Encoding settings for videos uploaded to Vidyard

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:

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

File size and video length

• Vidyard supports uploads with a maximum file size of 20GB
  • • If you upload to Vidyard via the dashboard API, there is no size limit
• The length of the video must not exceed 24 hours

Output settings for video files uploaded to Vidyard

Whenever you upload a video to Vidyard, we 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:

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 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.

Output settings for videos recorded with Vidyard

Vidyard 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

Videos recorded with the desktop app

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

Videos recorded with the mobile app

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

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.