Many online video providers recommend settings that you should configure prior to uploading a video to their service—the container, codec, an optimal frame rate and bitrate. Typically these properties are set whenever you export the video file from editing software.
Vidyard handles the optimization of these video encoding settings for you.
Whenever you upload a video, Vidyard encodes your video to ensure that it can be watched at the highest allowable quality that also maintains a continuous playback experience.
To help you understand the expected outputs, this article provides details about video formats, adaptive streaming (HLS), and encoding settings for videos uploaded to Vidyard or recorded with different Vidyard apps.
Encoding settings for uploaded videos
Whenever you upload a video to Vidyard, we begin to encode the video and optimize it for playback on the web. The uploaded video will have the following settings once the encoding process is complete:
| Containers | Raw media file: same as source (see supported file types) up to 20GB
Derivative files: MP4 |
| Video | H264, progressive (deinterlaced), framerate: same as source file, bitrate: variable |
| Audio | AAC, 2-channel stereo (mono is supported if part of source file), 48khz sample rate.
Bitrate is an allowable min/max range based on source file:
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| Resolution |
Up to 4K video (360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 2160p) Vidyard encodes the video and makes it available in all resolutions, starting with the original resolution down to 360p. |
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 creates several different versions of the same video at different resolutions. This allows Vidyard to automatically choose the highest-quality version of the video that your internet connection can support. As the available bandwidth fluctuates, the quality of stream will adapt to ensure continuous playback without buffering.
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.
Encoding settings for videos recorded with Vidyard
Whenever you record a video with the Vidyard browser extensions, desktop apps or mobile apps, the recorder creates a raw media file (the source file) and automatically uploads it to your library. Vidyard then starts to encode the video in different resolutions (derivative files).
The source file determines the highest allowable resolution for the video. The derivative files serve the video to your viewer at different resolution qualities.
Browser extensions
You can record videos with the Vidyard browser extensions (for Chrome or Edge) and a number of integrated applications such as Vidyard for Gmail or Outlook (Office 365) that require the extension for screen recording.
Videos created with these recording apps have the following settings:
| Container | Source file: MKV
Derivative files: MP4 |
| Video | H264, framerate: target 30/min 25, bitrate: 5mbps |
| Audio | OPUS
Sample rate and channels are determined by your computer's available system and browser resources |
| Resolution |
Up to 1080p (360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p) Vidyard encodes the video and makes it available in all resolutions, starting with the original resolution of the recording down to 360p (for camera recordings) and down to 720p (for screen recordings). |
Integrated apps (Vidyard for Gmail, Outlook)
You’ll find Vidyard in a number of integrated apps and services where you can access your video library, and create new camera and screen recordings. For example, Vidyard for Gmail or Outlook (Office 365).
Videos created with these apps have the same encoding settings as the browser extension, with the exception of the resolution for camera-only recordings.
- Camera recordings: up to 720p (with WEBM as source)
- Screen recordings: up to 1080p (with MKV as source)
Desktop apps
Videos that you record through the Vidyard desktop app (MacOS or Windows) have the following settings:
| Container | Source file: WEBM
Derivative files: MP4 |
| Video | VP9, framerate: target 30/min 25, bitrate: variable |
| Audio | OPUS |
| Resolution |
Up to 4K video (360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 2160p) Vidyard encodes the video and makes it available in all resolutions, starting with the original resolution of the recording down to 360p. |
Mobile apps
Videos that you record through the Vidyard mobile app (iOS or Android) have the following settings:
| Container | Source file: MP4 (Android), MOV (iOS) |
| Video | H264 |
| Audio | AAC |
| Resolution | Up to 720p (360p, 480p, 720p) — camera recordings only |
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.