Should I compress my video before uploading?

Yes, you probably should. It will decrease your upload time with no loss of quality to your viewers. The golden rule is to have about 15 MB for every minute of video.

Uploading big files

Today many people have access to HD-equipment wich leaves you with great quality video − but also with very large file sizes. When you shoot with a Standard Definition mini-dv camera it is quite normal to end up with 1 GB files for only 5 minutes of video.

1 GB is a lot of data to transfer to the internet, especially considering that many internet service providers offer a relatively low upload speed. So uploading 1 GB will often take several hours; leaving many users frustrated or at least with the feeling of waisting time.

What about quality?

The fear of lossing quality is the main reason why most film makers or video creators don't like the idea of compressing their video. This is a relevant point when talking about screening a video or movie in a theater, but on the internet videos will be compressed anyway.

All online video publishing platforms, including 23 Video, display compressed versions of the uploaded video. So even if you have the neccesary upload speed and are able to upload files in the gigabyte range, the published version of the movie will be compressed.

But hey, it says HD!

The quality of a HD-video or regular video recording on your camera or edit your laptop is very different from streaming. Here are some examples of different bitrates (the amount of data used per second) from different sources:

* HD recording from Canon HF10: 35-40 Mbps (1440 x 1080)
* Mini-DV SD recording: 28 Mbps (720 x 576)
* Movies on Blu-Ray: 20-40 Mbps (depending on the lenght of the movie)
* HD recording from Canon HF10: 10-15 Mbps (960 x 540)
* HD recording from Vado HD: 8-9 Mbps (1280 x 720)
* Movies on DVD: 5-8 Mbps (depending on the lenght of the movie)
* 23 Video HD: 2 Mbps (up til 1280 x 1024)
* Youtube HD: 2 Mbps (op til 1280 x 720)