Having trouble exporting in 4k to Youtube, please someone help!

[Taylorvice88]

Hey all, I am attempting to export my videos taken by my gopro hero 8 and DJI Mavic 2 Pro in 4K to be able to upload to youtube, but im having some trouble. After export, I get error message  0xc00d36c4 saying the file type is unsupported, file ext. is incorrect, or the file is corrupt.

I took a lot of advice from the community on export settings: 

Format: H.264

Preset: custom Under basic video settings: 3840x2160

frame rate: 29.97 (I thought this was where the original problem was, as gopro can export at 59.94 frames, but the properties of my dji clips showed 29.97, so I changed the overall frame rate export to that)

aspect: Square Pixels

checked render at max depth

performance: software encoding

Profile: High Level: 5.2

bitrate encoding: CBR

Target bitrate: 80 mbps

and lastly I checked use maximum render quality

I bring the files into media encoder and get a yellow "warning" under the "status column, saying that most all of my clips are "missing assets" and was "encoded using offline media graphic" due to them being "offline media."  I just exported the 1 clip that was not missing assets to see if that would work, and it still gives me the same error message when trying to play it.  

I messed around with the presets in Premiere Pro export such as facebook 4k, youtube 4k, vimeo 4k, ect, and the only one that would play in windows media player and vlc, as well as upload to youtube and have the option of 4k was facebook 4k, but it looks pretty terrible and compressed, smooth like 4k but the quality is very boxy.

Does anyone have any idea how I can export in 4k using my 4k footage and upload it to youtube in 4k without the errors, or why I may be having this problem?  Thank you!

[R Neil Haugen]

I would say in general un-check both Max Depth and unless you are doing major resizing of the image, Max Quality.

The Max Depth would only help if say you're working with 10-bit media and do some color correction and want to export at 10 bit. You're full-on 8-bit, and that can only at times then add a bit of time and/or induce issues.

And Max Quality is only of use during major frame resizing if you're getting jaggies on diagonals. It has occasionally been noted to add artifacts in a few situations. I always recommend leaving it off unless you're getting jaggies.

CBR ... contant bit rate ... well, that forces the carrying of higher bit-rate data even if some frames do not need the data rate. Most people I know find VBR for YouTube more useful.

Sometimes it is of use to export a full intraframe file of your sequence, set to reimport. Then do the deliverables from that file. So say export the project to ProRes LT and set to re-import. Then drop that file on a timeline and do your export for the YouTube with your H.264 settings.

Neil

[Taylorvice88]

Neil, thanks for the detailed reply.  You are the 2nd person to tell me to uncheck my max depth and max quality, so I will try that as well as trying VBR when I get home today. 

Would you be able to clarify on the last paragraph; should I pick a preset export setting that works (example being the ProRes LT), and once the file has exported, I import it into Premiere pro and export using my original settings I was trying before (and failing to get results from)?  Thanks!

[R Neil Haugen]

Yes.

Export to a "final" file of good quality, though don't waste more bitrate than the media has. For your media, ProRes LT would probably work well.

Use the 're-import' option in the export dialog to bring that file back into the Premiere project. Then make all deliverables from that file.

This does a couple things. First, most H.264 "frames" exist only in computer calculations. It's the nature of the long-GOP file structure. So for exports from H.264 originals, it requires all the calculations for the long-GOP structure to be done to make the video frames, then applies whatever effects are involved, then re-calculates and creates a ton of calculated frames. Takes a lot of horsepower and is complex.

Exporting from H.264 original, applying any effects, and then exporting (encoding) to an intraframe codec is vastly simpler, and therefore naturally more reliable.

Second, using a "simple" intraframe format/codec file, without applying any effects, as the basis for an export is a very solid and "clean" way to work. Simplifies the computations needed dramatically. Especially sound when exporting to a long-GOP format/codec of the H.264 variety.

Neil

[Taylorvice88]

Awesome, I greatly appreciate it.  To recap, export using ProRes LT, then re-import that, apply any effects, then export using H.264, correct?  And when you say effects, do you mean transitions, fades between clips, music, ect?

Do I change any export settings when performing the first export with ProRes LT?  Do I still use VBR vs. CBR and make sure the max depth and quality boxes are unchecked for the H.264 export?

Thank you again Neil!

[R Neil Haugen]

My suggestion is actually to finish your project, including everything ... then export to ProRes LT with the option in the Export dialog box (near the bottom) to reimport the exported file. This is essentially a master file of your finished project.

Then create a sequence with that file, and simply export to whatever deliverable you may desire.

Now ... doing a transcode to ProRes prior to working your project is another way of working, and often will give both a much easier edit and export process. After you complete the project, you can delete the t-codes as you still have the smaller original files, so you can re-create the t-codes at any time you needed to re-work the project.

Neil

[Taylorvice88]

Neil, when I try to export via ProRes LT, I get that original error message on my video.  I do not think that will benefit me to reimport, but I will try that.  Question, will transcoding help with my overall export problem, or is that just a way to quickly edit my overall video?

My new current troubleshooting has me rendering my sequence, and when I quickly thumbed through the video it all looks great (and green status bar in the top of my timeline post-render), So I am currently exporting it with the "preview files to export" box checked per a recommendation form another Premiere Pro user; I will see if that does anything for me. 

I just exported a seperate video I created that has Gopro Hero 8 and audio files with a custom H.264 export and everything worked perfectly.  Not sure why this video export keeps giving me trouble.  

Thanks.

[R Neil Haugen]

I'm still trying to puzzle out the missing bits warning from Me.

What sort of effects/graphics are you adding and/or using? What could that be referring to?

T-coding some formats, especially H.264/long-GOP stuff prior to editing can often give a much better playback experience in Premiere. It's far easier on the systems/subsytems for grabbing the file bits & creating frames.

Neil