Skip to content
414-223-4380
[email protected]
trimarq logo
  • Home
  • Work
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
Video Events

Video-Sharing Sites

April 5, 2012  by Betsy Johnson

In the last entry, we went over some of the different video file types. This week, we’ll discuss the big question: What can be posted on YouTube, Google Video, and other video-sharing sites?

YouTube

You might be relieved to hear that most file types work for YouTube. When you upload a file, YouTube crunches and converts the video itself, so the key is to keep your video quality as high as possible when uploading. You also want to ensure that the video is deinterlaced.

Here is a list of some well-known formats that YouTube supports:

  • WebM files – Vp8 video codec and Vorbis Audio codecs
  • .MPEG4, 3GPP and – Typically supporting h264, mpeg4 video codecs, and AAC audio codec
  • .AVI – Many cameras output this format – typically the video codec is MJPEG and audio is PCM
  • .MPEGPS – Typically supporting MPEG2 video codec and MP2 audio
  • .WMV
  • .FLV – Adobe-FLV1 video codec, MP3 audio

In order for your video to look the best it can, YouTube recommends using the original resolution of the video. For HD that’s 1920×1080 or 1280×720. For 16:9 standard definition, that could be 854×480, 640×360, or 426×240. For 4:3 standard definition, they recommend 640×480.

When uploading a video to YouTube, you should always use the original version of the video without letterboxing or pillar boxing bars. This will help maintain the original quality of the video, and the YouTube player will automatically add black bars, if necessary so that videos display correctly.

Upload a 16:9 Video at its original aspect ratio (1280×720 recommended) YouTube: How to Do It Video fills the YouTube widescreen 16×9 player. Nice job!
Upload a 4:3 video at its original aspect ratio (640×480 recommended) Video is displayed in the widescreen player at the right size and ratio with the letterbox bars. Great!

If letterboxing is added to a video before it is uploaded (to create a 4:3 video from a 16:9 master for example), the widescreen player will add pillar box bars, resulting in black bars all around the video (windowboxing) and a bad viewing experience (see the diagram below).

Add letterbox bars to the top and bottom before uploading so that the video fits a 4:3 player YouTube: How NOT To Do It The YouTube player adds pillar box bars left and right to the 4:3 video fit widescreen. Bars surround it.

For more information, check out YouTube’s support site.

Google

Google Video for Business and Education is a little different. Google accepts video in AVI, ASF, QuickTime, Windows Media, and MPEG formats. However, it does not accept Flash .swf files, although Flash .flv files are accepted. The recommended video types are H.264, H.263, MPEG 1/2/4 and motion JPEG. Google Video also has a size limitation of 16GB per video.

Vimeo

One more popular video-sharing site is Vimeo. For best results, Vimeo recommends using H.264 as the video codec. In terms of resolution, you should use 640×480 for 4:3 standard definition video, 640×360 for 16:9 standard definition video, and 1280×720 or 1920×1080 for HD video. Again, make sure your video is deinterlaced. For more on Vimeo, visit their FAQ site.

So, the upshot of all this is that most of the videos you’re looking to upload are just fine for YouTube, but when in doubt, check out this blog entry or the terms on the video-sharing site.

Posted in Video ProductionTagged aspect ratio, avi, codec, file, file type, flash, google, google video, mov, pillarbox, resolution, tri-marq, trimarq, upload, video, vimeo, windowbox, wmv, youtube

Post navigation

Previous: The Best Video File Types
Next: Meet the Staff: Dan Kosan
Tri Marq vimeo Tri Marq youtube Tri Marq facebook Tri Marq linkedin

Blog

  • Giving Back
  • The Benefits of Video for Social Media Marketing
  • Make Your Events Stretch Beyond the Stage | On-Site Content Production
  • Meet the Staff | Shane Hoeft
  • Clarity in Motion | The Power of Animated Explainer Videos

Contact

Headquarters:

507 S. 2nd Street, Suite 145
Milwaukee, WI 53204

+1 (414) 223-4380
[email protected]

Instagram

At Tri-Marq, giving back is at the core of our bra At Tri-Marq, giving back is at the core of our brand. Learn more about some of the amazing organizations we are proud to donate our time and work to that allow us to to better our communities here in Milwaukee and across the state in our latest blog. Link in bio! And be on the lookout for our holiday-season virtual food drives to continue to bring joy to those who need it most as we move into the new year. #trimarq #givingback
This summer, we spent a day with Peyton Bornemann This summer, we spent a day with Peyton Bornemann and her family, capturing her story of courage and survival. In our work with @themaccfund each year, we have the chance to get to know some of the strongest kids in our area and how their lives have been impacted by the generosity of the MACC Fund and its supporters. We capture their stories to share at the annual Designed to Inspire fundraising event benefitting children who face cancer and other blood-related disorders. This year’s story features Peyton and the Bornemann family — with a little help from her horse, Maggie. We’re honored to help bring her story, and the MACC Fund’s mission, to life.💛
Time is almost out to register for the annual Desi Time is almost out to register for the annual Designed to Inspire Luncheon hosted by MACC Fund - Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer, Inc. The event features tons of fun and great ways to give, including a raffle, wine pull, and silent auction. We're honored to work with the organization to produce the annual patient story video featuring one of the brave faces that benefit from the MACC Fund. Register today and see this year's patient story air at the Luncheon.

We're celebrating #ThrowbackThursday with the MACC Fund patient story video from 2017. Get to know Emmett and his cancer story.
Never settle for less than impeccable. Elevate you Never settle for less than impeccable. Elevate your next event with the help of Tri-Marq's event production experts! #eventproduction #clienttestimonial #trimarq #globalevents
Video is one of the strongest tools any marketer c Video is one of the strongest tools any marketer can have in their arsenal, yet some still haven't been able to take advantage of its potential because they don't know where to start. There's never been a better time to start using video as a social media marketing tool, learn why in our latest blog, link in bio!
We’re thrilled to share this BTS from a great sh We’re thrilled to share this BTS from a great shoot day at the Al McGuire Center with Marquette Men's Basketball. The players, coach, spirit squad, and Iggy put in the work and brought the energy last weekend, and now it's our turn. Our creative team is already hard at work developing this season’s intro video and headshots. Catch the video at their home tipoff on Nov 3rd! #MUBB #WeAreMarquette #trimarq #videoproduction

Copyright © 2025 All rights reserved. Tri-Marq, LLC