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Exporting to MP4 – Why use Media Encoder??
Hi, previously I think it wasn’t actually possible to natively eport to MP4. However, now in AE 2024 it is directly possible through the render queue. So I’m curious as to why I’d do this through the media encoder like tutorials suggest? Ideally I’d not bother with installing the encoder.
Could someone confirm that this is a new functionality in AE2024 and how it might still be better to use the encoder?
I know you can run the rendering in background and have many other codec options in encoder but I don’t need these functions. Is there a difference size wise in exported MP4?
Thanks in advance for any help,
Adam
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6 Replies
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Other than maybe those are older tutorials, I don’t have a reason why you would create MP4’s through Media Encoder now(except maybe there is more functionality for customizing the encode). For our clients who want an MP4, I export directly from AE using the 40bit preset.
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Thanks for your message. Great, I’ll therefore stick with native export.
Do you know when direct MP4 export was introduced? Was it in 2023?
PS What is the 40bit preset? Is it the same as 40Mbps? Does this drastically increase file size? Is it noticably better quality?
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Yes, exporting to MP4 via After Effects is a new (again) feature in a recent release. It’s pretty great, and we use it often!
I can really only think of two reasons why you might prefer using Media Encoder for your MP4s:
1. You have to deliver a very specific format, or your material and format would benefit from multi-pass encoding. This can help improve quality in VBR encodings.
2. You want a master output, in case you need to re-encode with different settings for a different deliverable. If your render is time-intensive, it’d be way faster to render and keep a ProRes master and encode from that than to have to render multiple MP4s with different settings.
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I’ll just chip in to say the “big reason” when Media Encoder was introduced was that it enabled you to keep working in After Effects while rendering. And you could also do cute things like set up a render farm for a shared drive really very easily. (I did that at the school I used to work with and it was so convenient.)
I continue to use AME because I’ve got used to doing it that way and I have all the presets there. While Render Queue does have MP4, last time I looked there weren’t as many options, so I stuck with my current workflow. AME added notifications before AE did too, so it feels like Adobe consider it the go-to method with features being later added to After Effects.
The final reason I continue to use Media Encoder is that more often than not, I’m rendering overnight. So I can stack up several renders from different projects more easily.
In summary: it’s what I’m used to, I like not having to lock up AE while rendering BUT if it’s not right for you then there’s no need to force yourself to use it.
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Exactly!
So much more options using AME.
Burn timecode/watermark.
I also use the Lumetri for quick and dirty reviews.
And Im so old I only remember rendering from AE only 🙂
Now its always (and hopefully they dont break it) AME!
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Thanks all for your informative answers. Have a good weekend.
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