What are the most common H.264 video export settings?

H.264 is one of the most popular and widely used video codecs for online distribution and streaming. It offers high quality and low file size, making it ideal for web platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Instagram. However, to get the best results from your H.264 video exports, you need to understand some of the common settings and options that affect the quality, size, and compatibility of your videos. In this article, we will explain what are the most common H.264 video export settings and how to choose them according to your needs and goals.

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1 Format and Preset

The first thing you need to decide when exporting your video as H.264 is the format and preset. The format is the container that wraps the video and audio data, and the preset is the set of predefined parameters that optimize the video for a specific platform or device. The most common formats for H.264 are MP4, MOV, and MKV, but you should choose the one that is compatible with your target platform or device. The most common presets are YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Instagram, but you can also create your own custom presets or modify the existing ones. The preset will determine the resolution, frame rate, bit rate, and other settings of your video.

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Felipe Surian

Roteirista I Diretor I Editor Audiovisual
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Eu vou variando as configurações de exportação em H.264 dependendo da plataforma de destino, mas no meu dia a dia sempre uso MP4. ✅️ REDES SOCIAIS: Para vídeos em redes sociais, uso uma resolução de 1080p, taxa de quadros de 30fps e uma taxa de bits variável entre 5-10 Mbps para manter um equilíbrio entre qualidade e tamanho do arquivo. ✅️ YOUTUBE: Quando o destino é YouTube, uma resolução de 1080p ou 4K, 24-60fps, e uma taxa de bits de 10-20 Mbps. ✅️ LIVE: Para transmissões ao vivo, uma taxa de bits mais alta é necessária, geralmente entre 2-6 Mbps para 720p e 4-10 Mbps para 1080p. ✅️ MOBILE: Dá pra usar uma resolução de 720p, 30fps e uma taxa de bits de 1-4 Mbps para garantir uma reprodução suave e economia de dados.

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Daniel Cotrim

Designer Gráfico
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Sempre uso .mp4 para web. O arquivo fica com qualidade, leve e roda bem na maioria das plataformas. Quando quero uma qualidade maior de arquivo, uso .mov.

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2 Resolution and Frame Rate

The resolution and frame rate are two of the most important factors that affect the quality and size of your video. The resolution is the number of pixels that make up the image, and the frame rate is the number of frames per second that create the motion. The higher the resolution and frame rate, the better the quality, but also the larger the file size. The most common resolutions for H.264 are 1080p (1920x1080), 720p (1280x720), and 480p (854x480), but you can also choose higher resolutions like 4K (3840x2160) or lower resolutions like 360p (640x360) depending on your needs. The most common frame rates for H.264 are 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, and 60 fps, but you can also choose other frame rates like 23.976 fps, 29.97 fps, or 50 fps depending on your source footage and your target platform.

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Diego López Establés

Filmmaker/Creador de contenido multimedia/Foto y Vídeo de Producto
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I would recommend for digital platforms to use 24, 25 and 30 fps with minimum resolutions of 1080p if you want to be competitive with your publications. Perhaps today it is already a negative factor not to publish in 4k, so I would take it into account before buying any camera, look at what range it offers in terms of resolution and fps.

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3 Bit Rate and Quality

The bit rate and quality are two of the most important factors that affect the size and compression of your video. The bit rate is the amount of data that is used to encode each second of video, and the quality is the level of detail and sharpness that is preserved in the video. The higher the bit rate and quality, the larger the file size, but also the less compression artifacts and noise. The most common bit rates for H.264 are VBR (variable bit rate), CBR (constant bit rate), and CRF (constant rate factor). VBR adjusts the bit rate according to the complexity of each scene, CBR maintains a fixed bit rate throughout the video, and CRF sets a target quality level and adjusts the bit rate accordingly. The most common quality levels for H.264 are High, Medium, and Low, but you can also choose other levels like Best or Worst depending on your needs.

