Video Compression for Web, Disc and PC/TV/Console Playback

This lesson covers the history of codecs in three markets; streaming, optical and acquisition. It’s not essential, but if you’re aware of technologies like RealVideo or Silverlight, and wonder about what they are or were, and what happened to them, it may be worth a watch.

When you produce video, you work with codecs at each stage of the process. Your camera encodes the video for storage, then perhaps you transcode that to an intermediate format like ProRes or Avid DnxHD for editing. Then you encode again for delivery. Sometimes, the capture and delivery codecs are the same (H.264), sometimes they’re not. In this lesson, you’ll learn all about capture, intermediate and delivery codecs so you'll know exactly what you're doing at each stage of the production process.

H.264 is currently the “it” codec, the only one you really need to reach computers and mobile devices. So if you encode a lot of video for web distribution, you’ll be working with H.264 a lot. In this lesson, you’ll learn what H.264 is, how it relates to the MPEG-4 specification (and MPEG-4 codec), which audio codecs can be used with H.264 and which container formats can deliver H.264-encoded video. It’s a great foundation for your future H.264 encoding efforts.

Profiles and levels determine the compatibility of the file you're producing and the target platform for playback. Use the wrong profile and the file won't play. Got your attention? In this lesson, you'll learn what profiles are, what they do and which profile to use for computers and mobile devices. You'll also learn where levels fit in, and how much quality difference profiles really make.

If you like tinkering with your H.264 encoding parameters, this lesson is for you. Here, you'll learn about parameters like Entropy Encoding (CABAC/CAVLC) and advanced B-Frame and P-Frame options. If you're confused about how an I-Frame differs from an IDR Frame, and how the adaptive B-Frame configuration option differs from Pyramid B-Frames, take this lesson and you'll be enlightened.

x264 is the highest quality H.264 codec, and it's used in freeware tools like FFMPEG and HandBrake and desktop transoders like Sorenson Squeeze and Telestream Episode. In this lesson, you'll learn how to use x264 presets and tunings to quickly dial in the optimal tradeoff between quality and encoding speed.

No matter what you do, YouTube is going to re-encode your video after you upload it. So you better upload the highest possible quality files you can, and follow several other rules to get the best possible result. In this lesson, you'll learn the "rules according to YouTube" so the videos you show the world on YouTube will look their best.

Encoding for mobile playback isn't hard; it's just very technical and precise, and if you don't know the rules, you may produce a file that won't play on your target device. In this lesson, you'll learn the rules for encoding for playback on Apple and Android playback.

When encoding for playback on your computer, the natural inclination is to go big, encode a high-resolution file at very high data rates so it will look its very best. But at some point, higher data rates deliver diminishing returns, and hey, if a buddy asks for the video, you really do want it to fit on a thumb drive.

This lesson explores topics like the optimal data rate for SD and HD content, using data mined from how Hollywood encodes prime-time episodes for iTunes delivery. It also raises practical considerations like screen size, the source and transfer mechanism, and encoding recommendations from Roku, Google TV and Apple TV.

Encoding for streaming is always a trade-off, where you balance data rate and resolution to produce a file you can deliver to your viewers in real time. In this lesson you'll get a quick review of those parameters, and then learn how to compute and apply the single most important metric in streaming, bits per pixel. Then you'll see the configurations used by major corporate websites and broadcasters, plus get a cheat sheet the will instantly help you identify the ideal configuration for your streaming video. You can opt for the short answer delivered 40 seconds in, or stay for the entire lesson and round out your knowledge of streaming encoding.

Encoding for DVD is easy, right? Just use the preset right there in your encoding tool and you're done, right? Well, not so fast, Bucko (or Buckette). Many encoder presets will produce files that may not play on the el-cheapo and old DVD players scattered in living rooms around the world. And then you'll have to field a phone call from your disgruntled friend/family/colleague and, worse yet, have to replace the DVD. So watch this lesson and save us all the aggravation.

The are multiple technical and practical considerations to weigh when encoding files for Blu-ray delivery, like which codec for audio and video, and which data rates. Even the video formats supported is persnickety - did you know Blu-ray won't play 1080p30, just 1080p24 aor 1080i60? When it comes to encoding for optical disc, what you don't know can hurt you. This lesson covers those details, and many, many more, to help you produce files that will look and play well on your Blu-ray player.

Now that iBooks Author can import any file that QuickTime can, Apple has made it easy to add videos to its fabulous iBooks. There's just one problem; Apple encodes those files using data rates almost double what Hollywood uses for their iTunes episodes, making them hugely inefficient and doubling or tripling the file space and download time they consume.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to produce a file that iBooks author won't reencode using the data rate of your choice, so you can pack as much video into your iBook as you need to. If you're authoring for iBooks, this one lesson may be worth the price of admission.

