m4rouf

Q: Which export format should I use?

I have some 1080p video recorded from an iPhone. I've just finished editing all the footage in FCPX, but I'm not quite sure which format I should export in. I don't want to lose any of the video quality, but at the same time, I don't want to be taking up more space than I need to.

 

I see a 1080p option for Apple Devices (which I assume includes Macs, as that's what the icon shows). It shows as 25 fps, 1920 x 1080 and 48 kHz audio, as does the export for computer use option. The computer file is twice the size as the Apple Device file though for some reason. Even the smaller, Apple Devices file, though, seems to take up too much space at an estimated 4 1/2 GB per hour! 

 

I'm really glad to finally be done editing and am really looking forward to sharing this video with my family - any help would be much appreciated!

Posted on Sep 18, 2015 5:36 PM

Close

Q: Which export format should I use?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Russ H,Helpful

    Russ H Russ H Sep 19, 2015 4:15 AM in response to m4rouf
    Level 7 (21,770 points)
    Quicktime
    Sep 19, 2015 4:15 AM in response to m4rouf

    m4rouf wrote:

     

     

    The computer file is twice the size as the Apple Device file though for some reason. Even the smaller, Apple Devices file, though, seems to take up too much space at an estimated 4 1/2 GB per hour! 

    Welcome.

     

    It's a fact that video (especially HD and UHD) takes up a lot of space. The share presets you selected are actually relatively efficient. To be ab;e to share your vireo with a wide audience, you probably want to export an MP4 with H.264 codec. That happens to be one of the options (Computer) you mentioned. Is it really necessary to be so concerned about file size? The price of storage has declined a lot over the years.

     

    If storage is a big factor, consider a 540p output. Because of the smaller frame size, the bit rate can be lowered and still yield a really good looking image.

     

    If you need even more control, consider purchasing Compressor.

     

    Russ

  • by m4rouf,

    m4rouf m4rouf Sep 19, 2015 4:25 AM in response to Russ H
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 19, 2015 4:25 AM in response to Russ H

    Thanks for the response!

     

    I'm not so concerned about this single video; the problem is that I have lots more video and together it all takes up a lot of space. I'm using a 1TB MacBook and a 1TB hard drive to back it up, but even then, I know I'm going to start to run out of space soon.

     

    This video seemed to take up too much space to me, since I've downloaded much higher quality video which took up far less space. I'll look into Compressor - thanks for the suggestion. I've never worked with video before, though, so are there any major settings you'd recommend I look out for?

     

    Thanks again

  • by GeeD,

    GeeD GeeD Sep 19, 2015 5:33 AM in response to m4rouf
    Level 5 (7,676 points)
    Video
    Sep 19, 2015 5:33 AM in response to m4rouf

    Although you are only talking about the size of the shared files, you will may find that the size of the FCP library is much larger.  Once you have finished editing you can save a lot of space by selecting events containing finished projects the selecting File > Delete Generated Event Files.   These files will be automatically regenerated by FCP if needed should you later choose to do further editing.

     

    Geoff.

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H Sep 19, 2015 7:16 AM in response to m4rouf
    Level 7 (21,770 points)
    Quicktime
    Sep 19, 2015 7:16 AM in response to m4rouf

    Not too many years ago the idea that a couple of terabytes of storage might prove inadequate for consumer video needs would have been hard to imagine. But we're all shooting much more video than before and at higher resolutions and frame rates. It adds up fast and it's now not hard at all to quickly fill up a 3 or 4 TB drive.

     

    Geoff's suggestions are worth following for efficient space management; computer generated files can really balloon up the size of libraries and there is little reason to keep them when you archive your completed work.

     

    Russ

  • by m4rouf,

    m4rouf m4rouf Sep 20, 2015 3:35 PM in response to GeeD
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 20, 2015 3:35 PM in response to GeeD

    Thanks! That cutoff almost 100 GB from my FCPX library. I've excluded the generated files from my Time Machine backups too now.

  • by m4rouf,

    m4rouf m4rouf Sep 20, 2015 3:38 PM in response to Russ H
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 20, 2015 3:38 PM in response to Russ H

    That's true - I never thought I'd need so much storage. Deleting the generated files has definitely helped quite a bit; thanks, both of you .

     

    I've found that I was able to cut off over 60% of the storage by using Handbrake to compress more efficiently withoutany (noticeable) loss in quality. That's compared to the H.264 file generated for Apple devices by FCPX. I probably could've gone even further with the compression, but I think I'm happy with what was given.

