rotact.blogg.se - Are 4k videos on youtube really outputting in 4k

#Are 4k videos on youtube really outputting in 4k how to#
#Are 4k videos on youtube really outputting in 4k 360p#
#Are 4k videos on youtube really outputting in 4k software#

You can see that YouTube encodes using three different video codecs: This might seem overly complicated, but there are a few key conclusions we can draw which will help us. You can find HDR YouTube clips with over 40 different files associated with the video like this one which gives this output:

#Are 4k videos on youtube really outputting in 4k 360p#

Video Resolution (written as both 640×360 and 360p which are the same thing).

File extension – represents the container ( the packaging around the codec ) which we won’t worry much about here.

Format code – a number that you can target if you want to download that file.

It shows that there are 14 different files even with a maximum resolution of 360p. Here is the output from youtube-dl on my old video using the -F flag to see the files available: That said, it has improved vastly over the years as can be seen from my old video from 2009 and it is possible to look behind the curtain and see what files YouTube is making, for example with the command line tool youtube-dl. It also has to make multiple files so that it can dynamically switch resolution on the fly. Youtube isn’t keen on either of these options as it has so much video to encode that it wants to get the job done quickly and lowering the bitrate means less server storage space & a lower demand on the viewer’s internet connection. 2 pass encoding in Premiere or the slow preset in Handbrake) or if you keep the bitrate higher.

#Are 4k videos on youtube really outputting in 4k software#

A general rule for encoding is that you get better quality video if the software encoder takes longer (e.g. So that does away with trying your best to make the best low bitrate H.264 encode you can.Ĭlearly, with the volume of video that passes through YouTube (estimated at around 300-500 hours every minute!), they can’t spend the quality time encoding our masterpiece as we would like and they have to keep the bitrates right down. Many people have tested and shown that YouTube will re-encode what you give it no matter what (one even testing what happens when you run it through YouTube 1000 times! ). Doing this avoids one extra round of H.264 encoding. There’s no mention of uploading ProRes (or Cineform or DNxHR for that matter) and yet you can and you should if you have the bandwidth, especially as YouTube, unlike Vimeo, has no upload quota. YouTube’s recommended specs page is written with the average user in mind and can be safely ignored. With YouTube supporting 4K and 8K and even HDR, you want the best quality you can when you upload and you want to minimize the degradation that YouTube’s encoding does to your video. This music video I cut with Pete Doherty wandering around London was shot on 35mm black and white film stock and is on YouTube at a miserly 360p. I am old enough that some of my early work can be found on YouTube at very low resolutions.

#Are 4k videos on youtube really outputting in 4k how to#

I thought I’d take a look behind the scenes of YouTube’s encoding and how to get the most out of it. But now you have to upload it to social media for it to be seen by the world and you want the best quality possible.

You’ve spent months editing and grading and finishing your beloved video.