Best settings for Sorenson Squeeze? at DVinfo.net

Jeff Hendricks · June 7th, 2007, 09:13 AM

Hi,

I just bought Sorenson Squeeze 4.5 a few days ago and have been messing around with the different compression settings. So far I have had little luck getting a really good looking compression compared to the excellent looking videos from those who use it on this site.

I have tried Flash, MOV, MPEG 1,2 and 4 and nothing seems to look that good. Also you are supposed to be able to use h.264 but I can not seem to find a setting for that either (I have heard it works well).

I am not very skilled in compressing for the internet, can anyone give me a pointer or a system to use to get really good looking video compressed to around 60 mb for a 3-4 minute film using Sorenson?

I use Premiere Pro 2 to edit and have been using a frame server to get the video into Squeeze.

Thank you

Jeff

Josh Chesarek · June 7th, 2007, 01:29 PM

I have stuck with Flash in my sorenson but I think they call the H264 the AVC preset. Sooo...

Click on any MPEG4 preset. Click the pen looking tool at the bottom righ to fthe format box. And under Codec make sure it is set to Sorenson AVC Pro. I think the main thing for internet is having the right Resolution. Having a lower resolution for your video allows you to really shrink the size and the video still looks good embeded in a web page.

http://www.simplethoughtproductions....001/episode002

The video is 5 minutes long and 39MB in size. I use the flash compression with a total of 1,000KB of data or so.

Steve Young · December 10th, 2007, 05:01 AM

Everyone seems to say that using the on2vp6 codec in Sorenson will provide the best settings for online video but nobody seems willing to share what settings they use for encoding??! - Its as if its a big secret and they want to keep the settings to themselves!!

Josh Chesarek · December 10th, 2007, 08:45 AM

I don't use the on2vp6 as I didnt want to pay for it. But if you want my flash settings that is cool I will update the post when I am at home and can get them but I normally use a pixel width of 480 and a bitrate of 800 or so for video.

Steve Young · December 10th, 2007, 10:24 AM

Experimented today and got some amazing quality videos using the Sorenson on2vp6 using these settings:

VP6_768k Stream
On2VP6 Codec
2 Pass VBR
480x270
25fps (PAL)
MP3 Audio

Left bitrate as default

Also made sure I used UNCOMPRESSED source AVI and not DV

It generated approx 30mb flv file (5min vid) and looks great in Brightcove!

Josh Chesarek · December 10th, 2007, 11:45 AM

Yep looks like we are about the same except I do not have the Vp6 in squeeze.

I have trouble paying for it because it came with CS3. I wonder if there is a way to transfer the license. I guess in a little while I could shell out the $100. I mainly use Squeeze for the batch abilities.

Roger Akers · December 11th, 2007, 02:28 PM

I was going to start a new query here about this very topic till I found this one so I'll post in here.

I recently got hired as videographer/editor at www.webpronews.com.
They have a million videos up already and I do not believe they are of the best compression settings. So I've been doing some research. Whenever you click to play our videos you can have an option to play small, medium, or large (flash files) or the ability to download or watch an .mp4

I do know that much of the problem is the actual raw footage taken in terrible lighting and camera folk that doesn't know the difference in white balance and corn flakes.

I'm still not satisfied with the final output of some files I've been experimenting with so I'll post my settings here in case anyone has any advice.

MPEG4

Audio:
Codec: Coding Technologies aac
Data: 160
Sample: 16
Rate: 44100
Stereo

Video:
Codec: Sorenson MPEG4 Pro
Method: Sorenson 2 Pass VBR
Data Rate: 600
Frame Size: 320x180
Maintain Aspect Ratio
Frame Rate 2:1

everything else is default.

On to the flash files I'll only post the settings used for the LARGE outputs

Audio:
Codec: Fraunhofer MP3
Data: 112
Sample: 16
Stereo

Video
Codec: On2 VP6 Pro
2 Pass VBR
Data rate: 300
Frame Size 512 x 288
Maintain Aspect Ratio
Frame rate: 1:1
Key Frame every 45 frames

As I have never worked with squeeze and never worried about outputting for the web in flash, I'd really like to hear some of you gurus opinions so I can improve the quality of the videos on this site.

