Camtasia Studio and the HD option in YouTube
Posted on Tuesday February 3, 2009 by Betsy Weber
Tagged as:
YouTube is hot - there's no doubt about it. Last year it was reported that YouTube is the Number 2 search engine, right behind Google. In August 2008, YouTube had over 2.6 billion search queries!
And, I know a lot of Camtasia Studio users would like to share their screencasts on YouTube. I've heard from a lot of people asking questions about getting the optimal settings and the best way to get your Camtasia Studio recordings with the HD option in YouTube. Our training manager, Matt Pierce, recently made some short videos sharing his tips and tricks that I thought everyone would like to see.
The first screencast is about recording for the HD YouTube option. This ~2:00 minute video will show you how to set-up your Camtasia Studio recordings to ensure you get the HD option on YouTube.
The next screencast is about the production settings for HD output on YouTube. This ~2:00 minute video will walk you through the setting changes you need to make to the YouTube preset for HD viewing on YouTube.These Custom Camtasia Studio production settings should give you a high quality HD source video for upload to YouTube:
- Use the Flash MP4 output
- Choose the No Controller Template
- Change the Dimensions to 1280 (width) x 720 (height)
Under Flash Options adjust the Frame rate to 30 frames per second, and the quality level to at least 55%
- Change the audio options to at least 96 kbps.
The other tip I've heard is that YouTube displays low-quality video by default. If you'd like your viewers to see high-quality video (720p - 1280×720 resolution), add &fmt=22 to the end of the YouTube URL when you send it to them. Note: I've read that not all videos on YouTube are capable of this.
YouTube also states here on their FAQ that they are experimenting with HD.
There is also a thread going on in our TechSmith User forums about this. If you'd like to see more info, please visit here.
If YouTube isn't your thing, TechSmith created Screencast.com to host your videos. Screencast.com doesn't scale your content or re-encode it so the quality of your screencast matches your original and it is easy to use. We'll even give you some free storage and bandwidth.
What have you found when using Camtasia Studio with YouTube? Any tips and tricks you can share about getting HD quality?
Comments (20)
Thanks Betsy. Will like to add two thing here:
1. When you upload a new video to YouTube, it might take anywhere between 5-15 minutes for the "Watch in HD" link to show up.
2. To embed an HD YouTube video in your own website, one needs to add &ap=%2526fmt%3D22 in the embed code - see the source code of this page for the exact code.
Posted by Amit Agarwal | February 3, 2009 11:20 PM
Posted on February 3, 2009 23:20
Ah! Thanks Amit - Much appreciated! I always learn so much from you!
Posted by Betsy Weber | February 3, 2009 11:40 PM
Posted on February 3, 2009 23:40
Nice post Betsy! Thanks to you and Matt for getting this information out there.
Posted by Dave O'Rourke | February 4, 2009 12:43 AM
Posted on February 4, 2009 00:43
Did you use a large mouse cursor for your video recordings?
Cheers,
Luke
Posted by Luke | February 4, 2009 9:48 AM
Posted on February 4, 2009 09:48
@Luke - I have my cursor set to the extra large setting.
For those of you who may not know how to change your default mouse cursor, its really easy. Here's a short Jing showing the process. http://screencast.com/t/jiF6qNAYl
I find that the extra larger cursor makes it easier for viewers to follow on the screen.
Hope this helps.
Matt Pierce
Training Manager
TechSmith Corporation
Posted by Matt Pierce | February 5, 2009 4:42 PM
Posted on February 5, 2009 16:42
I posted a comment here earlier with some additional helpful findings, but it looks like it hasn't gone through the mod queue — please check when you have a chance, thank-you. =)
Posted by Torley | February 7, 2009 5:40 PM
Posted on February 7, 2009 17:40
Hi,
When you select the frame rate does it have to be 30?...surely 30fps is for NTSC - can we choose 25fps?
Great program
Best
Nick
Posted by nick | February 15, 2009 9:39 AM
Posted on February 15, 2009 09:39
I would not recommend capturing at 1280x720 with no-zoom. The big format HD (after you click the button) is still a bit flaky and can only be viewed by people with a high-enough bandwidth. Also, if you capture at 1280x720, you must click the button as its un-viewable in standard mode (640x360).
I recommend zooming to 640x360 and using the similar settings as you describe, and ensure the data rate is > 1Mbps. The standard mode in this case is very high-resolution (a 640x360 flv file). See the example here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJVvBqR8Mws
Its very high-res and you don't need to click on the "watch in hd" option to view.