Apple Compressor 4.1 (after the recent upgrade) is the key encoding tool for Final Cut Pro X. This tutorial starts with an overview of the program and its workflows, and then details how to create and apply custom presets. Then it shows how to create H.264 files for general distribution and reviews Compressor's presets for DVD and Blu-ray output. It concludes with a look at how to deinterlace in Compressor and how to make sure that you output aspect-ratio correct video from the program. Though the tutorial is lengthy, the table of contents lists the time each section of content starts, so you can easily watch the desired content.

Adobe Media Encoder is the encoding tool for Premiere Pro. This tutorial starts with an overview of the program and its workflows, and then details how to create and apply custom presets. Then it shows how to create H.264 files for general distribution and reviews Adobe Media Encoder's presets for DVD and Blu-ray output. It concludes with a look at how to deinterlace in Adobe Media Encoder and how to make sure that you output aspect-ratio correct video from the program. Though the tutorial is lengthy, the table of contents lists the time each section of content starts, so you can easily watch the desired content.

Sorenson Squeeze is a popular and well-featured desktop encoding tool used by many streaming media producers. This tutorial starts with an overview of the program and its workflows, and then details how to create and apply custom presets. Then it shows how to create H.264 files for general distribution and reviews Squeeze’s presets for DVD and Blu-ray output. It concludes with a look at how to deinterlace in Squeeze and how to make sure that you output aspect-ratio correct video from the program. Though the tutorial is lengthy, the table of contents lists the time each section of content starts, so you can easily watch the desired content.

Telestream Episode is another popular and well-featured desktop encoding tool used by many streaming media producers. This tutorial starts with an overview of the program and its workflows, and then details how to create and apply custom presets. Then it shows how to create H.264 files for general distribution and reviews Episode’s presets for DVD and Blu-ray output. It concludes with a look at how to deinterlace in Episode and how to make sure that you output aspect-ratio correct video from the program. Though the tutorial is lengthy, the table of contents lists the time each section of content starts, so you can easily watch the desired content.

HandBrake is a free, cross-platform encoder that essentially serves as a GUI for x264 encoding, and it produces excellent output quality. This tutorial starts with an overview of the program and its workflows, and then details how to create and apply custom presets. Then it shows how to create H.264 files for general distribution and reviews HandBrake’s presets for device output. It concludes with a look at how to deinterlace in HandBrake and how to make sure that you output aspect-ratio correct video from the program. Though the tutorial is lengthy, the table of contents lists the time each section of content starts, so you can easily watch the desired content.

So you've decided to post your videos online, congratulations. You have three options, doing it all yourself (DIY), posting videos to a (user generated content) UGC site like YouTube or using an online video platform (OVP) like Wistia or Brightcove. All three approaches have their pros and cons, which you'll learn about in this lession.

HTML5 is a great technology for easily and inexpensively reaching desktop and mobile viewers, but there are some limitations, and you need to know techniques like Flash Fallback to reach 100% of all desktop browsers. In this lesson, you'll get an overview of what HTML5 can and can't do and how to use it, with nuts and bolts implementation direction in Lesson 5.

OK, raise your hand if you never uploaded a video to YouTube, or never embedded a YouTube video into a website. Go ahead, no one can see you. Actually, while I'm guessing that few who've actually made it this far are in this class, I wanted to provide a tutorial for those who might be. So this is it. I also wanted to show how working with an OVP was very much like working with YouTube and other UGC sites. So, in this tutorial, you'll learn how to encode a video for uploading to a UGC/OVP site, and after the upload, how to embed that video into a web page.

Lesson 2 provided the theory; this lesson the nuts and bolts. Here, you'll learn how to encode videos for HTML5 playback in Sorenson Squeeze, and how to embed those videos into a website. I demonstrate with Squeeze because it's the easiest way to implement HTML5; the tool does all the heavy lifting for you. But if you can code a bit, and know how to create both WebM and H.264 files, this lesson should provide the information to do it yourself without Squeeze.

You can't have high quality streaming video without high quality video. In many cases, optimizing the brightness and contrast of the source video in your video editor does more to improve quality than anything you can do on the encoding side. In this lesson, you'll learn how to enter Premiere Pro's Color Correction Workspace, how to read a Waveform Monitor and how to optimize the brightness and contrast of your source videos in Adobe Premiere Pro CC/CS6.

The file worked on in the tutorial is available for download so you can follow along.

You can't have high quality streaming video without high quality video. In many cases, optimizing the brightness and contrast of the source video in your video editor does more to improve quality than anything you can do on the encoding side. In this lesson, you'll learn how to use Final Cut Pro X's video scopes and color board to optimize the brightness and contrast of your source videos.

The file worked on in the tutorial is available for download so you can follow along.