I've only edited a couple of videos so far... so if you reference any examples from my website please reference the Matt Cuts & Vanessa Fox video. Because I've been experimenting with settings on that one over and over.

Josh Chesarek · December 11th, 2007, 04:48 PM

For flash I would try and do key frames a little more often and bump up the video bit rate to 350 or 400.

Steve Young · December 12th, 2007, 03:13 AM

Why dont we post up links to videos we have uploaded and we can all try and fine tune the best settings

I used these settings and this is one of the best quality videos I have managed to upload:

VP6_768k Stream
On2VP6 Codec
2 Pass VBR
480x270
25fps (PAL)
MP3 Audio

Left bitrate as default

Also made sure I used UNCOMPRESSED source AVI and not DV

It generated approx 30mb flv file (5min vid) and looks great in Brightcove!

VIDEO LINK
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1336757797

Josh Chesarek · December 12th, 2007, 05:51 AM

Steve, the video looked great. I was impressed how it held up with all the dark scenes and flashing lights, that is useually a death sentence. Im sure the extra bitrate and better codec helped :) I really need to think about buying it. Here are a few of my samples.

http://www.simplethoughtproductions....nd-07-victory/

The soccer video (click image to play)

was done with:

Codec: Sorenson Spark Pro
Method: Sorenson 2 Pass VBR
Data Rate: 96 Kbps
Frame Size: 480W by 270H
Frame Rate: 30 FPS
Key Frame: Every 15 Frames

MP3 Audio @ 128KBs 16 Sample Size 44100 Sample Rate in Stero

Basketball:

http://www.simplethoughtproductions....oads/test.html
Same settings dif. aspect

Original File was DV - 1 min 29 Seconds - 321MB
Compressed File is: 11.1MB (My 5 min video would be about 7MB Larger)

Codec: Sorenson Spark Pro
Method: Sorenson 2 Pass VBR
Data Rate: 96 Kbps
Frame Size: 480W by 360H
Frame Rate: 30 FPS
Key Frame: Every 15 Frames

MP3 Audio @ 128KBs 16 Sample Size 44100 Sample Rate in Stero

Steve Young · December 13th, 2007, 03:56 AM

Josh I thought your vids where great quality too! Not sure how much the on2VP6 codec will improve upon it, but your right it has really helped for a lot of the dark club scenes and night-time shots which did look really ropey without using the codec!

What service do you use to host your videos - on a server or an online service?

Josh Chesarek · December 13th, 2007, 04:09 AM

I have a dedicated server that I host my entire site on including the videos :) That way I get to pick all of the settings and do not really have any file size limits.

Tim Ribich · December 13th, 2007, 12:54 PM

A related question if I may...

I'm currently using Sorenson 4.3. As the 4.5 upgrade is not free, I was trying to figure out if there was enough added to make it worth the price. From what I can gather on their www site, not all that much?

Steve Young · December 14th, 2007, 04:01 AM

Well I think that when I upgraded to 4.5 it included the on2VP6 codec which has been very much worthwhile and my videos have never looked better

Josh Chesarek · December 14th, 2007, 06:06 AM

Looking at the list of changes the only thing that stuck out to me is 3x faster, mac intell support and meta data for the movies. That is about it but there is a long list here : http://www.sorensonmedia.com/pages/?pageID=2 just look for the features with the red NEW by them.

The standard suite does not come with VP6 normally. It is a $100 plugin unless you puy the Squeez HD package or the Squeeze Flash only program.

http://www.sorensonmedia.com/pages/?pageID=99

The best deal is to buy the power pack when first buying so you get the extra goodies and not just the extra codec.

