Depending on what your delivery strategy is for your new media masterpiece you’ll need to export your video from your editing software timeline out to a usable file for your desired platform. Social media, USask Web Pages, YouTube, and another media serving platforms will all have a preferred resolution and file size. Some platforms such as TikTok will want a vertical aspect ratio and others like YouTube will prefer horizontal. Depending on your chosen editing software this process will look a little different and you may have slightly different options to adjust. That said, here are a few recommended settings depending on where you intend your media to be delivered from. Use this section as a reference guide when it comes time to export and make as many of these adjustments as you are able given the parameters your software allows for.

YouTube or Panopto

• Format: H.264 (.mp4)
• Resolution: UHD: 3840 x 2160. Quad HD: 2560 x 1440. Full HD: 1920 x 1080.
• Aspect Ratios: match the aspect of the source video.
• File Size Limit: 256GB (for verified user accounts)
• Video Length: Up to 15min non-verified users or up to 12hrs for verified
• Frame rate: match the frame rate of the source video.
• Target bitrate: 8 Mbps (45Mbps for 4K)
• Bitrate encoding: VBR, 1-pass.
• Field order: Progressive.

Facebook

• Format: H.264 video codec, .Mp4 format
• Resolution 1080p or less
• Aspect Ratios: Square 1:1 or Rectangular 16:9 or 16:9 (Mobile Phones)
• File Size limit: Supports video file size up to 10GB
• Video Length: Videos must be less than 240 minutes long.
• Audio Codec: Stereo AAC audio compression with 128kbps

Instagram

• Format: H.264
• Video aspect ratio: You can upload videos with any aspect ratio between Landscape (1.91:1) and Vertical (9:16). But the most popular are: Square (1:1) 1080×1080, Portrait (4:5) 1200×1500 , Vertical (9:16), 1080×1920
• Minimum Frame Rate & resolution: Videos should have a minimum frame rate of 30fps and minimum resolution of 720 pixels.
• Maximum length and size: The maximum file size for videos that are 10 minutes or less is 650mb. The maximum file size for videos up to 60 minutes is 3.6gb.
• Instagram Reel Length You can upload videos up to 90 seconds with Instagram Reels.
• Target bitrate: Match Source – Adaptive High Bitrate

Twitter

• Minimum resolution: 32×32 (which is a small!)
• Maximum resolution: 1920×1200 (and 1200 x 1900)
• Aspect Ratios: Anything between 1:2.39 – 2.29:1 range (inclusive). Recommended 1920×1080 HD
• Maximum frame rate: 40fps
• Maximum bitrate: 25mbps

TikTok

• Format: H.264
• Video aspect ratio: Vertical (9:16)
• Minimum Frame Rate & resolution: Videos should have a minimum frame rate of 30fps and minimum resolution of 1080×1920 pixels.
• Maximum length: Videos you create on TikTok can be up to 60 seconds long and Videos you upload (and create on a different app) can be up to 3 minutes long.
• Target bitrate: Match Source – Adaptive High Bitrate.