     

    Thanks again for all the help!

  • by Karsten Schlüter,Helpful

    Karsten Schlüter Karsten Schlüter Sep 21, 2015 5:04 AM in response to m4rouf
    Level 7 (32,668 points)
    Video
    Sep 21, 2015 5:04 AM in response to m4rouf

    file size has an effect on 'quality' and usability.

    usability: too highly squeezed video starts to act errative, aside artifacts/colored squares, on ff/rev  or 2x playback speed, video 'jumps', etc etc Most neglect that faactor …

     

    'quality' - an endless topic, I usually stay away from

     

    What HB does, compared to the FCPX export preset; it uses half the bitrate; you can set that manually in Compressor too. (or Poor MansCompressor, free Mpeg Streamclip)

    You can install the 'free' codec x264, which is well known delivering better pic quality on (super)low bitrates compared to h264.

    Axe res to half, 720, reduce bitrate to 1.5-2mbps, squeeze the last MBs by using mono-audio/64kbps ... you can create izzy-bitsy-tiny video, … but …? nowadays prices for harddrive space (1TB <60€), DL speeds (latest offer from  my ISP; 200mbps!) or 'sticks' (usb3/32GB=14€) ... I stopped my expriments on that, it's not worth my lifetime ....

     

    Reminder;

    20y ago, on DVD, an SDef video (=quarter res) used 2GBs/h of storage

    (ok,ok, mp2 was less effective than h264...)

     

    Final comment (no offence meant to OP! generally) : handheld, low-light phone video ... quality .... ? seriously? ..... (yepp, 'they' have done movies with phones... you know how?

     

     

    <creeping back under my stone>

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H Sep 21, 2015 4:28 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter
    Level 7 (21,770 points)
    Quicktime
    Sep 21, 2015 4:28 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter

    @Karsten,

     

    Good post!

     

    Russ

  • by Karsten Schlüter,

    Karsten Schlüter Karsten Schlüter Sep 21, 2015 4:43 AM in response to Russ H
    Level 7 (32,668 points)
    Video
    Sep 21, 2015 4:43 AM in response to Russ H

    Russ H wrote:    

    @Karsten,    

    Good post!

    .... can't hearya, Russ, have a huge stone on my ear!!

     

    Thanks for the flowers, really, allthough it's one of my boilerplates, or at least it should be one of my template answers; 'cause I really don't like to discuss 'quality' (as I don't like compounds - diff. cup of beer ...) ...

     

    Maybe, as I did for DVDs, I should write a more general text about 'quality' ... the hobbyist, the non-engineer, the anti-pixelpeeper LOL!!

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H Sep 21, 2015 4:54 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter
    Level 7 (21,770 points)
    Quicktime
    Sep 21, 2015 4:54 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter

    Ha!

     

    I had thought of posting along the lines that you did re: quality/size (adding the thought that for the OP's large backlog of video, Compressor would be a lot more efficient export process than HB.) (But my post would not have had nearly as much entertainment value).

     

    Russ

  • by m4rouf,

    m4rouf m4rouf Sep 21, 2015 5:57 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 21, 2015 5:57 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter

    HI Karsten,

     

    Thank you for the input! To be honest, I know hardly anything at all about this stuff. I'm new to it all and the little I do know is based almost completely on things I've read on the internet rather than experience. I read somewhere that it's always fine to compress to a point - something about unused pixels I think. I kept my HandBrakesettings to a fairly high picture quality, as the last thing I want to do is compress beyond that 'point'. After reading your post though, I'm having second thoughts about using HandBrake.

     

    I actually have quite a bit of old video too from around 2000-2010 too. It's all SD content, but it's taking up even more storage than HD content would; it's still in the original dv format used by my old mini dv cam.It takes up a lot of space even when I export from FCPX to an H.264 mp4 and it takes up a lot of space in my FCPX library itself, so I'm not really sure about how to deal with it.

     

    At the moment, I keep everything stored on my MacBook's SSD (which I hear is safer than HDD for storing important data). I back it all up to an external HDD and to Google Photos (which noticeably over-compresses, even though Google says they store 1080p content - it's just a last resort backup I'm using though). I really like this system and didn't really want to buy more external storage and over-complicate things. Maybe it's best I export only when I have to, rather than exporting everything as I'd planned. I wasn't going to delete my FCPX library to begin with anyway.

     

    Thanks again for all your help - I really appreciate it.