June 7th, 2007, 09:13 AM	#1
Jeff Hendricks Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: The Carson Valley, Nevada Posts: 248	Best settings for Sorenson Squeeze? Hi, I just bought Sorenson Squeeze 4.5 a few days ago and have been messing around with the different compression settings. So far I have had little luck getting a really good looking compression compared to the excellent looking videos from those who use it on this site. I have tried Flash, MOV, MPEG 1,2 and 4 and nothing seems to look that good. Also you are supposed to be able to use h.264 but I can not seem to find a setting for that either (I have heard it works well). I am not very skilled in compressing for the internet, can anyone give me a pointer or a system to use to get really good looking video compressed to around 60 mb for a 3-4 minute film using Sorenson? I use Premiere Pro 2 to edit and have been using a frame server to get the video into Squeeze. Thank you Jeff __________________ www.tahoestarr.com

June 7th, 2007, 01:29 PM	#2
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	I have stuck with Flash in my sorenson but I think they call the H264 the AVC preset. Sooo... Click on any MPEG4 preset. Click the pen looking tool at the bottom righ to fthe format box. And under Codec make sure it is set to Sorenson AVC Pro. I think the main thing for internet is having the right Resolution. Having a lower resolution for your video allows you to really shrink the size and the video still looks good embeded in a web page. http://www.simplethoughtproductions....001/episode002 The video is 5 minutes long and 39MB in size. I use the flash compression with a total of 1,000KB of data or so. __________________ Simple Thought Productions - Life @ 30,000 Words per second

December 13th, 2007, 12:54 PM	#13
Tim Ribich Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Upstate NY, USA Posts: 138	Sorenson 4.3 vs. 5.5 A related question if I may... I'm currently using Sorenson 4.3. As the 4.5 upgrade is not free, I was trying to figure out if there was enough added to make it worth the price. From what I can gather on their www site, not all that much?

December 10th, 2007, 05:01 AM	#3
Steve Young Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maidstone UK Posts: 37	Everyone seems to say that using the on2vp6 codec in Sorenson will provide the best settings for online video but nobody seems willing to share what settings they use for encoding??! - Its as if its a big secret and they want to keep the settings to themselves!!

December 10th, 2007, 08:45 AM	#4
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	I don't use the on2vp6 as I didnt want to pay for it. But if you want my flash settings that is cool I will update the post when I am at home and can get them but I normally use a pixel width of 480 and a bitrate of 800 or so for video.

December 10th, 2007, 10:24 AM	#5
Steve Young Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maidstone UK Posts: 37	Experimented today and got some amazing quality videos using the Sorenson on2vp6 using these settings: VP6_768k Stream On2VP6 Codec 2 Pass VBR 480x270 25fps (PAL) MP3 Audio Left bitrate as default Also made sure I used UNCOMPRESSED source AVI and not DV It generated approx 30mb flv file (5min vid) and looks great in Brightcove!

December 10th, 2007, 11:45 AM	#6
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	Yep looks like we are about the same except I do not have the Vp6 in squeeze. I have trouble paying for it because it came with CS3. I wonder if there is a way to transfer the license. I guess in a little while I could shell out the $100. I mainly use Squeeze for the batch abilities.

December 11th, 2007, 02:28 PM	#7
Roger Akers Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lexington, KY Posts: 103	I was going to start a new query here about this very topic till I found this one so I'll post in here. I recently got hired as videographer/editor at www.webpronews.com. They have a million videos up already and I do not believe they are of the best compression settings. So I've been doing some research. Whenever you click to play our videos you can have an option to play small, medium, or large (flash files) or the ability to download or watch an .mp4 I do know that much of the problem is the actual raw footage taken in terrible lighting and camera folk that doesn't know the difference in white balance and corn flakes. I'm still not satisfied with the final output of some files I've been experimenting with so I'll post my settings here in case anyone has any advice. MPEG4 Audio: Codec: Coding Technologies aac Data: 160 Sample: 16 Rate: 44100 Stereo Video: Codec: Sorenson MPEG4 Pro Method: Sorenson 2 Pass VBR Data Rate: 600 Frame Size: 320x180 Maintain Aspect Ratio Frame Rate 2:1 everything else is default. On to the flash files I'll only post the settings used for the LARGE outputs Audio: Codec: Fraunhofer MP3 Data: 112 Sample: 16 Stereo Video Codec: On2 VP6 Pro 2 Pass VBR Data rate: 300 Frame Size 512 x 288 Maintain Aspect Ratio Frame rate: 1:1 Key Frame every 45 frames As I have never worked with squeeze and never worried about outputting for the web in flash, I'd really like to hear some of you gurus opinions so I can improve the quality of the videos on this site. I've only edited a couple of videos so far... so if you reference any examples from my website please reference the Matt Cuts & Vanessa Fox video. Because I've been experimenting with settings on that one over and over.

