[Sony Vegas Pro]Proper Video Settings for YouTube!

[wyattzx]

Hey folks! 

 

Having used Sony Vegas Pro and many of its iterations for ~9 years, I've often come across one particular question: "What are the best Render Settings for Sony Vegas Pro?" I'm here to answer that with clean imagery and easy-to-understand wording! I know not a whole lot of you are Content Creators, but for those who are, they may find this helpful!

 

Note: This does not apply solely to Sony Vegas Pro 12, nor Sony Vegas Pro itself. These are generalized video settings as illustrated through Sony Vegas Pro's menus. 

 

So! You've got that nice video of [content] all wrapped up? It looks great! I especially appreciate the detail you added at [timecode]! That was especially clever!

You've run into an issue though? Oh? You don't know what you should render it at for YouT--- You don't even know how to render it!? It's easy, kiddo! 

 

 

 

Step 1:

 

Navigate up to the top of your Vegas Pro program, and go to File -> Render As

 

 

Step 2:

 

While this may receive some flak, the H.264 codec is currently the best Render option available for Rendering videos in Sony Vegas Pro, and widely accepted as the current best overall. Navigate to the option highlighted in the menu below!

 

 

Step 3: 

 

Expand that menu, and you'll be presented with a list of presets. Don't just jump to the one that looks the most appealing though! Navigate through the list until you come across "Internet 1080p." 

 

 

 

Step 4: 

 

Click the "Customize Template..." button, to bring forth a menu where we'll customize it to our liking!

 

 

From this menu, we can see a few options we'll be changing. The resolution, the Profile, the Framerate, and the bit rate. Here's some things to note:

 

• Your Resolution should always match, or be lower than your source footage's resolution. Never higher. 
• The same rule that applies to your resolution, also applies to your framerate. 
• For HD content, you DO NOT want Interlaced footage. Make sure that your Field Order is always Progressive Scan.
• A higher bit rate equals a higher filesize. You'll be making a compromise between video quality, and filesize. 

Your resolution should always be the same, or lower than your source footage. Never higher! YouTube has Native Support for 4K, so if your footage is in 4K, be sure to select it as its resolution!

 

 

While this list does not display 4K resolution, (3840x2160) Vegas Pro does allow you to render it! Simply select "(Custom frame size)" and type in the values!

From this dropdown menu, you'll be selecting the resolution for your footage. Be sure to select an option that best matches your source!

 

 

Framerate is just as important as resolution when it comes to matching your footage. Sony Vegas Pro does support 60fps renders, though it is not listed here! Unlike the custom value option for resolution, instead you'll be typing in the value in the box itself. Simply type the framerate at which your footage was recorded. "60" for FRAPS recordings at 60fps, for example. 

 

Next is our bit rate. A bit rate is just that. A rate at which how many bits can be used per second of footage. Traditional bit rates for YouTube are 5-20mbps. 

A variable bit rate versus a constant bit rate is less about which is better, and more about how much time you have and how efficient you want your render to be. 

Selecting a constant bit rate of 20mbps is going to grant you a very sharp video, but with a larger filesize than would be had through a variable bit rate of 10 average and 20 maximum. A variable bit rate allows Vegas Pro to increase the bit rate for a certain bit of rendering, so as to allow for better compression when necessary, while maintaining a low filesize, due to it not being necessary to use such a high bit rate for larger blocks of similar data. (solid walls, still images and video, etc.)

 

More is always better with video editing, but the results are largely marginal after a point of about 50mbps. Especially for YouTube, as they do not support bit rates higher than so. 

 

You can calculate your video's output filesize by taking your bit rate, dividing it by 8, and multiplying your number by the number of seconds. (10 / 8 = 1.25 x 180 = 225MB file for 3-minute video.) 

 

The higher you can go, the better. Something like 20,000,000 average and 50,000,000 maximum. However, I find a good spot in the middle is something around 10,000,000 average, and 20,000,000 maximum. Around 250MB for a 3-minute video. 

 

Step 5:

 

So! You've got your Video Settings figured out! Audio is just as important though! Navigate over to your Audio Tab, and take a look inside there!

 

 

Here, you'll be able to select the Sample Rate, and Bit Rate of your audio. The best option here is to select a bit rate from the list which is closest to your source's audio. YouTube does not support audio bit rates over 320kbps however, so generally speaking this is the best option! 

 

That's it!

 

It really is that easy to get great, low filesize HD uploads for YouTube! These settings should transfer over between programs you use, though the interface and exact labeling might be different!

