Quality Issue On 4K Streamed Vimeo Video

[sidd finch]

You could always try to export with a lower bit rate range and see if that helps.

Sidd

[Dave McElderry]

You could always try to export with a lower bit rate range and see if that helps.

That thought did go through my mind at one point but it seemed counterintuitive. It’s easy to do and worth a shot. I’ll do that the next chance I get.

[Dave McElderry]

You know, Vimeo used to let you have control over some of the upload settings, depending on how the video was going to be viewed. The original was always kept on their server. I don’t know when they stopped doing that.

[sidd finch]

Dave I found this on Vimeo:

https://vimeo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/arti ... resolution

Determining playback resolution:
4K (30fps and 60fps)
Applies to videos whose source file's larger dimension is at least 3648px OR smaller dimension is at least 2052px.

Video codec: H.264
Audio codec: AAC
Maximum video bitrate: 22Mbps
Maximum audio bitrate: 265Kbps
Maximum height: 2160px
Maximum width: 4096px

[Dave McElderry]

Dave I found this on Vimeo:

https://vimeo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/arti ... resolution

Determining playback resolution:
4K (30fps and 60fps)
Applies to videos whose source file's larger dimension is at least 3648px OR smaller dimension is at least 2052px.

Video codec: H.264
Audio codec: AAC
Maximum video bitrate: 22Mbps
Maximum audio bitrate: 265Kbps
Maximum height: 2160px
Maximum width: 4096px

Thanks for your find Sidd. I've read the page several times and I'm not 100% sure what it's saying. Is it that:

a) No matter what 4K video you upload, it will be converted to have a maximum bitrate of 22Mbps for streaming, OR
b) The 4K video that you upload cannot have a bitrate of more than 22Mbps, and that greater bitrates will cause quality issues. I think we already determined that I can go as high as 60Mbps, so I don't think this is the case. OR
c) Something else entirely that I need edumacated on.

I interpret this as answer a). If so, does that mean that the issues that I'm seeing are due to too low of a streaming bitrate to reproduce the video properly, making the issue Vimeo's fault?
Or is it something else?

[momoffduty]

Did you try 2 pass encoding on export?

[Dave McElderry]

Okay, here are four versions of the same clip:

Single pass 60Mbps:

Two pass 60Mbps (per Cheryl's suggestion):

Single pass 40Mbps:

Two pass 40Mbps:


Please give me your thoughts folks.

[Dave McElderry]

Did you try 2 pass encoding on export?

Interesting idea. Please see the post above.

[sidd finch]

Not to make you keep cruising the graveyard but it might be related to the GoPro's white balance or specifically that it is trying to change as the light conditions change.

Not sure what GoPro you are using but this is from the GoPro website. It might help resolve the issue.

Protune lets users manually adjust the white balance depending on what the shooting conditions are. This option is available in the camera's settings menu when Protune is turned ON. When Protune is turned OFF, the camera uses Auto White Balance. Here's an explanation of the manual settings:

Auto (Default): Automatically adjusts the color tone based on the environmental conditions.

6500k: Cool light. This setting is great for overcast conditions.

5500k: slightly cool light. This setting is great for daylight while shooting outside.

3000k: Warm light. This setting is great for lower-light situations, where you want the camera to pick up detail without the help of a lot of surrounding light.

Sidd

[Dave McElderry]

Protune lets users manually adjust the white balance depending on what the shooting conditions are. This option is available in the camera's settings menu when Protune is turned ON. When Protune is turned OFF, the camera uses Auto White

I’m using a Hero 9. ProTune is turned off. What were your impressions of the different clip output settings when you looked at them?

[Bob]

I've read the page several times and I'm not 100% sure what it's saying.

That page is talking about the resolutions that your uploaded video may be converted to depending on the viewing device and network capabilities. The listed resolutions and specs are what Vimeo may convert it to, not the source specs. Vimeo will not uprez your video to a higher resolution than the source, but it may downrez it to any of the lower resolutions listed on that page.

So, you uploaded 4K source. If your device and network are streaming it in 4K, Vimeo will stream a maximum of 22Mbps. But, Vimeo could stream it at 2K max bitrate 12Mbps, 1080p max bitrate 7Mbps, etc. down to 240p max bitrate 0.3 Mbps.

[Dave McElderry]

That page is talking about the resolutions that your uploaded video may be converted to depending on the viewing device and network capabilities. The listed resolutions and specs are what Vimeo may convert it to, not the source specs. Vimeo will not uprez your video to a higher resolution than the source, but it may downrez it to any of the lower resolutions listed on that page.

So, you uploaded 4K source. If your device and network are streaming it in 4K, Vimeo will stream a maximum of 22Mbps. But, Vimeo could stream it at 2K max bitrate 12Mbps, 1080p max bitrate 7Mbps, etc. down to 240p max bitrate 0.3 Mbps.

Thanks Bob. Do you think the issues I’m seeing are bitrate problems? Should I be unhappy with Vimeo? I’d like to be able to present streaming vids in their original quality, or very close. What should I be doing differently?

[momoffduty]

Of the above videos #1 & #4 are 4k the middle two are 1080p. The last one looks the best. My exports are 2 pass encoding with bit rate set at 48 for minimum and 60 for maximum on 4k video files. I can see that the fence in your video would have some artifacts because of the speed going by and that would be normal. Could some of the blockiness be from the GoPro small sensor?

[Dave McElderry]

Of the above videos #1 & #4 are 4k the middle two are 1080p. The last one looks the best. My exports are 2 pass encoding with bit rate set at 48 for minimum and 60 for maximum on 4k video files. I can see that the fence in your video would have some artifacts because of the speed going by and that would be normal. Could some of the blockiness be from the GoPro small sensor?

All four show 4K to me. Where are you seeing that the middle two are 1080? I agree about the fence, but that's not my concern. I'm not at all happy with the overall quality, and especially the faster moving parts that are, of course, closer to the vehicle. I've seen so much really superb quality motion video being available from content creators on YouTube, and I always thought that Vimeo was supposed to be a cut above YouTube. I just figure that I'm doing something wrong in the upload prep, or Vimeo is messing with my quality. I don't think I can blame the GoPro for the problem, especially since the original file looks pretty good on my computer. The day was a little dreary, and I know GoPros like lots of light, so this was not going to be a showcase, but it was pretty good. Here's an example of some motion Hero 5 video that I consider very high quality. The creator is an adventure motorcyclist who uses several GoPros from her bike. Check out the section from 2:35 to 4:35, for example.

[Dave McElderry]

That page is talking about the resolutions that your uploaded video may be converted to depending on the viewing device and network capabilities. The listed resolutions and specs are what Vimeo may convert it to, not the source specs. Vimeo will not uprez your video to a higher resolution than the source, but it may downrez it to any of the lower resolutions listed on that page.

I've been thinking about the above statement. Even so, I know that my monitor is 4K and my download speed is far above what should be necessary for maximum quality. I can't see that either should be an issue. Not arguing here, just thinking out loud and trying to understand.