Exporting from PPro - H264 bitrates

C

Clay201

Member
What are normal bitrates for a completed H264 video that will be uploaded to Youtube, shared, and generally viewed online?

Just last night, I exported a 22 minute project from Premiere Pro using the H264 settings. I was allowed to choose a bitrate of up to 300 mbits per second. However, a mere 15 mbits per second produced a file over 2GB in size. In my experience, a 22 minute file should be under 500MB. Should I have used a bitrate of, say, 4? Is that too low to produce a good quality result? What happens when my clients upload this thing to Youtube and it gets stepped on some more? What bitrates do you use? What bitrates are typical for completed video projects? Does anyone use the top rate (300) for anything?

Video files I download seem to clock in between 1 and 4. I see specs for expensive cameras which record at, say, 800. So clearly there's a wide range.. But I'd like to know what you folks generally use. Also, in general, I'm pretty far behind the times when it comes to current video formats and specs. I know that mp4 and MKV exist, but I don't know when to use one and when to use the other. I also don't know which formats are best for mobile devices or even whether I need a separate export for mobile devices. Please educate me on the basics. What's the norm?

Oh, and...

When I exported the file last night, I was concerned about the size. So I tried reducing it from 1080p to 720p. The file size didn't change. That confused me.

Advice and help are always appreciated.


-Clay
 
For YouTube, I recommend using DNxHD with the HQX preset. The files are large, but the quality is better.

For general computer viewing and sharing, I find the Match Source - High bitrate preset under H.264 plenty sufficient.
 
I don't think I've ever used that preset. But before I can use the Media Encoder at all on this project, don't I first have to export the file from Premiere Pro?
 
Jim Simon said:
For YouTube, I recommend using DNxHD with the HQX preset. The files are large, but the quality is better.
For general computer viewing and sharing, I find the Match Source - High bitrate preset under H.264 plenty sufficient.
Click to expand...

In the Export dialogue, I found the format DNxHD MXF OP1a. However, I can't find a preset with "HQX" as part of its title/description. All of the presets for that format follow the naming pattern DNX ### resolution framerate. I'm using CC 2014, if that makes a difference.

As for the "Match Source" option... it seems to just be giving me the bitrate I used last time rather than a default rate.
 
Clay201 said:
before I can use the Media Encoder at all on this project, don't I first have to export the file from Premiere Pro?
Click to expand...

That's a bit like asking if you have to drive to the store before you can get in your car and dive to the store.

AME will export the video. So no, you don't have to export the video before you export the video.
 
Jim Simon said:
That's a bit like asking if you have to drive to the store before you can get in your car and dive to the store.

AME will export the video. So no, you don't have to export the video before you export the video.
Click to expand...

I didn't realize Adobe users referred to the Premiere Pro Media Export dialogue as Adobe Media Encoder. I thought David was referring to the standalone AME program that's included in the Creative Cloud. It did seem strange to me that some preset would be available in one and not the other since the two obviously share the same innards, but I figured David knew More about it than I did.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll take it for a test drive as soon as I get back to the work station.
 
Jim Simon said:
We don't. The Export Settings dialog is just that. AME (Adobe Media Encoder) is a separate program.
Click to expand...

Ahh. Okay. So then you must be referring to this?
[h=1]How to Encode Premiere Pro Sequences with Media Encoder Without Tying Up Premiere Pro [/h]https://screenlight.tv/blog/2012/06/11/how-to-encode-premiere-pro-sequences-with-media-encoder-without-tying-up-premiere-pro


I probably wouldn't have thought to check for a feature like that. Thanks for the tip.


-Clay
 
I tend to also use the high bitrate setting 10-12Mbps for 1080p video shot at 24fps or the medium bitrate setting of 4-6Mbps for 720p video shot at 24fps when destined for youtube. I'll go higher if going to blu-ray or want to have a master (compressed) copy.
 
Jim Simon said:
Use 10 bit 175 Mb/s
Click to expand...

Holy moly, that seems excessive for Youtube! That'd be ~20GB for a 22 minute video, wouldn't it? I don't know what the internet is like elsewhere but if you tried to upload that in Australia it'd probably take you three days - and that's if the internet/wifi doesn't cut out at all.
 
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