Final Cut Pro 7 was a grand old program beloved and still used by many. If you're one of those, and you're not familiar with FCP7's color and brightness controls, we have a lesson for you. In this lesson, you'll learn how to shift into Color Correction mode, how to work with FCP7's Waveform Monitor, how to use the Brightness and Contrast adjustments and why the Color Corrector is a better option. The lesson concludes with a look at fixing backlit video and perfecting white balance.

The file used in the tutorial is available for download so you can follow along.

Every so often you'll have to shoot in low light conditions and your video will be grainy, which makes it really hard to compress at high quality. One great tool for removing this noise is the Neat Video filter; you'll learn how to use it in this tutorial.

Sometimes pops and clicks appear in your audio, and often background noises creep their way in as well. In this lesson, you'll learn how to cure both problems with Adobe Audition.

You can download the file used in the tutorial and follow along.

Sometimes pops and clicks appear in your audio, and often background noises creep their way in as well. In this lesson, you'll learn how to cure both problems with Final Cut Pro X.

While Adobe Audition and Final Cut Pro are competent at transient and background noise elimination, iZotope RX3 is the best tool for the job. In this lesson, you'll see (and hear) why, and learn how to cure both problems in RX3 as well.

I produce a lot of screencams, and sometimes my voice fades at the end of the day, which can make the instruction muffled and less distinct. Audio compression is a great way to fix that, and it's really convenient in Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Adobe Audition. Learn how in this tutorial.

We've all recording clipped, distorted audio from a signal that's too hot, resulting in time-consuming retakes or total disaster if the audio is from a live event. The Declip feature in iZotope RX3 can reduce that disaster to a quick and easy fix. This tutorial shows you how.

This tutorial will provide an overview of the Adobe Media Encoder interface and show you the many ways that you can load files into the encoding queue.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to set settings for the Adobe Media Encoder's most important preferences.

In this tutorial, you'll learn about the Adobe Media Encoder's presets. We start with a review of the formats supported in Adobe Media Encoder Creative Cloud, and then learn how to create, customize, save, import and export Adobe Media Encoder presets.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to work in the Encoding Queue, learning how to add presets, change encoding priorities, pause, stop and resume encoding, and how to encode multiple files as efficiently as possible on multiple-core computers.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to scale and crop in Adobe Media Encoder while avoiding black bars and aspect ratio problems. If you're experiencing any of these issues, watch this tutorial to resolve them.

The new effects tab lets you add a Lumetri look to file before encoding, as well as text, timecode and graphics file overlays. These can be very useful when you don't want to edit the file in Adobe Premiere Pro or After Effects. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to apply these effects.

This tutorial describes how Adobe Media Encoder handles deinterlacing. The short answer is that AME deinterlaces anytime you produce a progressive file from interlaced source, but there are no compression controls to adjust.

Watch folders are great for efficiently encoding files, and for sharing encoding capabilities over a workgroup. In this tutorial, you'll learn what a watch folder is, what it's good for, how to create one and how to configure the format and preset.

H.264 is the current "it" codec you'll use for a range of target platforms, from desktops, to mobile, to OTT and when distributing via Flash and HTML5. In this tutorial, you'll learn which H.264-related audio and video options Adobe Media Encoder makes avaialble, and how to configure them.

In this tutorial, you'll learn to encoding compressed audio and video files to add to a DVD. We'll start by looking at the DVD spec, and practical requirements of encoding for DVD playback. Then we'll learn to choose and configure the best preset for your content and apply that preset in the Adobe Media Encoder.

In this tutorial, you'll learn to encoding compressed audio and video files to add to a Blu-ray disc. We'll start by looking at the Blu-ray spec, and practical requirements of encoding for Blu-ray playback. Then we'll learn to choose and configure the best preset for your content and apply that preset in the Adobe Media Encoder.

No matter what you do, YouTube is going to re-encode your video after you upload it. So you better upload the highest possible quality files you can, and follow several other rules to get the best possible result. In this lesson, you'll learn the "rules according to YouTube" so the videos you show the world on YouTube will look their best. you'll also learn how to encode for uploading to other user generated content sites, as well as online video platforms like Wistia and Brightcove.

Encoding for mobile playback isn't hard; it's just very technical and precise, and if you don't know the rules, you may produce a file that won't play on your target device. In this lesson, you'll learn the rules for encoding for playback on Apple and Android playback.

Adaptive streaming is the preferred technique for delivering video to a range of viewers on varying devices and connections because it optimizes the experience for all viewers. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to produce files for adaptive streaming with the Adobe Media Encoder.

To use the Adobe Media Encoder effectively, you need to know quite a bit about a lot of topics, like codecs and compression, container formats, file characteristics like resolution and data rate, bitrate controls like constant and variable bitrate encoding, and delivery concepts like single file and adaptive streaming. This document defines all these items, plus lots more, as you can see in the Table of Contents below.

Many of these terms are defined in lessons above, though you may find this document a faster way to acquire the same information.