Resizing videos - YouTube content

[zarchy]

I tried to post a video clip on YouTube but it came out terrible. The file size of the original Mpeg2 clip was too big so I tried saving it as Mpeg1. The file size was now small enough, but after I posted it the results were awful. I did a little research and found out that YouTube recommends resizing the videos to 320 x 240 before uploading them. After spending some time looking through the menus, I couldn't figure out a way to do that. Can anybody help? I am using VideoStudio SE 7.

[Ron P.]

I'm not sure of the limitations VS7SE has, but it is not a full version so some things may not be possible. Try using the Export on the Share Tab. Then there may be the option of Web Page. What you need to do is have your settings to a size of 320 X 240, frame rate of 15 fps, and the audio setting of 8bit mono. This will produce a smaller file size, more suitable for viewing on the internet.

Another way is to use Windows Movie Maker. If you are using Windows XP, it comes with it. Windows Movie Maker will be able to encode your video to WMV format, with the resolution recommended by YouTube. If you choose to use Windows Movie Maker, import your original video file, preferably an AVI. Everytime you recode a video clip you loose quality.

[zarchy]

Thanks Ron. Your post helped me somewhat, but I am still not there yet. By going to the share tab and then selecting "custom", I can set some of the parameters. I was able to set the size to 320 x 240, but 15 fps frame rate was not an option. I selected 30 fps, which is what YouTube recommends anyway. YouTube recommends MPEG4, but this is not one of the options in VS 7 SE. I can also save it as a WMV file. Do you think this would work?

[Ron P.]

MPEG4 was not available until VS9, and only then as a plug-in, free for registered users. Yes WMV will work for posting on YouTube. If I recall correctly, they accept most video formats, MPEG1, MPEG-4, WMV, MOV, DivX, and Flash.