What Is the Best Video Format for YouTube?
86 percent of businesses use video marketing in 2022, and Youtube is the top dog of video hosting platforms. A Youtube video can boost your audience engagement to new heights.
To make sure your video does its job, you need to choose the best video format for Youtube. Choosing a video format sounds tricky. The wrong format, frame rate, or aspect ratio can dampen the power of your video marketing.
We have a guide that tells you all about Youtube video formats. Read on to harness the power of video marketing.
What’s The Best Video Format For Youtube?
MP4 is the best video format for Youtube. Most smartphones record video in MP4 as standard. Mobile footage suits Youtube right off your phone. You will have the best marketing results with MP4.
To save on file size, Youtube uses audio and video codecs with file extensions.
Video And Audio Encoding
MPEG-4 Part 10, or H.264, is a video compression codec. It is better than older compression methods which work by ‘slicing’ parts of the file to reduce size. H.264 saves files as fluid video to reduce their size and keep their quality.
Advanced Audio Encoding (AAC-LC) is the successor to MP3 audio. Like video codecs, AAC-LC works to reduce audio file size, while maintaining quality.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) lists AAC-LC as the standard audio codec.
What Types Of Video Formats Does Youtube Accept?
You can upload many video formats to Youtube. But MP4 is the best choice.
Youtube accepts MOV, MPEG-4, MP4, AVI, 3GP, FLV, WMV, MPEG-PS, WebM, DNxHR, CineForm, ProRes, and HEVC video files.
Which Aspect Ratio Should You Use?
The best aspect ratio for your Youtube video files is 16:9, or letterbox. It suits the oblong aspect of Youtube’s video window.
Want to upload videos in a different aspect ratio? Youtube will add blank space padding to fill its video window
Frame Rates, Resolution, And File Size
These all affect playback quality. You need to choose the right options for each to boost audience engagement.
Frame Rates
You should upload your video to Youtube in the same frame rate you recorded it in. This means 30FPS should stay as 30FPS.
Youtube accepts most of the common frame rates. These include 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, 60 FPS. You can find speed video tools online to help you change your frame rate.
Resolution
Record your video in 1080P for best results. You can always reduce the resolution, but starting in HD gives you more options.
720P is the minimum resolution for HD video. Youtube does accept lower video resolutions, but this will affect your playback quality.
File Size
The maximum video file size Youtube accepts is 128GB. This is way more than most video marketing needs.
Its maximum video length is 12 hours. If you can keep your audience’s attention for that long, think about a career in Hollywood.
Looking For More Marketing Tips For Your Business?
We hope our guide helped you choose the best video format for Youtube. A video is a powerful marketing tool. It can supercharge your lead generation and conversions.
For more business, marketing, and tech tips, check out the rest of our site.