 

I hope this was helpful! c:

[Firearm2112]

Thanks! I was looking for a guide on this! Also is it ok to let my GPU do the rendering?

[wyattzx]

Thanks! I was looking for a guide on this! Also is it ok to let my GPU do the rendering?

Absolutely! If you have the option to render using your CUDA cores, or OpenCL, then do that! It can speed up rendering times by more than 50%! 

[Geekazoid]

I pretty much know Sony Vegas Pro inside and out, so to speak, through teaching myself from scratch, so I do know all of that. But it's quite nice of you to take the time to provide this guide for others who may not know how to do this.

Well done mate!

[Raphael_123]

all my shadowplay videos will look bad in youtube no matter what i do

[pspfreak]

What I hate is that I cant render with my GPU because sony hasn't updated for it yet. I mean if cyberlink can update their software for proper support, why the hell can't sony?

[Ceatra]

Great tutorial... thanks

[Will Barnard]

all my shadowplay videos will look bad in youtube no matter what i do

Same problem here.  :angry:

[Will Barnard]

With a GeForce card, would it be better to use OpenCL or CUDA when rendering?

[wyattzx]

With a GeForce card, would it be better to use OpenCL or CUDA when rendering?

OpenCL is for AMD cards, CUDA is for NVIDIA cards. So go for CUDA. c:

[Theo]

You can also put the video file in easy h264 to further reduce size and not really lose any quality

[Captain Matt]

I'd like to add to the conversation. I use Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum.
If anyone has specific questions about rendering or doing something in that feel free to message me.
I think my render settings are a TAD different.

Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum is quirky as hell but you CAN learn to work with it. For $30 bucks its pretty great.

[wyattzx]

I'd like to add to the conversation. I use Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum.

If anyone has specific questions about rendering or doing something in that feel free to message me.

I think my render settings are a TAD different.

Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum is quirky as hell but you CAN learn to work with it. For $30 bucks its pretty great.

Ha. For $30 it's hardly great at all. 

 

It's phenomenal! A lot of what Sony cuts from Vegas Pro is actually a lot of high-end features that you don't even need. Like stereoscopic 3D videos, some of the advanced audio stuff, and other such niche features. It's such a great suite for a great price. 

[Paralectic]

Same problem here.  :angry:

Mine are perfectly fine.

[ShadowCaptain]

@NonaHexa

 

great tutorial

 

I slightly disagree about outputting it at a higher resolution

 

For example.. lets say you have recorded a video at 720p 30mbps - If you render this out and upload it to youtube, it will play back at 5mbps, 

so local 720p 30mbs = 720p 5mbps on youtube

If you render it on a 1080p timeline, then you will get  720p upscaled to 1080p at 8mbps - and it looks sharper

 

For example, if recording gameplay for youtube at 1080p, rendering it out and upsclaing to 4k you can increase the bitrate from 8mbps to 35mbps - sure its not REALLY a 4k video, its 1080p but its a much higher bitrate

 

 

Obviously the downside is longer to render, takes more storage and longer to upload

[wyattzx]

@NonaHexa

 

great tutorial

 

I slightly disagree about outputting it at a higher resolution

 

For example.. lets say you have recorded a video at 720p 30mbps - If you render this out and upload it to youtube, it will play back at 5mbps, 

so local 720p 30mbs = 720p 5mbps on youtube

If you render it on a 1080p timeline, then you will get  720p upscaled to 1080p at 8mbps - and it looks sharper

 

For example, if recording gameplay for youtube at 1080p, rendering it out and upsclaing to 4k you can increase the bitrate from 8mbps to 35mbps - sure its not REALLY a 4k video, its 1080p but its a much higher bitrate

 

 

Obviously the downside is longer to render, takes more storage and longer to upload

The only issue with this is that it severely stretches your footage. You'll get blockiness, and damn it is not pretty. I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you go from 1080p up. Stretching 720p footage is just a really bad idea. 

[ShadowCaptain]

The only issue with this is that it severely stretches your footage. You'll get blockiness, and damn it is not pretty. I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you go from 1080p up. Stretching 720p footage is just a really bad idea. 

