Adobe CS4

When YouTube went HD I was thrilled. However, I could not figure out how to export a movie properly. Everything I tried looked horrible. After scouring the Internet I came up with the following steps to export an HD movie and load it to YouTube.

1. Record in High Definition ~
If you want to export to HD then record in HD. I use the Canon VIXIA HF200 but any HD camcorder is fine. I record in 60i Standard. I also make sure I’m recording in the higher quality HD possible on the camera which on my camera is MXP (High Quality 24 Mbps).
2.
Step 2

~ Set Adobe Premiere Project Settings ~
Start a new project and make sure the settings in the ‘New Sequence’ window are as follows:
Tab: Sequence Presets
HDV (under ‘Available Presets) > HDV 1080i30 (60i)
3.
Step 3

~ Export your movie ~
After you’ve edited the movie to your liking and you’re ready to export, click File > Export > Media

Use the following for the ‘Export Settings’
– Format: H.264
– Presets: Make up a name and Save it. YouTube HD will suffice.
– Comments: Enter whatever you want.
– Make sure Export Audio and Export Video are checked

There are five tabs in the ‘Export Settings’ window. Here are the setting for each tab:

‘Filters’ tab: Make sure nothing is checked

‘Multiplexer’ tab:
Multiplexing: MP4
Stream Compatibility: PSP

‘Video’ tab:
Codec: MainConcept H.264 Video (will be selected since you chose the Format as H.264 above)
TV Standard: NTSC (since I’m in the United States)
Frame Width [pixels]: 1,280
Frame Height [pixels]: 720
Frame Rate [fps]: 59.94 (I don’t understand why this setting works but it does and works well).
Field Order: None (Progressive)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square Pixels
Level: 4.0
Bitrate Encoding: VBR, 1 Pass
Target Bitrate: 5
Maximum Bitrate: 8

‘Audio’ tab:
Codec: AAC
Output Channel: Stereo
Frequency: 48 kHz
Audio Quality: High

‘Others’ tab: Make sure everything is blank.

After you’ve configured the settings click ‘OK’. The Adobe Media Encoder will launch. Click ‘Start Queue’.

That’s it! A 10 minute video with transitions and other effects can take as long as 10 hours to export depending on the horsepower of your computer.
4.
Step 4

~ Load to YouTube ~
Simply log onto your YouTube account and upload the video. YouTube will recognize the video as HD. After YouTube processes the video you’ll be able to watch your video in HD glory!