optimizing / compressing video for web with Quicktime

Question

I have a ~70mb (3 minutes long) m4v video that I need to get to a much more reasonable file size for playing on a site that will primarily be accessed via iPad.

I don't know if it matters, but the video will need to play automatically upon page load.

I've read through a few tutorials for doing this with Quicktime, however I think I'm missing something..

From the Export pop-up menu, there should seemingly be an option to choose "Movie to QuickTime Movie." I have only 480p and iPod/iPhone/iPad options(which I believe would result in a viewing frame that is too small).

How can I proceed with web-optimizing this file in Quicktime? (Or is there a better solution? I tried Sorenson Squeeze, but that had a large watermark..)

Answer 1

To add on to AJ's answer, Vimeo has a dedicated page on their preferred compression settings; Youtube has the same.

Check these out for some more specific information on which bitrate/codec to choose!

Answer 2

You need Quicktime 7 pro to get the full export options. Quicktime as it currently stands is a gutted shell of its former self. Can I suggest you use mpeg streamclip. Free, very widely used (by many professionals too) and a great tool for transcoding.

That is unless you're handy with the command line, in which case you want ffmpeg.

Answer 3

The simplest way is probably to use the "Export For Web" option in QuickTime. It may only be available in Pro though.

If you want a bit more flexibility, the full Export dialog will allow you to choose an H.264 stream of your choosing for quality and data rate. If you use the full Export, you'll want to make sure to choose to optimize for streaming when you choose a data rate. This should organize the file so that it can start playing prior to fully downloading.

As far as choosing a data rate, your best bet is to choose based on how much you think the device/viewer's connection/web server can handle. If you get too many artifacts, try decreasing the resolution until you get artifact free video.