youtube massacres uploads

[DisMyMac]

Whenever I upload something to youtube (or facebook for that matter) their system re-processes my video into garbage... grainy, blocky, choppy motion. The video is kept in NTSC (29.97) from recording through export. It looks beautiful when exported and played in VLC.

Any tips on how to prevent this? If I upload a particular standard or fix some settings in youtube, will it skip re-processing my uploads?

 

[floh]

Whenever I upload something to youtube (or facebook for that matter) their system re-processes my video into garbage... grainy, blocky, choppy motion. The video is kept in NTSC (29.97) from recording through export. It looks beautiful when exported and played in VLC.

Any tips on how to prevent this? If I upload a particular standard or fix some settings in youtube, will it skip re-processing my uploads?

Not really. Youtube uses the H.264 codec, but even if you upload exactly how they want it to be (bitrate and everything), they will re-encode it in an automated process.

They have a site of what to do to get better quality video, but I think it won't be any news to you, if I judge you correctly from your post:
Youtube support site

I have not had such bad experiences though. Of course, the video suffers in quality (especially color grading), but it becomes pretty acceptable when you switch to youtube's HD-version, since they have a pretty good bitrate. Of course, the 360p version will look like crap... But in 1080p, it's okay (VLC is also worse than Quicktime in playback, by the way).

I think, vimeo has better encoders and looks nicer, but as far as I remember, they have a resolution limit of 720p, which might be enough for you...

 

[paolo-]

What bitrate are you sending it at? If time and bandwidth isn't an issue, send it at a ridiculously high bitrate. Since they re-encode it, if you send something that looks "okay" rather than amazing on your computer, you'll end up with crap. You want to encode at a high enough bit rate that you can't really see the difference locally so it comes as something okay on youtube.

Do check out vimeo, they're encoding isn't as harsh.

 

[DisMyMac]

Thanks, I'll try it.

Possibly my Flash Player is buggy, I just thought of that too. Hmmm...

 

[matteusclement]

What bitrate are you sending it at? If time and bandwidth isn't an issue, send it at a ridiculously high bitrate. Since they re-encode it, if you send something that looks "okay" rather than amazing on your computer, you'll end up with crap. You want to encode at a high enough bit rate that you can't really see the difference locally so it comes as something okay on youtube.

Do check out vimeo, they're encoding isn't as harsh.

VIMEO for the win!
Youtube is garbage.

Are you doing a 2 pass encode? what are you using to encode with? what is the original format?

 

[cgbier]

Vimeo offers 1080, but with the free account you are limited to 500MB and one HD video per week.

 

[nateo200]

Send the sites the highest bit rate possible based on overall file size and time limits...make sure the video is in H.264. high bit rate goes for audio but avoid audio formats other than PCM or AAC and make sure its down mixed into 2 channels (Use Dolby Pro Logic if you'd like to retain as much surround info).

 

[martinX]

Lazy man here: Export your movie as full quality (i.e. not MP4, not compressed with h.264, not resized, not nothing). Open in QT X. Share with YouTube...

 

[nateo200]

Lazy man here: Export your movie as full quality (i.e. not MP4, not compressed with h.264, not resized, not nothing). Open in QT X. Share with YouTube...

I may have missed the part about it saying it has the advantage of not being reencoded but fill me in? You do not ever get to "export your movie as full quality" until YouTube supports Apple ProRes and we all get 1Gbit internet connections. There is always going to be a compression factor, you just need to understand compression before you post.

 

[martinX]

You do not ever get to "export your movie as full quality"

You export as full quality from your NLE. It works for FCP, FCP X and iMovie. That's not too hard to understand is it? Then you use QT X to work out the details with YT. If you really want to, you can 'share' directly from them, but I prefer to have a full, self-contained movie to work from.

At the very least it would be a starting point for DisMyMac, since I have never ended up with "grainy, blocky, choppy motion" using this method. It also has the advantage of being really really easy to do.

Maybe I don't understand compression as well as you claim to (being the internet, anyone can claim to be an expert in anything), but at least I am trying to be helpful. There's no need to be rude or dismissive of someone else's posts.

 

[DisMyMac]

At the very least it would be a starting point for DisMyMac, since I have never ended up with "grainy, blocky, choppy motion" using this method. It also has the advantage of being really really easy to do.

I now think it's the combination of HD3000 graphics + crapware (Flash Player) that's really the problem.

Apologies to Youtube. (Not to Facebook however; they definitely ruin good videos.)