:: UMass Boston YouTube Channel

Technical Guide

  • What are current video standards for best results on Youtube?
    Always check with the Youtube Help section to see what the current standards are. http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=132460&topic=16612

    They will be close to:
    MPEG4 (Divx, Xvid) format 640x480 resolution (* most updated recommendation)
    MP3 audio
    30 frames per second

    If you need help or have other questions, contact IT:
    http://site.www.umb.edu/program_mgr/service_request.php
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  • Is there a recommended file size or video length limit?
    YouTube states, “Your video is limited to 2 Gigabytes", everything is subject to change so check back with Umass IT or Yotube if you think your video might be too large. [ back to top ]

  • What format should the video be?
    Always check back to the YouTube help section for the most current specifications.
    The most important factor is to start with an UNCOMPRESSED file because Youtube will RE-COMPRESS it on upload.

    As of March 2009, formats include: Windows Media Video(.avi), 3GP (cell phones), AVI (windows, .MOV (mac), .MP4 (ipod/psp), .MPEG, .FLV (adobe flash), .SWF (shockwave flash), .MKV (h.264)

    “We've found that files converted from .wmv to one of the other formats our webpage accepts generally have a lower playback quality than other file formats. If you have your source video in a format other than a .wmv file, you may want to encode directly to MPEG4 (DivX, Xvid, SVQ3) at 640x480 resolution, with 64k Mono MP3 Audio. If you have a source .WMV in high bitrate and larger resolution you may want to convert to MPEG4 at full resolution and then resizing to 320x240 using a high quality resizing algorithm - this can help reduce the number of artifacts you end up with.”

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  • How do I get videos from a DVD to Youtube?
    You need to extract them from the DVD using a free program like, “Handbrake” which turns your tracks into MP4s.
    http://handbrake.fr/
    If you are having trouble with Handbrake, please contact IT for assistance.
    http://site.www.umb.edu/program_mgr/service_request.php

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  • How long does it take to upload video?
    YouTube states, “Uploads usually take 1-5 minutes per MB on a high-speed connection, and converting your video takes a few minutes.” FYI, we've had different experiences when we start an upload when using IE, Firefox and Safari. The platform, PC or Mac, the version, and the Internet can make a difference.
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  • Is there a way to track how many times that one of my videos has been viewed??
    Yes, if you go to any video's page on YouTube, the number of Views is shown.
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  • Where can I find more help about making videos for YouTube??
    Check out YouTube's Help Center. Look for the section on “Making Videos.”
    Help Center Home > Your Videos > Making Videos
    http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/

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  • What text Information do I need to include with my uploaded video??
    Please have this information ready to enter yourself or to email to the person who will be uploading your video. Do not upload a video without Tags or Youtube will pick related videos for you and sometimes random or inappropriate content can pop up.

    1. Title of Your Video - Keep it short.
    2. Description of your video – 1 to 2 paragraphs.
    3. Tags (keywords) for your video, please bracket names in quote marks. Make sure to include words from the title in your keywords. Start the keywords paragraph with this: "umass boston" "public university" "urban university" "research university" "teaching university" and then the words that are relevant to your video.

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  • What kind of user feedback should I allow with my video?
    Youtube has several settings to enter for your video. You can decide if you want it to be rated. If you want comments, make sure they are screened first. You can also enter the location/date information for your video.

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  • How do I put my video in my webpage or blog?
    If you use CONTRIBUTE, you will need to make a request to IT to do this for you with this form:
    http://site.www.umb.edu/program_mgr/service_request.php .

    On the Youtube.com screen that shows your video, look to the right of your video and you will see a box that has the URL and the EMBED code for your video. Click on the line of code next to the word "Embed"



    You have a few options such as color and size of the video frame. Select them and then paste the line of code next to the word "Embed" into the source code of your page. *** Leave "include related videos" blank or Youtube generates a list of videos to appear as thumbnails in your video player and some might not be appropriate.



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