December 11th, 2007, 04:48 PM	#8
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	For flash I would try and do key frames a little more often and bump up the video bit rate to 350 or 400.

December 12th, 2007, 03:13 AM	#9
Steve Young Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maidstone UK Posts: 37	Why dont we post up links to videos we have uploaded and we can all try and fine tune the best settings I used these settings and this is one of the best quality videos I have managed to upload: VP6_768k Stream On2VP6 Codec 2 Pass VBR 480x270 25fps (PAL) MP3 Audio Left bitrate as default Also made sure I used UNCOMPRESSED source AVI and not DV It generated approx 30mb flv file (5min vid) and looks great in Brightcove! VIDEO LINK http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1336757797

December 12th, 2007, 05:51 AM	#10
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	Steve, the video looked great. I was impressed how it held up with all the dark scenes and flashing lights, that is useually a death sentence. Im sure the extra bitrate and better codec helped :) I really need to think about buying it. Here are a few of my samples. http://www.simplethoughtproductions....nd-07-victory/ The soccer video (click image to play) was done with: Codec: Sorenson Spark Pro Method: Sorenson 2 Pass VBR Data Rate: 96 Kbps Frame Size: 480W by 270H Frame Rate: 30 FPS Key Frame: Every 15 Frames MP3 Audio @ 128KBs 16 Sample Size 44100 Sample Rate in Stero Basketball: http://www.simplethoughtproductions....oads/test.html Same settings dif. aspect Original File was DV - 1 min 29 Seconds - 321MB Compressed File is: 11.1MB (My 5 min video would be about 7MB Larger) Codec: Sorenson Spark Pro Method: Sorenson 2 Pass VBR Data Rate: 96 Kbps Frame Size: 480W by 360H Frame Rate: 30 FPS Key Frame: Every 15 Frames MP3 Audio @ 128KBs 16 Sample Size 44100 Sample Rate in Stero

December 13th, 2007, 03:56 AM	#11
Steve Young Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maidstone UK Posts: 37	Josh I thought your vids where great quality too! Not sure how much the on2VP6 codec will improve upon it, but your right it has really helped for a lot of the dark club scenes and night-time shots which did look really ropey without using the codec! What service do you use to host your videos - on a server or an online service?

December 13th, 2007, 04:09 AM	#12
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	I have a dedicated server that I host my entire site on including the videos :) That way I get to pick all of the settings and do not really have any file size limits.

December 14th, 2007, 04:01 AM	#14
Steve Young Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maidstone UK Posts: 37	Well I think that when I upgraded to 4.5 it included the on2VP6 codec which has been very much worthwhile and my videos have never looked better

December 14th, 2007, 06:06 AM	#15
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	Looking at the list of changes the only thing that stuck out to me is 3x faster, mac intell support and meta data for the movies. That is about it but there is a long list here : http://www.sorensonmedia.com/pages/?pageID=2 just look for the features with the red NEW by them. The standard suite does not come with VP6 normally. It is a $100 plugin unless you puy the Squeez HD package or the Squeeze Flash only program. http://www.sorensonmedia.com/pages/?pageID=99 The best deal is to buy the power pack when first buying so you get the extra goodies and not just the extra codec.