QuickTime Pro© v7.4.5
A quick start guide
Exporting your videos for web streaming
April 2008
Seth Alcott
Joshua Dickens
Welcome
Thank you for choosing QuickTime Pro©! In this tutorial you will learn how to effectively export a video using QuickTime Pro© with the optimal settings for web streaming (such as Google Video, YouTube, or Vimeo).
In order to use the QuickTime Pro export settings noted in this tutorial, you need to import your video into a QuickTime supported program. For a list of QuickTime supported video editing programs, refer to the Help section.
About this product
QuickTime Pro© is a widely supported movie file format known as, “.mov”. The .mov format is cross compatible with both Apple and PC’s. QuickTime Pro© settings allow the user to modify the video parameters to maximize the performance and quality of the video when streamed over the internet.
Wizard
Note: The steps to access the QuickTime Conversion settings described in this tutorial are for Final Cut Express 3.5, Final Cut Express 4.0, and Final Cut Pro. To access the QuickTime export window in the iLife Suite of programs select Share > Share… and select QuickTime then chose advanced (or expert) settings to set the QuickTime compression settings.
Before adjusting the settings, please select a frame in the video timeline so that you can see an image in the video preview window. This is important later on.
Choose File > Export > Using QuickTime© Conversion
You will see the Save window. Type in your desired file name for the video you’re going to upload. You may also wish to change which folder the file saves to. Select this from the drop-down menu or sidebar showing your folder hierarchy.
You should see a setting for Format in your save window (see above). Select QuickTime Movie
In Final Cut, iMovie, and various Mac-based editors you will see a drop-down menu titled Use. Set this to default settings.
Now, select the Options button next to the QuickTime Movie format.
This menu allows you to optimize the videos settings for streaming internet video.
You will now see this window:
Check to ensure that the Video, Sound, and Prepare for Internet Streaming boxes are all selected.
Click the Settings button in the video section to set the QuickTime format and compression rate. For a summary of these settings, please see the figure following this section.
Compression Type: Set the compression type to H.264
Motion:
Frame Rate: Set the Frame Rate to 24 frames per second (fps)
Key Frames: Select Every with the bullet to the right and set to 24 frames
Check the box for Frame Reordering
Data Rate: select Automatic
Compressor: Adjust the Quality so that the slider is in between Medium and Low quality. Look at the preview window to see what the final video will look like. Set the quality just high enough so that pixelation is minimal while not increasing the quality past Medium. Also, set Encoding to Best Quality (multi-pass)
Click OK after adjusting the video settings
Click the Size button to set the video export size.
If exporting in a “full-screen” or 4:3 mode, select 640x480
If exporting in “wide-screen” or 16:9, select custom size and type in 640x360 as shown below.
Click OK
Sound: click Settings.
Format: set this to AAC
Channels: set to Mono - this will allow a lower data rate and smaller file size. Use Mono unless specific RL channels are needed for the audio track.
Check to Show Advanced Settings
Render Settings: Set the Quality to Normal
Set the Encoding Strategy to Average Bit Rate
Set the Target Bit Rate to 48 kbps
Note: 48 kbps mono is equivalent to 96 kbps stereo.
Click OK
Click OK until you see the Save window again. Make sure that the file name and destination folder are correct, and save your video!
Note: Before uploading your video to the web, please play the completed video to make sure that the audio and video quality are to your liking as well as making sure that you have avoided typos in titles, overlays, and credits.
QuickTime supported video editing programs:
Final Cut Express
Final Cut Pro
QuickTime Pro
iMovie
Adobe Premier
Multiple Third-party software titles, check the help file or contact the company to see if they support QuickTime export options.
Common issues when exporting QuickTime Video
The file size is too large to allow for upload.
Did you remember to select QuickTime Conversion?
The menu has two options for exporting QuickTime video. One is File > Export > QuickTime movie. This option is used only if you wish to save a full-quality, QuickTime formatted video. This file size will be too large for most video sharing sites such as YouTube.
File > Export > Using QuickTime conversion allows you to adjust the settings and compression rate for your final video export. Look for a target size 3MB to 5MB for every minute of video you’ve exported
Did you remember to change the audio settings to use AAC audio compression?
Remember, when setting audio quality, use the AAC (MPEG 4 layering strategy) with the Rate set to 44.100 kHz?
The target file size is still too large after exporting from the Using QuickTime conversion window.
Did you make sure to set your compression quality below the “medium” setting?
Did you remember to set the audio settings to AAC audio?
YouTube won’t allow my file upload because the video is too long.
Try uploading your video on to Google Video using your google account. Google doesn’t have time limits for videos uploaded on to its server. For files larger than 100 MB, see our section on the GoogleVideoUploader desktop program
How do I use the GoogleVideoUploader?
To use the GoogleVideoUploader, first download and install the program.
Note:The desktop video uploader is superior to the web-based video uploaders of YouTube, Vimeo, and Google because it does not restrict file sizes or video length. You may also upload multiple videos through the GoogleVideoUploader at one time
Open the program and sign in to your google account through the login button in the program window.
Now click the add button and chose which video you wish to upload, check the checkbox certifying the video is your own original work and click Upload now! In a matter of minutes (to hours - depending on your connection speed, file size, and number of videos uploading at once) your videos will appear on your Google Video account!