Exporting Specs Question.

[SportsFan]

I'm hoping someone can clarify some exporting specs for me?
I need to change my normal exporting procedure of MPEG2 MXF to something smaller and suitable for online. I thought I would throw out the question here before I start doing some text exports. (I can't believe the amount of options)

What I need to export is the following;

• Videos must be 30 frames per second or less.
• MP4 is the suggested video format.
• The video codec must be H264.
• The audio codec must be AAC.
• Videos must be no larger than 1920x1080p.
• The maximum file size is 10GB.

Do I make these changes when staring a new project, or keep my current project settings and just change on export? Which export option covers the above?
I'm sure the answer is simple but just wanted clarification before I start sending to client.

Thanks!

[antonsvideo]

what is the frame rate, frame size and field order of the current project?

[BernH]

I'm hoping someone can clarify some exporting specs for me?
I need to change my normal exporting procedure of MPEG2 MXF to something smaller and suitable for online. I thought I would throw out the question here before I start doing some text exports. (I can't believe the amount of options)

What I need to export is the following;

• Videos must be 30 frames per second or less.
• MP4 is the suggested video format.
• The video codec must be H264.
• The audio codec must be AAC.
• Videos must be no larger than 1920x1080p.
• The maximum file size is 10GB.

Do I make these changes when staring a new project, or keep my current project settings and just change on export? Which export option covers the above?
I'm sure the answer is simple but just wanted clarification before I start sending to client.

Thanks!

Aside from the framerate and frame size, those are all export or transcode settings, not project settings. If you are making files for online use, the best option would be to either export a master file from Edius and pass that through something like Handbrake or Xmedia Recode to make the MP4, and not use the Edius native MP4 exporter, as it does not make web optimized/streaming ready files (the file index is at the end, not the beginning, so it can't stream without another transcode to re-locate the index). I personally prefer mastering into HQX, but MPEG2 is also good, as long as the bitrates are kept high.

If you do want to export the MP4 directly from Edius, invest in the Pegasys/TMPGEnc AVC plugin for Edius, as it does place the index at the head of the file.

I personally use all three options to make MP4's, and all three can give very good results in terms of picture quality, particularly when using the more advanced x264 encoder available in them, but there are some differences in audio quiality.

Handbrake, which uses ffmpeg under the hood, is probably the easiest to use, but the weakest in the audio area. It is still quite acceptable though, when you increase the bitrate above the 160Kbps that it always defaults to. It also can only make MP4 or MKV files, but it does have some very good decombing and de-interlacing filters though.

I use Recode, which also uses ffmpeg under the hood, for conversions that have more than stereo audio or ones that require something other than MP4 or MKV output, as it can make a lot more types of files and has a lot more configurable settings than Hanbrake.

I use the TMPGenc plugin for Edius, when I don't require an HQX master file, or if I need to edit an MP4 in Edius and create a new MP4 from it. One catch to it, is that if you are using 5.1 audio on your timeline, it must be laid out as standard SMPTE order (LRCLfeLsRs), and the timeline must use 6 channels with a direct channel to channel staircase mapping for the timeline, or else the channel order in the exported file will be wrong.

The next bit of advice is to make sure your project matches the framerate of your source files so that there is not frame blending on export. This means that your camera and or source files ideally should be at the desired framerate of the export. (ie. 30fps or less, and since web is your desired destination, ideally progressive, otherwise you will probably require some de-interlacing) If you are shooting at a higher progressive framerate, it would be best to choose ones that are evenly divisible by your desired destination framerate. (ie. shoot true 60p fps for a 30fps delivery, or 59.94p fps for a 29.97p delivery, as this will also avoid any strange frame blending.)

The rest of your settings are very easily set in Handbrake, Recode, or the TMPGEnc AVC plugin. The one catch here though is the 10GB max size.

Size is determined by: duration x bitrate = size.

bitrate is in mega or kilo bits per second, size is in mega or giga bytes. The conversion between bits and bytes uses a factor of 8. Bits are usually anotated with a lower case b and bytes with an upper case B. there are 1000 MB in 1GB.

For example, I will use a 30 minute duration and target a 10GB size, but for the calculation we need to make a few conversions first:

30 minutes = 1800 seconds (30x60=1800)
10GB = 80000Mb (10x1000x8=80000)

With those conversions, it is simple math.

