General compression guidelines for Vimeo

  • Codec

    Choose H.264 for the video codec. Choose AAC for the audio codec.

  • Frame rate

    This is usually 29.97 for USA/Japan/Canada, while in Europe and rest of the world it's usually 25. If there is an option that says "current" just go with that. Please note that Vimeo converts all HD videos only up to 25 frames per second in order to optimize playback performance.

  • Keyframes

    Every 30 frames. This is basically how often the compressor references your uncompressed video.

  • Data rate

    1800 kbits/sec for standard definition 4:3 video , 2500 kbits/sec for widescreen DV, or 5000 kbits/sec for high definition. Making these numbers higher will increase both quality and size.

  • Size

    640x480 for standard definition 4:3 video, 872x480 for widescreen DV, or 1280x720 for high definition. It is also best to export 1920x1080 or 1440x1080 video as 1280x720 too.

  • Deinterlace

    Yes. If you do not deinterlace, you will often get weird-looking horizontal lines in your video.

  • Sound sample rate

    44.100 kHz

  • Audio quality

    You want audio with a bit rate of 128 kbps. You can set your audio to really good quality without increasing file size too much.

  • Those are the basic principles that will apply to almost all of the video programs out there. Eugenia, an active member in the Vimeo community, has made some tutorials for specific programs that you can view:

General compression guidelines

Okay, we're going to be honest with you: there's no way we can make exporting/compression guides for every kind of video software on the market. It's just overwhelming! However, we do want to give you some guidelines for compressing your videos for Vimeo, so look over these tips, find the corresponding settings in your software, and you should be able to make it work for you.

Note: Sometimes these settings are in "Advanced" or "Options" when exporting.