Reaper edit Video for Instagram/Facebook - best format?

buckman · 01-23-2019, 08:26 AM

I want to do some quick hand held videos for Instagram/Facebook/Twitter etc and think that Reaper maybe the best editor to quickly add Audio to my video. I don't really need any editing just the video and my music underneath. The cropping (either end) could be taken care by Instagram once its loaded?

Basically, I want to film something on my iPhone, then drag it into Reaper PC.
Then turn the volume down on the video and place a stereo track underneath thats mastered (my own for copyright reasons).

I have lined up the video and music, but am not sure on the best format and render settings for social media particularly Instagram? I tried a MP4 render but instagram wouldn't load it?

Secondly when I get the video into Reaper (I have QT installed) its a .mov file as its from my Apple iPhone. The Music plays along the timeline but the video file just freezes?

Does anyone have any tips, on exporting video with a track and the best render settings for the social media age within Reaper? Or do i use something else?

airon · 01-23-2019, 04:40 PM

Instagram most likely has recommendations, just like Youtube does. That‘s where I‘d start. Then there‘s Youtube. Lots of help there.

Cranky Emu · 01-23-2019, 05:16 PM

For Youtube: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1722171?hl=en
Instagram also use H.264 in an MP4 container.

If you upload using a MOV container, Youtube will just convert it anyway, they convert everything into their streaming format(s). All my videos are done in H.265 MP4 container, which Youtube has no problem with, it will take basically whatever you throw at it.

SonicAxiom · 01-23-2019, 09:30 PM

I think there's no way to avoid youtube re-compressing the video stream, however, you should upload the video with PCM wave audio. Youtube converts the audio to lossy AAC and OGG. If you upload a video that had already been rendered with a lossy audio stream format in it (AAC, MP3, OGG), your audio will get two lossy conversion passes instead of only one.

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buckman · 01-24-2019, 02:04 AM

Thanks for the advice.

I did find after posting that Instagram uses :

The best Instagram video format is MP4.
H.264 Codec.
AAC Audio.
3500 kbps bitrate for video.
Frame rate of 30 fps (frames per second)
Maximum file size of 15 mb.
Video must be a maximum of 60 seconds.
Maximum video width is 1080 px (pixels) wide.

I think my main question is how to get THESE exact settings in Reaper and what export settings to use? and also Reaper was 'freezing' the video half way through when the music carried on, when editing it on the timeline and playing???

I will be using iPhone only, so that would make it a .mov file in the timeline and a WAV file underneath it for the music.

Can I then export from Reaper with the same settings as above, with a max file size of 15mb? I can then import into Instagram.

I think Youtube is a lot easier as it takes a few different formats/sizes and converts them anyway. It was Instagram that was my main focus really, if that helps?

SonicAxiom · 01-24-2019, 11:47 AM

you can set up Reaper to be able to export h.264 MOV with AAC audio. On Windows, you'll have to install the h.264 codec. Unfortunately, it's not very straightforward to set Reaper up for this. You should look up the Wiki for this via a Google search. Once you have evrything configured correctly, you can choose "Video (ffmpeg/libav encoder)" in the render dialog unter "output format". Then you choose "QT/MOV/MP4" as the video format and set the video codec to "H.264". Type in the desired video size (like 1920x1080 for FullHD) and set the audio format to "AAC, 192 kbps". The percentage value behind the video codec may be set to minimum (1%) to get the resulting file size down to 15 MB.

A max. file size of 15 MB and max. length of 60 s. will give you 15/60 = 0,25 MB per s. or 2.048 kbps for pure video with no audio included. To include audio, you'll need to reserve something like 192 kbps for AAC stereo audio. This reduces the available video bitrate to something around 1.800 kbps. I'd probably set the (vertical) video image size to 720 instead of 1080.

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buckman · 01-24-2019, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SonicAxiom

you can set up Reaper to be able to export h.264 MOV with AAC audio. On Windows, you'll have to install the h.264 codec. Unfortunately, it's not very straightforward to set Reaper up for this. You should look up the Wiki for this via a Google search. Once you have evrything configured correctly, you can choose "Video (ffmpeg/libav encoder)" in the render dialog unter "output format". Then you choose "QT/MOV/MP4" as the video format and set the video codec to "H.264". Type in the desired video size (like 1920x1080 for FullHD) and set the audio format to "AAC, 192 kbps". The percentage value behind the video codec may be set to minimum (1%) to get the resulting file size down to 15 MB.

A max. file size of 15 MB and max. length of 60 s. will give you 15/60 = 0,25 MB per s. or 2.048 kbps for pure video with no audio included. To include audio, you'll need to reserve something like 192 kbps for AAC stereo audio. This reduces the available video bitrate to something around 1.800 kbps. I'd probably set the (vertical) video image size to 720 instead of 1080.

.

Thank you for this comprehensive set of settings for export!

I will have to give this a try when i am next at Reaper!

I suppose these settings are more fluid for Youtube, as they accept various formats and change them accorindgly on upload.

Does anyone use Reaper for Youtube videos and editing?

terrybrawn · 04-24-2021, 02:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cranky Emu

For Youtube: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1722171?hl=en
Instagram also use H.264 in an MP4 container.

If you upload using a MOV container, Youtube will just convert it anyway, they convert everything into their streaming format(s). All my videos are done in H.265 MP4 container, which Youtube has no problem with, it will take basically whatever you throw at it.

Well, as an option, you can do this, if you do not take the software into account.

Tonmeister · 09-14-2021, 06:22 AM

I'd concur with the OP's settings for Instagram's requirements.
If you are an Apple user and are outputting Quicktime videos in .mov format, Instagram wont like them in my experience. Also PCM sound will result in silent videos.
MPEG-4 is a good choice for Instagram but Quicktime player no longer supports it. The older Quicktime Player 7 is good to keep around on pre-Mojave macs as it does support MPEG-4 exports with AAC audio.

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Fran Guidry · 07-01-2022, 04:01 PM

I have the ffmpeg library loaded so I get the H.264 option without jumping through hoops, but I think the default config can generate MKV output, right? If so, I would use that for output and then use Handbrake to generate the MP4/H.264/AAC version.

Fran

polard9 · 09-01-2023, 06:53 AM

When converting videos for social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, the best format is typically MP4 with H.264 codec. These platforms tend to favor square (11), vertical (9.16), or horizontal (16.9) aspect ratios. For Instagram, choose 1080x1080 pixels for a square, 1080x1920 for a vertical, and 1920x1080 for a horizontal. 1280x720 pixels is a common choice for Facebook. Ensure that files are optimized in both file size, quality, and resolution for seamless playback on mobile devices.