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Diego López Establés

Filmmaker/Creador de contenido multimedia/Foto y Vídeo de Producto
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With CBR, the bit rate remains constant for the entire duration of the video, which can be useful for applications that require a constant file size or constant bitstream, such as live streaming. With VBR, the bit rate varies depending on the complexity of the scene, allocating more bits to more complex parts and fewer bits to simpler parts, which can result in better video quality and more efficient file size. Depending on the platform where we upload the project, we will have to be careful since, for example, there is so much. On YouTube and Vimeo, they have some parameters that you must comply with depending on the resolution you use.

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4 Audio Settings

The audio settings are the parameters that affect the sound quality and size of your video. The most common audio settings for H.264 are the codec, the sample rate, the bit rate, and the channels. The codec is the algorithm that compresses and decompresses the audio data, the sample rate is the number of samples per second that represent the sound wave, the bit rate is the amount of data that is used to encode each second of audio, and the channels are the number of audio tracks that create the stereo or surround sound. The most common codec for H.264 is AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), which offers high quality and low file size. The most common sample rates for H.264 are 48 kHz, 44.1 kHz, and 32 kHz, but you should choose the one that matches your source audio. The most common bit rates for H.264 are 320 kbps, 192 kbps, and 128 kbps, but you can also choose higher or lower bit rates depending on your needs. The most common channels for H.264 are Stereo (2 channels), Mono (1 channel), and 5.1 Surround (6 channels), but you should choose the one that matches your source audio and your target platform.

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5 Metadata and Export Options

The metadata and export options are the additional information and settings that you can add to your video to enhance its functionality and compatibility. The most common metadata for H.264 are the title, the description, the keywords, and the copyright, which can help your video to be indexed and searched by online platforms and users. The most common export options for H.264 are the fast start, the optimize for network use, and the render at maximum depth, which can help your video to be played faster, smoother, and more accurately by online platforms and devices. You can add or modify the metadata and export options in your video production software before exporting your video as H.264.

These are some of the most common H.264 video export settings that you should know and use when creating your online videos. By choosing the right settings for your video, you can achieve the best balance between quality, size, and compatibility, and deliver your video to your audience in the most effective and efficient way.

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Diego López Establés

Filmmaker/Creador de contenido multimedia/Foto y Vídeo de Producto
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H.264 is a video compression codec, but you'll need to choose a container format to package your video along with its audio, subtitles, and other data. Some common container formats are MP4, MOV and AVI among others. I would recommend using the first two. Some programs allow you to embed subtitles in the exported video, and you can adjust options such as subtitle format and on-screen position. You can include metadata such as title, description, creators, tags, etc., which is useful for organizing and optimizing the video on distribution platforms. And depending on the software you are using, you may find additional options such as color correction, noise reduction, image stabilization, among others.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Artist Siva

ARTIST / PHOTOGRAPHER / EDITOR / CONTENT CREATOR / WRITER / GRAPHIC DESIGNER / DIRECTOR “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way—things I had no words for.”
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If you want to export a YouTube-ready file, then your best option would be to use the H.264 codec and the mp4 container. No other encoding will give you higher quality with less file size at this time, and your videos won't exhibit artifacts either--even when running slow motion footage or clips that are highly saturated. Video files compressed by this codec also get smaller as they're played back on a screen intended to run them fullscreen because all information is encoded into the same frame, which results in a very small data load per pixel of video playback (data doesn't "flip" between frames). This data reduction produces much

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What are the most common H.264 video export settings?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Format and Preset

2 Resolution and Frame Rate

3 Bit Rate and Quality

4 Audio Settings

5 Metadata and Export Options

6 Here’s what else to consider

Video Production

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What are the most common H.264 video export settings?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Format and Preset

2 Resolution and Frame Rate

3 Bit Rate and Quality

4 Audio Settings

5 Metadata and Export Options

6 Here’s what else to consider

Video Production

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