Video quality: YouTube vs Vimeo

[Ron Hunter]

Today I uploaded a video to YouTube that currently resides on Vimeo. I watched the Vimeo version and the YouTube version on my smartphone and there was no comparison. Even though I have a "Vimeo Plus" account, the free YouTube version had much better colors and sharpness than the Vimeo version.

Considering that many people watch videos on their smartphones now, I am interested in this.

Do any of you have a view about this? Anything that can be done to improve the video quality that others may see?

[Steve Grisetti]

I've always wondered which was the better site, but have never taken the time to do a real apples to apples comparison.

What were the specs of the video you uploaded? Was it, for instance, a 1280x720p30 video under 5 minutes? Just to rule out any mitigating factors...

[sidd finch]

I do not think one site is better than the other in terms of quality. Both sites are constantly innovating and improving so the snapshot today might be that YouTube has a better look but a month from now Vimeo might have a better look. The second factor is video app. Are you watching the video on the YouTube app and the Vimeo on the Vimeo app.

There are tradeoffs for both and it is murky at best for who is better. IMHO

Sidd

[Ron Hunter]

I expanded the test a bit. Here are the details:
- I placed an MP4 video into FCPX.
- I exported the video directly to YouTube, 1920x1080, "Better Quality" setting.
- I then exported the video directly to Vimeo, 1920x1080, "Better Quality" setting.
- I received an email from each service when the video was uploaded.
- Using my smartphone I clicked on the link provided in the email to access the video.
- I played the video with smartphone in landscape orientation, paused the action at two points in the video, and took screenshots with my smartphone (Galaxy Note 4).
- I then did the same thing with the other video service.
- I pulled the four screenshots (PNG) into Photoshop, ensured they were all 2560 x 1440 150ppi, and saved as high quality JPEGs.

Here are two screen grabs at the 11second point:
Vimeo 11seconds

Vimeo 11sec.jpg

YouTube 11seconds

YouTube 11sec.jpg

Now at the 42 second point:
Vimeo 42sec

Vimeo 42sec.jpg

YouTube 42sec

YouTube 42sec.jpg

Thoughts?

[_Paz_]

I see a definite difference with YouTube clearly sharper in these.

There was a thread here in the past with comparison footage of a video of people - maybe in a train station in Europe - and then Vimeo was clearly sharper. On that one I went through some of the footage frame by frame and by selecting movements of some of the people was able to be sure that I had exactly the same frame to compare. Vimeo then was more clear overall and strangely, more clear all the way to the edges. In fact, comparison of that video was the reason I signed up for Vimeo's paid service for my tutorials.

Interesting.

I have noticed that my own videos seem to look better on YouTube lately than they used to. Not sure if that is only recent uploads or if the older ones might look better now too. I ought to check that out!

[Ron Hunter]

Patrice I remember the thread you are talking about, and that was why I signed up for Vimeo's paid service too.

My son was watching one of my Vimeo videos and noticed the sharpness was poor. When I watched it I verified his observations, this the motivation for the test .

I realize that even though the comparison frames are from the same second, each second has 24 frames so I likely am not comparing apples to apples. I'm not sure how to eliminate that as a variable.

But still, the fact is my video, played from two different sites, looks much better on YouTube.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[_Paz_]

Assuming the two videos show up as exactly the same length of time, a point here or there on the timescale should be the same.
If there was any breeze perhaps you could pick out some movement to be sure. On YouTube, as a viewer, it is possible to advance one frame at the time. Not sure about Vimeo.

What seems strange about your comparison is that Vimeo looks to have lost quality. I've seen some footage there that was stunningly sharp. Thinking of Sidd's If a Plum Falls, Mom's red riverboat wheel and the ShrimpFarmer's QuadCopter shots of a forest in England.

[Kent Frost]

I've noticed the real difference comes when you full-screen both, and Vimeo is usually the clear winner there IMO. I usually see way more compression artifacts on Youtube when full-screened.

Granted, Vimeo won't give you 1080p unless you're a paying customer. Only 720p.

[Ron Hunter]

Kent, I am a paying Vimeo customer. And I'm not talking about the quality on a desktop monitor, although I will check that next. I'm talking about visual quality on a smartphone screen.

I would hate to move all my vids to YouTube only for their quality to degrade a week after upload, or something similar.

[momoffduty]

When you play the Vimeo file on your phone do you have the HD option on? This seems odd to me. On my IPS monitor videos from Vimeo look much better than YT. The phone I really can't tell the difference because it is too small.

[Ron Hunter]

Mom, when I view the Vimeo video using a browser on my smartphone I am not given an HD option. Even if the dedicated app provides an HD option, not everyone will have the Vimeo app on their phones.

My son first noticed this when he tried to view one of my videos on his Galaxy S5 smartphone, which is known to have a really good display. He told me the Vimeo quality was quite different than he had expected, so I looked into it with my Galaxy Note 4 which also has a good display. I verified his observation.

Last night I performed screen grabs from within my PC web browser of the video playing on Vimeo and YouTube websites, then compared the screen grabs in Photoshop. YouTube was clearly sharper on my monitor.

I'd like to understand this situation before I move all of my videos to YouTube, but I don't know how to get the answer.

[sidd finch]

Ron,

Were you able to view the video through the Vimeo app? I wonder if there would be any difference. FYI the Vimeo app is free.

Sidd

[momoffduty]

There was a post in the Vimeo forum about a year ago regarding poor quality for Android phones. I couldn't find any current threads. You may want to check the Vimeo forums.

https://vimeo.com/forums/help

[Ron Hunter]

Thanks everyone. Yes I can view the video through the Vimeo app, but not everyone will have that. I didn't know there was a potential issue for Android smartphones and will look into that.

I need to post my PC monitor screen grabs and get your feedback on them. A quick look told me there was a marked difference. Mom have you recently compared your Vimeo to YouTube vids on PC monitor for quality?

I guess I'm the only one who has noticed this??

[momoffduty]

I need to post my PC monitor screen grabs and get your feedback on them. A quick look told me there was a marked difference. Mom have you recently compared your Vimeo to YouTube vids on PC monitor for quality?

I only have old stuff on YT so no comparison.