Re: Vimeo Export Option

Hello all.
I took the plunge into FCP-X quite some time ago, and for the most part I am caught up. Compression has always been a bit of a confusion for me, but today I really ran into some problems.
My company just got a Vimeo account. Until now I have been uploading things to YouTube and compression option for YouTube has worked fine. I found a Vimeo export option which I chose, but when I uploaded my first video to Vimeo it said that my bit rate was low. 3756 and they recommend 5000 minimum. I am not sure if this has to do with the raw video itself or if it has to do with the export function.
I did notice that Premier has a Vimeo export function, and when I hit the dropdown they actually have three different options for Vimeo.
My question is this, is Premier's compression better than FCP-X? If so, should I be bouncing my FCP projects over to Premier to compress them? If not, what is the best option to export for Vimeo from FCP Compression, and how do I get the right bit rate?

Thanks

Hi Caleb
Personally I prefer not to use the direct export (Share) functions inside of FCPX. This includes the direct burning to optical disc function as well. I prefer to export (Share) to the desktop mostly as a Master File and from there to export/import to different formats.
For me this has at least a couple of benefits.
It separates the creation of the video files themselves from the transcoding/compression to other formats operations. I often see people with problems when doing both as one step. (Infamous hangs at 66%)
I now have a file that I can reuse at any time without having to reopen and re-Share the project in FCPX. It is also a good backup of a project.

If you have Compressor, you can set up your own custom compression routines. I believe that the Destination(s) Share settings within FCPX are mainly set-up for the standard "Free" streaming accounts and not for the premium accounts for the various services. You can change some of these "Settings" in FCPX, but Compressor gives more options. You can then create these custom settings as new Destinations for use inside of FCPX if you want, but reread above paragraph.

Finally, if the service allows, I would just send the fullest resolution/bit rate files (Master File) I could and let the service do the transcoding as each has its own compression algorithms so you end up with compression on top of compression. Your internet speeds may dictate otherwise.

Hopefully others with more experience and testing will chime in.

Happy Editing!
Hope this helps, Greg