Encoding settings for videos uploaded to Vidyard – Vidyard Support

Many online video providers recommend settings that you should configure prior to uploading a video to their service—the file format, codec, an optimal frame rate and bitrate, etc. Typically these properties are set whenever you export the video file from editing software.

Vidyard handles the optimization of these video settings for you.

Whenever you upload a video to Vidyard, we begin a process called encoding that ensures your video can be watched at the highest allowable quality that also maintains a continuous playback experience.

This article provides details about supported video formats, adaptive streaming (HLS), as well as the expected output settings for videos uploaded to Vidyard's encoding service.

Supported video formats

Vidyard supports a comprehensive range of video formats and codecs commonly used on the web. Below is a list of some of the common containers/codecs that work nicely with Vidyard, but it is by no means an exhaustive list:

Containers	WEBM, MP4, MKV, MOV
Codecs	H.264, H.265, ProRes 422, VP8, VP9

Note: Videos with multiple audio tracks must be uploaded in H.264/AAC as an .mp4

File sizes

You can upload video files to your library with a maximum size of 20GB
Videos uploaded to Vidyard via the dashboard API have no size limit.

Output settings for video files uploaded to Vidyard

Whenever you upload a video to Vidyard, we'll begin to encode the video and optimize it for playback on the web. The optimized version of your video will have the following settings once the encoding process is complete:

Video	H.264 codec Progressive video (de-interlaced) Frame rate (FPS) of the source file is not altered through encoding
Audio	AAC codec 2-channel stereo (mono is supported if part of the original uploaded file) Sample rate 48khz Bitrate is an allowable min/max range based on uploaded source file mono = 64–128 kbps stereo = 128–384 kbps
Resolutions	Up to 4K video (360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 2160p) Vidyard will not encode a version of the video that exceeds the resolution of the original upload file. However, we will always encode at least a 360p version.

Adaptive streaming (HLS)

Vidyard uses HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) to deliver the highest quality version of your video at any given time.

Whenever you upload a video file to Vidyard, the encoding process makes available several different versions of the same video at different resolution qualities. This allows Vidyard to dynamically adjust the quality of the stream based on the available internet speed of the viewer. As the available bandwidth fluctuates, the quality of stream will adapt to ensure continuous playback without buffering.

Unless the viewer selects a particular resolution from the settings menu on the player, Vidyard will automatically choose the highest quality version of the video that the internet connection can support.

The quality of playback is also impacted by the embed size of the video. For example, if the size of your embedded video is 384x216, it is not an efficient use of bandwidth to serve a high resolution 2160p video in a container of that size. However, if the viewer enters fullscreen we will adjust to the highest available quality that the viewer's internet connection can support.

Output settings for videos recorded with Vidyard

Vidyard also allows you to record your own videos through our browser extension, mobile app, and integrations like Vidyard for Gmail or Outlook.

Videos created through these channels upload to your library after recording and immediately start to encode.

Videos recorded from your browser

Videos that you record through one of Vidyard's browser-based recording tools have the following output settings:

the browser extensions (for Chrome or Edge)
recording a video from your account library
the Vidyard for Gmail, the Outlook (Office 365) add-in and other third-party integrations

Container	WEBM
Codecs	VP9/OPUS
Frame rate	Target rate of 30fps; minimum of 25fps
Bitrate	Determined by your computer's available system and browser resources
Resolution	Camera recordings: 360p, 480p, and 720p versions of the video. Screen recordings: only a 720p version of the video.

Videos recorded with the desktop app

Videos that you record through the Vidyard desktop app (MacOS or Windows) have the following output settings:

Container	WEBM
Codecs	VP9/OPUS
Frame rate	Target rate of 30fps; minimum of 25fps
Bitrate	Determined by your computer's available system and browser resources
Resolution	Camera or screen recording: matches the resolution of your input source “as is” (up to 4k)

Videos recorded with the mobile app

Videos that you record through the Vidyard mobile app (iOS or Android) have the following output settings:

Container	MP4
Codecs	H264/AAC
Resolution	Camera recordings: 360p, 480p, and 720p versions of the video Screen recordings: not applicable

Trouble uploading a video?

The Vidyard uploader is designed to handle a broad range of video formats, containers and codecs. If the file you want to upload to Vidyard is not supported, or even if the quality of the uploaded video doesn't turn out quite right, try running your video through Handbrake.

HandBrake is a free tool that allows you to convert video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs. We recommend exporting your video in H.264/AAC as an .mp4 file.