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Solved Optimum render for Youtube

  • sargan
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Optimum render for Youtube was created by sargan

Posted 29 Jun 2015 01:25 #1
I use MSP 12
My source material is 1920 x 1080 50 fps

I have been creating Youtube vids using Render As ..
Mainconcept AVC/AAC (*.mp4)
Custom template set to 1920 x 1080 progressive 29.970 fps
VBR: 2 pass Max: 12,000,000 Avg 8,000,000


(these settings were recommended ones on several on-line sites)


The resulting files look good on PC, but after upload to Youtube look very much reduced in quality.

I have been looking around and found Youtube publishes its 'preferred settings for video files .... .

This is at : Youtube settings

How can these settings be achieved in an MSP render ?

I have also looked at these steps Original Quality

Which uses upscaling of 1080 original material ... Youtube then gives you the option to stream at Original resolution, giving higher bitrate.
I can't set it to 2048 (as per video) as MSP will not accept higher than 1920. I could though follow all other steps ......... if this would gives better result.
Be interested in your views.
Last Edit:29 Jun 2015 03:58 by sargan

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Replied by DoctorZen on topic Optimum render for Youtube

Posted 29 Jun 2015 18:16 #2
Hi Sargan

I would recommend using the default Higher Bit Rate settings when rendering for YouTube.
12Mbps Average and 24Mbps Maximum when using Mainconcept AVC/AAC.
If you set the bit rates to these higher values, it doesn't mean the video will actually encode to a really high bit rate.
What it does is make available a higher bit rate if needed - if a section of the video contains fast motion and needs more data to encode properly.

The main problem is that YouTube re-compresses everything that gets uploaded, to save as much space as possible on their hard drives.
If you want higher quality video on the internet, you should use Vimeo instead.
Vimeo encodes with better quality settings.

I have never heard of anyone use the term "original quality" until I watched the video you linked to.
If you uploaded a 1080p video, which 90% of YouTubers do, that would be the original quality.
Supported resolutions about 1080p are as follows:
1440p (1440px x 2560px)
2160p (2160px x 3840px)

Some people on the Sony Creative Software Vegas Pro and Vegas Movie Studio Forums, use a different technique for rendering videos that are destined for YouTube.
They do a TWO step process and use Vegas or Movie Studio with another program called Handbrake.
Apparently Handbrake is better at encoding H.264 .mp4 video when using lower bit rates, however once you start encoding to higher bit rates, the difference between Vegas Pro/Movie Studio and Handbrake is barely noticeable. The process of using TWO programs is very complicated for most people, so I have never bothered teaching this process here. I have seen many people go round and round in circles, inventing all types of bizarre methods for rendering video. In the end I always wonder if it was worth the time and energy.

If you have a camera that records to 4K resolution (2160p), then you could render to Sony XAVC and upload this to YouTube.
This would be your "original quality" and obviously also display at lower resolutions like 1080p.
4K video played back at 1080p does look better.
Sony XAVC encodes at 50Mbps, so your file size is going to be very large and so you would need a very fast Internet connection in order to upload this in a reasonable amount of time.

I will be uploading some new tutorials on rendering to 50p and 60p for soon.
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Unplugging is the best way to find solutions to your problems. If you would like to share some love, post a customer testimonial or make a donation.

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  • sargan
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Replied by sargan on topic Optimum render for Youtube

Posted 29 Jun 2015 18:38 #3
My camera records (highest setting - which I use) at 1080p 60fps

I was just interested as I had not come across the term 'original' previously either.
I did try his render techniques, although I could not upscale as MSP will only support 1080
It did result (surprisingly) in a smaller file size ...

The standard settings ver is loaded here:


and using the settings from the video on this one


The second one if you watch the sky does have a lot less pixelation & artefacts .... so perhaps the Windows Media Codec is better for Youtube footage.
What do you think ?
The other obvious difference is that the 2nd one plays in a slightly smaller 'framed' window on Youtube ... yet both are same widescreen frame size of 1920 x 1080


What did you think of the Youtube settings preference document ? do you think following their settings would be an improvement.

Also if you look at the thumbnail for the video the colours are fine and that is just a frame grab from the video ......... so shows that source material is fine, whereas the video itself seems to have washed out colours .. a lot less 'punch' once you upload it.
Last Edit:29 Jun 2015 18:41 by sargan

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Replied by DoctorZen on topic Optimum render for Youtube

Posted 30 Jun 2015 16:29 #4
Sony Vegas and Movie Studio Platinum already use the YouTube recommended settings, if you use Mainconcept to render to.
The YouTube recommended settings are minimum requirements.
So as I said in my previous reply, it is OK to use Higher Bit Rates for higher quality video.
ℹ️ Remember to turn everything off at least once a week, including your brain, then sit somewhere quiet and just chill out.
Unplugging is the best way to find solutions to your problems. If you would like to share some love, post a customer testimonial or make a donation.
Last Edit:01 Jul 2015 14:57 by DoctorZen

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