Question / Help Compressing OBS local recorded videos

B

Boom123

Member
Hello,
I am recording local gameplay recordings at 1080p60fps, and am getting file sizes at around 12 GB for an hour. I'm assuming this is uncompressed footage correct?

As a test, I used Handbrake to trim the beginning and end of the video (to get rid of the black screens in the beginning and end) and compress the footage, and I am getting file sizes of around 1 - 2 GB which are much more manageable for uploading.

I am planning to upload these recordings to Youtube. If I had trimmed and compressed the video with Handbrake, and upload it to Youtube, will Youtube compress it another time? If Youtube does compress it another time, will I get a decline in quality from the RAW footage (the 12 GB file)?

I am asking because when I tried compressing the compressed footage (the 1 - 2 GB video) another time with Handbrake, there was a noticeable decline in quality, especially with the audio, so that is why I'm wondering if Youtube compressing it again will cause this same decline?

Thank you for any help in advance, I'm new to all this recording and uploading.
 
S

SumDim

Member
What is your recording format you are saving as? flv?

If you set it to MP4, you won't have to do anything other than just upload it to YouTube.
 
R

R1CH

Forum Admin
Developer
You should avoid re-encoding already encoded footage, as you will encounter generation loss. It's best to lower the quality you're recording with in OBS to get your ideal file size (increase the CRF). Keep in mind YouTube will re-compress it regardless on their end, so it's best to aim for the highest quality possible on your original upload.
 
B

Boom123

Member
Thank you both for your replies.

@SumDim: I am using MP4 as a format.

@R1CH: File size isn't a problem for me, I have plenty of storage, it's just the upload times will be much longer to upload a 12 GB file, but if you're saying it will make the quality worse then I'll prefer the long waiting time to upload, better than losing quality. Will YouTube let me upload a file so large?

So what program should I use to trim the video without it getting re-encoded? Handbrake re-encodes when trimming.

I am using Simple settings, 1080p 60 fps, Indistinguishable quality, I am getting an average bitrate of 28,000 - 30,000 for an hour long recording.
 
D

DeMoN

Member
I would rather recommend to capture into a very good quality (without any visible loss, even better lossless) and re-encode that into an upscaled variant after capture.

At least 2048x1152, but even better would be 3200x1800.

Why?
Because 1080p will always look like a minecraft city fallen into mud at youtube.
At 2048x1152 you reach the minimum of 1150 pixel to get their ID 308 encoding, which is for 1440p videos. The label will stay 1080p, but internally its then the ID 308 encode which has 10000 kbit bitrate, while ID 303 has just 3500 kbit.

If you use 3200x1800 you get the encoding used for 4k files. Its minimum resolution is 1750 pixel. Same story. Label stays 1440p, but internally you get it encoded by their 4k encodingpreset (ID 315)
ID 315 has 15mbit bitrate.

The quality difference is insane.
 
Harold

Harold

Active Member
Saving directly to mp4 is STRONGLY NOT RECOMMENDED.
And youtube can handle flvs uploaded to them just fine.
 
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