80000/1800=44.444Mbps (or Mb/s)

This is the maximum total constant bitrate allowed if you want a file that is 10GB.

This total is then divided between the audio and the video. AAC audio is pretty compressed, and usually measured in kbps. Once again there are 1000 Kb in one Mb. If you were to set the audio bitrate at 256Kbps for example, subtracting that from the maximum bitrate of 44.444Mbps leaves 44.188 for the video.

Of course 44.188Mbps for video is extremely high for web videos. It would probably be more likely to use something in the 10Mbps to 20Mbps range, so the duration could actually be 2 to 4 times my 30 minute example, and still maintain the 10GB limit.

All of these calculations are based on a constant bitrate file. If you use variable bitrate or CQ, the file can be either larger or smaller, depending the content. Heavy motion will not compress as much as a static shot, so will require more bitrate to maintain quality.

[SportsFan]

Aside from the framerate and frame size, those are all export or transcode settings, not project settings. If you are making files for online use, the best option would be to either export a master file from Edius and pass that through something like Handbrake or Xmedia Recode to make the MP4, and not use the Edius native MP4 exporter, as it does not make web optimized/streaming ready files (the file index is at the end, not the beginning, so it can't stream without another transcode to re-locate the index). I personally prefer mastering into HQX, but MPEG2 is also good, as long as the bitrates are kept high.

If you .....

Wow! A wealth of information Bern. Thanks for taking the time to do that. I don't have access to any external trans-coding after export unfortunately. Was hoping to be able to export and go from there.

[SportsFan]

what is the frame rate, frame size and field order of the current project?

Thanks for the reply Anton.
FR = 29.97
FS = 1920 x 1080
FO = Upper Field

Would exporting, H.264/AVC MP4 1920x1080 29.97p 10BIT work?

[Andreas_Gumm]

Wow! A wealth of information Bern. Thanks for taking the time to do that. I don't have access to any external trans-coding after export unfortunately. Was hoping to be able to export and go from there.

You should have an external transcoder!
Edius-encoder wastes bitrate while it also doesn't meet the quality possible as known from two-pass encodings at lower bitrates. Edius does one-pass encoding only so it can't allocate bitrate reliable to meet the needs of size and quality possible.
I would suggest you to use the free Handbrake tool or e.g. the handy but flexible myffmpeg-GUI for 20 bucks.

Andreas

[antonsvideo]

Thanks for the reply Anton.
FR = 29.97
FS = 1920 x 1080
FO = Upper Field

Would exporting, H.264/AVC MP4 1920x1080 29.97p 10BIT work?

since your project is upper field first, you won,t be able to export a good progressive file, so export an mp2 HD with 25mbps and wave audio

then feed this file to Handbrake, use the following previous version, later versions are bloatware (it can be downloaded at various places)

https://www.videoproductions.com.au/handbrake/HB-progressive1.png

https://www.videoproductions.com.au/handbrake/HB-progressive2.png

https://www.videoproductions.com.au/handbrake/HB-progressive3.png

https://www.videoproductions.com.au/handbrake/HB-progressive4.png

https://www.videoproductions.com.au/handbrake/HB-progressive5.png

[Andreas_Gumm]

since your project is upper field first, you won,t be able to export a good progressive file, so export an mp2 HD with 25mbps and wave audio

then feed this file to Handbrake, use the following previous version, later versions are bloatware (it can be downloaded at various places)

https://www.videoproductions.com.au/handbrake/HB-progressive1.png

https://www.videoproductions.com.au/handbrake/HB-progressive2.png

https://www.videoproductions.com.au/handbrake/HB-progressive3.png

https://www.videoproductions.com.au/handbrake/HB-progressive4.png

https://www.videoproductions.com.au/...ogressive5.png

Handbrake can read HQ / HQX directly!

[antonsvideo]

Handbrake can read HQ / HQX directly!

yes, later versions can, but workflow is way slower

example:
feeding mpeg2 HD = encoding speed of 220 frames per sec
feeding HQX = encoding speed of 100 frames per sec
time is money
quality is perfect for me

if you are feeding UHD, you need to use HQX