High Quality, Vimeo vs YouTube

[_Paz_]

I've been trying to decide between Vimeo and YouTube. My recent upload to both formats is not a fair comparison because Vimeo says they have downgraded my 1080p footage to 720 because I do not have a paid subscription. (That said, I'm having a hard time telling the difference. Vimeo might look a little lighter. YouTube looks a little sharper, I think.)

But this comparison shows the difference in the same video and both are available in 1080HD because the creator has a paid Vimeo account. In the Vimeo version I see that super quality, crisp and clear video that I see in Mom's Vimeo videos.

I'd definitely go with Vimeo if they only offered closed captions/subtitles.

Anyway, here is a fair comparison. My highest definition videos on YouTube suffer from exactly the same blurriness as the YouTube footage version shown here:

https://vimeo.com/71797971

[Steve Grisetti]

I've always been happier with the results on Vimeo. I've always assumed it's because, since they don't deal with the same volume as YouTube, they can keep the videos at a higher quality.

But that could just be my imagination. I've never done a side by side comparison of the same video on both sites.

[Bob]

Here's a side by side of a portion of a frame from vimeo and youtube. Couldn't get an exact frame match, but it should be close enough. I displayed full screen on my 1920x1080 monitor and took a screen capture of each. Vimeo does look a little sharper.

vimeoVSyoutupe.jpg

[Dave McElderry]

Interesting comparison Bob. Personally, I'd call that significantly sharper.

[Steve Grisetti]

Great experiment, Bob! It does look like Vimeo wins -- by a nose.

[_Paz_]

Significantly sharper, Bob! What a smart way to compare.

Compare the text in the lower of the lighter, greenish panels and the faces outside the panels on the left. Definitely clearer.

I've just gone through both and stopped at various locations and noticed that unmoving background areas - which of course, are not moving - are sharper in Vimeo.

[Ron Hunter]

Thanks Bob, that is really helpful and I think the video quality difference is significant.

[sidd finch]

I like Vimeo better regardless of quality. I like the Vimeo site better and the way it is run. For me, I do a lot of video but 90% is private for specific people so I like the privacy options. I also really hate that Youtube is always putting commercials in my videos. With that said I think that Youtube is better known and more folks have heard of Youtube.

Sidd

[Dave McElderry]

I like Vimeo better regardless of quality. I like the Vimeo site better and the way it is run. For me, I do a lot of video but 90% is private for specific people so I like the privacy options. I also really hate that Youtube is always putting commercials in my videos. With that said I think that Youtube is better known and more folks have heard of Youtube.

Very much the way that I've been using Vimeo so far myself, and I feel pretty much as you. It does bother me when I know that the quality is better than what people are seeing, so having Vimeo just for that is worth it to me.