vimeo settings

UPDATE AT THE END

Well i tested out a lot of setting to get a good quality on to vimeo … and i was not really happy with results…. at one point i testes out the mp4 / h.246 settings philip bloom & others used a lot  (http://www.vimeo.com/10215536)
and guess what… it’s a good solution

… so this is step by step… make sure you have a good master (look at my workflow post how to get this 😉  if your master is not good it won’t get better … 😉 and it’s essential to use QuickTime 7 Pro (on Snow Leopard  you have to install it from your setup disk and it’s located in the Utilities) … ok you are good to go … one side note: you can translate this for 1080p as well … i most of the time use 720p.

So open up your master file …i always export a ProRes 1080p master in FCP and form there i can go to SD (via MPEG STREAMCLIP) or a wmv for clients or iPhone m4v for the Producers  (via QT 7 & QT X)… or even YouTube (via the Compressor preset) …  I NEVER have to go back in my FCP timeline to do that … or even better: while exporting all that stuff with QT 7 i can work in FCP on other things … and i don’t like the new “share” option in FCP … seems like it needs like forever to export stuff (i don’t know why … the QT7 thins works anyway)

BTW if you can’t find QuickTime7 on your Snow Leopard Mac … here is a hint for you:
QuickTime7 & Snow Leopard

So the first step is important: go to “VIEW” and choose “Actual Size” otherwise you could end up with strange resolutions like 1888×652 or so …

so the rest is pretty much self-explanatory … go to “EXPORT”

choose MPEG-4

now make sure you choose  “LAN/Internet”  so you have all the settings/options you need in the next step

make sure you are exporting h.246 ( is usually “on” by default)

now choose your resolution…this works with 1080p or others as well

now the Data Rate … some say 9000 is too much but the truth is i used the vimeo recommendations and had trouble with “blocky” things and was not happy with transitions (usually over black) and text and stuff

i will try a recommendation by @mobiledivide (720p = 5000kbps, 1080p = 7000kbps) soon to see how this works out
he also  recommended download for the “Optimized” option … for now i set it to streaming due to the fact vimeo is a streaming thing …

set the frame rate to current so QT is right whether you are at PAL or NTSC 😉

just check this “video options” it should be usually (by default) MAIB and best qual. Mulitpass

with audio use 256 kbps so you get a bit better sound-quality and 48 kHz should be your Pro Audio Sample Rate anyway ( in footage / FCP / Master)

UPDATE:

so now i did try the settings as mentioned / recommend by @mobiledivide although he i using compressor

i still would recommend QT7 for the vimeo export … anyhow:

these are the settings:

“720p = 5000kbps, 1080p = 7000kbps,turn frame controls ON and choose “Best”, “Progressive”, “Best”. Keyframe every 30 frames.
and this is what i did in the end in QT7 for my 1920×1080 25p Master (PAL) to export my 720p, 5000 kBit/s version.

5000kbps, Keyframe every 25 frames …

… so in a nutshell: the high-quality settings are: mp4, h.246, 1280×720, 9000 kbits/s, AAC 256 kbps 48kHz

and your normal-quality settings could be : mp4, h.246, 1280×720, 5000 kbits/s, AAC 256 kbps 48kHz

So if you ask me i noticed a lil resolution issue in the 5000 kBit/s Version especially on edges during / at fast motion shots … like arms and stuff (kinda “blocky”) but maybe i’m just too “pedantic” … in the end i’ll go for the 9000kBit/s solution and if i need a fast upload or have some Memory-Space “problems” i’ll choose 5000 kBit/s.