the same MEP 15 Plus Flash movie. The default view is not "HQ". Click the HQ button on the bottom right of the Youtube screen.
