Adobe Premiere Pro is a popular video editing program and can be used to prepare your video for upload to Vimeo. We encourage you to see Adobe's export tutorial at 'How to export and share video'.
⚠️Note: While these instructions walk through Adobe's export settings, they also follow Vimeo's compression guidelines and may not contain the newest options or navigational steps as Adobe adds features to its software.
- Highlight your final sequence and go to File > Export > Media…
- Under "Export Settings," select the following options:
- Match Sequence Settings
Unchecked - Format
H.264 - Preset
Custom - Comments
Leave blank - Output Name
Click the output name to edit output filename and destination (if desired). - Export Video
Checked - Export Audio
Checked (if audio is present in your video). - Under the "Effects" tab, select the following options:
- Lumetri Look / LUT
Unchecked - Imagine Overlay
Unchecked - Name Overlay
Unchecked - Timecode Overlay
Unchecked - Under the "Video" tab, click the button that says "Match Source." This should set your export to match your original source video's settings.
- Check the following settings and make any necessary adjustments (note: you can edit any of these settings by unchecking the box to the right of each setting):
Basic Video Settings - Width / Height
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Vimeo uses some unique calculations to determine the available playback qualities for your video. Learn more at 'Determining playback resolution'.
Choose your source file's original width and height. If you wish to export your video at a smaller frame size, edit these values. If you aren't sure, leave them as-is. - Frame Rate
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There are some situations where you'll want to choose a frame rate different from the source:
If your frame rate is higher than 60 FPS: Choose a factor of your frame rate that is between 15-60 FPS. For example, if your frame rate is 100 FPS, choose 50 FPS.
If your frame rate is lower than 15 FPS: Choose a multiple of your frame rate that is between 15-30 FPS. For example, if your frame rate is 8 FPS, choose 16 FPS.
If you upload a frame rate that is higher than 60 FPS or lower than 15 FPS, Vimeo will automatically adjust the frame rate for you — but we can't guarantee the results will be as expected. It's best to do the conversion on your end prior to uploading.
Choose your source file's original frame rate. (This should be the default value if you clicked "Match Source.") - Field Order
Progressive - Aspect
Square Pixels (1.0) - TV Standard
Leave as-is. - Profile
For HD footage, choose High. For SD footage, choose Main. - Level
4.1 - Render at Maximum Depth
Checked Bitrate Settings - Bitrate Encoding
- Choosing "VBR, 1 pass" will speed up your export, at the cost of some quality. Never choose CBR.
VBR, 2 pass - Target Bitrate [Mbps]
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These target bitrates are suggested for average video files. If your video contains below average visual complexity (such as a slideshow presentation), choose a lower target bitrate. If your video contains above average visual complexity (such as a video with high levels of grain), increase the target bitrate.
Remember: Lower data rates lead to smaller file sizes and faster uploads! Experiment to pick the lowest data rate that yields acceptable image quality.
SD — 2-5
720p — 5-10
1080p — 10-20
2K — 20-30
4K — 30-60
- Maximum Bitrate (Mbps)
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These maximum bitrates are suggested for average video files. If your video contains below average visual complexity (such as a slideshow presentation), choose a lower maximum bitrate. If your video contains above average visual complexity (such as a video with high levels of grain), increase the maximum bitrate.
Remember: Lower data rates lead to smaller file sizes and faster uploads! Experiment to pick the lowest data rate that yields acceptable image quality.
SD — 2-5
720p — 5-10
1080p — 10-20
2K — 20-30
4K — 30-60
Advanced Settings - Key Frame Distance
Unchecked - Under the "Audio" tab, select the following options:
Audio Format Settings - Audio Format
AAC Basic Audio Settings - Audio Codec
AAC - Sample Rate
48000 Hz - Channels
-Standard mono
-2-channel stereo audio
-Surround audio with 5.1 and 7.1 channel layouts
-Spatial audio in the first-order and second-order ambisonic format (AmbiX)
- Parametric Stereo
Unchecked - Audio Quality
High Bitrate Settings - Bitrate [kbps]
320 Advanced Settings - Precedence
Sample Rate - Under the "Multiplexer" tab, select the following options:
Basic Settings - Multiplexer
MP4 - Stream Compatibility
Standard - You can ignore all the settings under the "Captions" tab.
- At the bottom of the export menu, select the following options:
- Use Maximum Render Quality
Checked - Use Frame Blending
Unchecked - Use Previews
Unchecked - Import into project
Unchecked - Note the Estimated File Size and make sure you have adequate quota space to upload this video. You can check how much quota space you have remaining on the video upload page.
- Double-check all your settings, then click "Export." The export process will begin.
- View your finished, compressed file to make sure it looks and sounds correct — then upload it to Vimeo.