 

yeah I wouldn't upscale 720p only 1080p to 1440p/4k I was just making a point

 

And that's not true about it stretching and being block - reference video here, you can see how the same 1080p video scaled up looks WAY better

 

Also tested it myself on multiple video types

 

[wyattzx]

yeah I wouldn't upscale 720p only 1080p to 1440p/4k I was just making a point

 

And that's not true about it stretching and being block - reference video here, you can see how the same 1080p video scaled up looks WAY better

 

Also tested it myself on multiple video types

Remember that you cannot increase a video's quality by increasing its bitrate. I mean this from taking a source file's bitrate. Now, I'm not saying this so as to assume that all bitrates are low. In fact, FRAPS files have very large bitrates. Rendering in a higher resolution allows the video to be played back on YouTube with a higher bitrate, yes. YouTube uses a variable bitrate system. Rendering a video at 3840x2160, and uploading it to YouTube will enable 4K, but remember that your video is NOT 4K. Your source file did not contain that many pixels. So what this means is that your footage gets stretched in its render. Each pixel at 1080p now takes up four more pixels. This is how your video file becomes a 1080p one. You can see this in practice by resizing a 1080p wallpaper up to 4K. That is why there are trade-offs. Your video will look worse rendering it at a resolution higher than the source media, but it will look better on YouTube compared to a 1080p file uploaded at 1080p. The increase in bitrate does a good job compensating for this, but you need to play the file back at 4K to run it at that bitrate. Not a lot of people have the internet for that kind of playback. Anything below that and it will look no better than it did before. watching a video at 4K with a 50mbps bitrate is going to require you to have a 35mbps+ download speed from your ISP. Not unheard of, but a majority don't have this option, so 1080p is better. Plus, YouTube does not support 2160p60 yet, and I would much rather have 60fps than a slightly sharper image. It doesn't make much difference when there's a lot of movement anyways. Not nearly as much as a higher bitrate does. 

[ShadowCaptain]

SNIP

 

Agreed

 

Just saying that as far as youtube playback goes, if you have the option to upscale and the extra render tie/upload time does not bother you  its a great way to increase quality

 

For gameplay then yes 1080p 60 is the way to go for now (until they support 60fps at higher resolution) but for like a review or something its a great way to increase video quality

 

Sure not EVERYONE can play back the video in 4k, but if they are watcihng it a 480p it doesnt matter anyway, but for the people that can it can make a big difference

[wyattzx]

Agreed

 

Just saying that as far as youtube playback goes, if you have the option to upscale and the extra render tie/upload time does not bother you  its a great way to increase quality

 

For gameplay then yes 1080p 60 is the way to go for now (until they support 60fps at higher resolution) but for like a review or something its a great way to increase video quality

 

Sure not EVERYONE can play back the video in 4k, but if they are watcihng it a 480p it doesnt matter anyway, but for the people that can it can make a big difference

I'm actually testing that now. Give me a moment.

 

Alright. @ShadowCaptain

 

 

 

Both of these images were captured at the same timestamp in VLC Media Player, both rendered at 50mbps NON-VARIABLE bitrate. The original recording was with FRAPS, and these screenshots were not edited at all. The difference in render settings for the two was ONLY the resolution. 1920x1080, and 3840x2160.

 

This is why upscaling is bad.

 

Note: I do have an odd issue with my FRAPS, where the footage appears darker than the recording. It is only when using the DWM feature. However, this does NOT affect video quality.

[ShadowCaptain]

SNIP

 

Hmm I have only had positive results, especially when upscaling camera/video game footage

[Captain Matt]

Ha. For $30 it's hardly great at all. 

 

It's phenomenal! A lot of what Sony cuts from Vegas Pro is actually a lot of high-end features that you don't even need. Like stereoscopic 3D videos, some of the advanced audio stuff, and other such niche features. It's such a great suite for a great price. 

My friend INSISTS on paying $20/month for the whole Adobe suite. AWESOME. Cool Adobe suite. But like you can save so much money with Gimp and if you didn't complain about how Vegas works differently than Premiere. Ahh well.

[julietann]

Vegas proxies are XDCAM mpeg-2. If you cannot edit that smoothly then it is not likely anything will edit smoothly on your machine. MPEG-2 is very fast/easy to decode.

 

links: http://www.brorsoft.com/video-to-software/sony-vegas-h264.html

[zor33na]

Hi, I bought vegas 14 from humble bundle before and gpu rendering doesn't work even if you enable it in settings, now according to new add that I got that I should upgrade for a price of 150 dollars to get vegas 15, with included hardware support for rendering I don't belive it.

 

Any help or insight would be nice. (gpu maxes out at 11% usage for abit at the start when trying to render anything btw)

[Grey Eminence]

Hi, it is still applicable in 2020? I use Sony Vegas 17 (Magix Pro)