Need help with render settings!

[D. Eric franks]

I’m sold on using AVI using the Lagarith Lossless Video Codec as an intermediary, thanks to the smarties that hang out here.

The On2 VP6 is a great codec, but I’d only use it for transparent (alpha) Flash movies. In terms of best bang for your bit-budget (quality v. file size), I’d say use some flavor of H.264. My current preference is for MainConcept’s AVC, but Sony, Apple, Microsoft (in the form of WMV) have nice implementations as well (to name but three).

_______
I think that parents only get so offended by television because
they rely on it as a babysitter and the sole educator of their kids.
— Trey Parker, Matt Stone
https://videopia.org

[Tim Harrelson]

Thanks Eric,

If we download the Lagarith Codec, can you give an example of the exact settings you use in Vegas Pro?

We’re also experimenting with MainConcept’s AVC MP4 rendering settings. Are there any special tricks or tips you would recommend?

Thanks!

Tim

[D. Eric franks]

Sure. For Lagarith lossless, basically just set your output to match your source and select the codec in the Custom options (and save a Template) and you are done. So 1080i60 source would get 1920×1080@29.97, but with square pixels. The only setting you might occasionally monkey with (via the Config button) would be changing from “RGB” to “RGBA” for projects with transparent alpha backgrounds, but you can toggle “Mutlithread” on there too (I’ve never checked to see if this does anything, however).

For MainConcept AVC (and H.264 in general) for final distribution (i.e., you are NOT uploading this file to GooTube or Vimeo for re-encoding):
– destination resolution: 720p (1280×720)
– frame rate: best to match source, however…
– change the field order to Progressive
– Data Rate Max: 4 Mbps, Ave: 2 Mbps
– 2-pass VBR
– Profile: Main
– Audio: 48kHz, 160 Kbps
– Render Quality: Best (on Project tab)
* Save that template!

_____
“Filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes.”
— Robert Altman
https://videopia.org

[Tim Harrelson]

Hi Eric,

Those MainConcept AVC settings blew up the file size from 7 mb to 32 mb.

And when uploaded the rendered mp4, it took forever to buffer before playing.

I’ve been doing a TON of research trying to figure out the VERY BEST web video recipe. My objectives are simple – to have a clear video that plays almost instantly, and plays without being jumpy, on demand (minimal time to buffer).

I’m brand spanking new to video so I don’t know which settings I need to tweak. The direction I’ve been going in isn’t producing optimal results. Here’s what we’ve done so far …

~ Used the JW Player on our website, https://www.TheSignChef.com (where the video is)
~ Rendered an .mp4 using Main Concepts codec
~ And piggybacked Amazon’s S3 service to stream the video.

We’ve also tried rendering our 2 minute video as a master .avi file, encoded it using On2’s VP6 codec and played it that way. Although some other video experts highly recommend this approach, this method produced pixelation and still, the video doesn’t play as well as it should. Meaning, sometimes the video stalls while the audio keeps going – that’s what I mean by “jumpy”.

Admittedly, I’m using a somewhat older computer to view the videos for playback quality for testing. Why? Because on this older computer, many other videos from many other websites play flawlessly. So it’s not my computer or high speed connection that’s the issue.

It’s something that’s not tweaked right in our settings.

What does the Perfect Web Video Recipe look like to go from Sony Vegas Pro 9 to the internet? What are the exact settings we should be using front to back?

Which player do you recommend for optimal playback quality?

Thanks!

Tim