Posted by Stuart McGarrity | February 26, 2009 2:37 PM
Posted on February 26, 2009 14:37
The HD videos exported from Camtasia 6 (following your instructions) don't convert to HD when uploaded to YT. They should; re-exporting the movies from other software makes it work--just not Camtasia. Neither exporting as mp4s and wmvs works.
Posted by Fred | February 26, 2009 3:10 PM
Posted on February 26, 2009 15:10
Note that if you expect most users to watch the video after clicking "watch in HD", the actual dimensions of the player are 853x480, not 1280x720.
So, to re-create the same resolution for the viewer as when you captured, you should zoom-n-pan in Camtasia to the player size, i.e. 853x480. Other wise the screencast will be difficult to view. You should probably also add an annotation to encourage viewers to click the "watch in HD" button.
Stuart
Posted by Stuart McGarrity | March 1, 2009 10:52 AM
Posted on March 1, 2009 10:52
@Stuart, that's a very good point. Though one advantage of producing at 1280x720 is that the viewer can choose "watch in HD" and then click the fullscreen button, to see it in the full HD resolution. It's true you have to keep the user's available bandwidth in mind when giving this option. What I like about being able to embed the player on my website, is the fact that people can choose what resolution works for them, either &fmt=18 or &fmt=22. The key is to set it up so people see those options via the annotations, like you mentioned.
@Fred, I had this same problem. It seems that it was a hit or miss as to whether I could get these settings to produce a video that would be recognized as HD when uploaded to YouTube. I've spent the past 4 days experimenting, and after uploading about 30 different variations, I finally figured out that the best codec to record at is the DivX codec. Unfortunately it isn't free, but for $20, it practically guarantees that I'll get HD quality when uploaded.
HTH, iBrent
Posted by iBrent | March 1, 2009 8:26 PM
Posted on March 1, 2009 20:26
I dont have those MP4 settings.
Under the FLV MP4 settings I can choose framerate and the bitrate. (For original youtube preset it is set to 800kbps)
What would my settings be?
I am using Camtasia 6
Posted by Simon | March 5, 2009 9:24 AM
Posted on March 5, 2009 09:24
iBrent,
You can get a Camtasia produced video to be available on YouTube in HD if you set the 'Screen Capture Rate' to 80 fps rather than 30 as Matt mentioned in his first video above. I have tested it several times, it has always worked for me.
Posted by M. Amir Haque | March 6, 2009 1:24 PM
Posted on March 6, 2009 13:24
Good news.
i like HD video,and I have found a way to download HD video,
http://www.download-streaming-video.com/youtube-downloader/#137
Now i can view HD video on my pc.
Posted by blueangle | April 16, 2009 10:35 PM
Posted on April 16, 2009 22:35
I use these exact settings, however it makes my thumbnails get these ugly "widescreen borders" at the top & bottom. Does anyone know what to do? Thanks!
(janjegen@gmail.com)
Posted by Jan Jegen | April 25, 2009 3:43 PM
Posted on April 25, 2009 15:43
I found a better way: export and upload as a Quicktime Movie based on instructions at
How To Make Your Videos HD Using CamTasia Studio 5/6
Using those instructions I was able to produce a video with a higher resolution at both the HD and non-HD modes.
The only downside I'm aware of is that this process leads to a much larger file.
Posted by Jim | May 4, 2009 12:45 PM
Posted on May 4, 2009 12:45
Don't know if you'll know, but I have a full-length DVD motion picture on my computer. Do you know what codec would be required to get it into Camtasia? Thanks
Posted by David | January 26, 2010 8:02 AM
Posted on January 26, 2010 08:02
Great guide, thanks a lot! By the way, I've heard that you should have the same option as it is in the video? That isn't true now I guess. It says that the Audio option on my video is on 128 kbps bit rate, If I use a higher kbps, will I get a better sound or will it just sound strange?
Thank you
Posted by Ekéus | January 28, 2010 6:44 PM
Posted on January 28, 2010 18:44
One more thing, I can watch in HD now but the video isn't taking up the whole screen. How should I do?
Posted by Ekéus | January 29, 2010 2:56 AM
Posted on January 29, 2010 02:56
will you be updating this for 1080p
Posted by cj | February 2, 2010 4:20 AM
Posted on February 2, 2010 04:20