Need latest protocol for preparing movie for web in X

Question

Hello. The basic problem is slow start on You Tube. My general question concerns preparing a movie for the web; not restricted to You Tube.
In FCP 7,  it was export using QT conversion, to Quick Time Movie using broadband Med or most recent settings, choose H264, choose custom size 16:9 HD 1280 x 720p, prepare head for internet streaming by choosing quick start ,
adjust settings, and save. Then, Open .mov (usually 1 G for 3 minutes) in QT, choose export to web, transcode, and send 50-100 Mb  M4V or sometimes MP4 to Host. No problem.
When I open an .mov prepared in X, the QT Player no longer allows the same options as it did when processing 7 movies.  Am I missing something? I click export to web with the new system and it just starts in coding.
I appreciate the automatic features of X, but am having problems with both stutter start and a few more upload problems that I see as temporary.
Thx.  www.youtube.com/user/edwardshaw1
Any suggestions most grateful for.
Ed

Answer 1

Check your Applications > Utilities folder. That's where the OSX Installer moved Quicktime 7 (also known as Quicktime Player) when Quicktime X became the standard player. Your pro license should still be activated. If you don't find it there and you have a Snow Leopard (or earlier) installer disk, you can find QT7 in the Extras folder. Make sure you do NOT overwrite Quicktime X when you move or install QT7 (both are originally named "Quicktime Player" - but you can rename the older Quicktime Player to "Quicktime Player 7" before moving it into your Applications folder.)
The problem with MPEG Streamclip and other "third party" conversion software (like ClipWrap and Smart Converter) is they use FFMPEG open source x.264 codecs. Apple's H.264 codec is superior (arguably, marginally better... but better.)
YouTube will "respect" your upload if it's already done well (to their specifications.) Otherwise, their software will recompress it.
In QT7Pro, you settings should be:
Compression type: H.264
Frame Rate 30 (or 29.97) fps  (29.97 is the "true" 30...) [Even if your project is 720/60p - YT wants 30]
Keyframes: Automatic
Frame Reordering : OFF!
Data Rate: (I'll get back to this)
Optimized for: Streaming (only allowed with Best Quality encoding setting)
Quality: (if you specify a data rate, you only can use "High" -- and you *should* specify a data rate)
Encoding: Best Quality (Multi-pass)
Audio:
Format: AAC
Channels: Stereo (don't think it matters)
Rate: 44.1KHz
[show advanced settings]
Render settings (doesn't matter - normal is fine)
MPEG-4 AAC Encoder Settings:
I use Variable bit rate ; Sound Quality at 128 - 160kbps (about 2/3's to Best on the slider)
(you can use a constant bit rate - i think YT allows up to about 192kbps, but I don't "push it")
If you fall within these parameters, YT is not likely to futz with your vid, you'll get what you put up.
Now, for the Data Rates:
For 1080/30p (29.97p) I've found that 4Mbits/sec is adequate for most video (most of mine are tutorials). If you have sections of your video that have something like trees blowing in the wind shot against a bright blue sky -- you will definitely need a much higher data rate (check your transitions too, they can be subject to some nasty blocking/artifacting when highly compressed). To figure out how much, take a 5 second clip* of the highest action and transcode it at - start at 12.5Mbits/sec (or 12,500 kbits/sec) - and see if you notice any "blocking" - if you do, crank up the data rate another 500-1000kbits/sec (or more if it's pretty bad). If you don't — try optimizing your compression by reducing the data rate until blocking appears. You shouldn't need to exceed 18Mbits/sec... Upload your 5 sec clip to youtube and see if it works out okay. If so, just delete it. Transcode your video to those specs and upload to youtube. Remember your settings - they'll serve you well.
For 720 video, 3200kbits/sec is a good starting point.  480 - 1500 kbits/sec. and so on...
Bandwidth (aka data rate) is **key** to good video. The more compressed your video is, the more YT likes it. The more YT likes your video, the more likely they'll leave it alone and just pass it straight through. (I have seen them pass through data rates up to 18Mbits/sec. Just follow their rules.)
[*In Quicktime 7 Pro, you can set an in and out point anywhere in your video by typing 'i' for the in point and 'o' for the out. Copy (Command-C) the selection. Command N to create a new player and paste - and you have your 5 (or whatever) second clip.]