Most video compression algorithms are designed for live-action video which contains shades of color that can be easily compressed. My animations tend to change very rapidly and employ many very different colors which means that compression has a hard time working without drastically reducing the image quality. To combat this I have signed up for Vimeo Pro so I can upload unlimited High Definition videos.

I typically export videos using the QuickTime Animation setting which results in great source footage but Vimeo has issues with this format so I am experimenting on what offers the best size-to-quality ratio and passes Vimeo’s compression stage unhindered. The videos below were compressed using Motion JPEG B mode. The source footage for the top two clips was decent quality and about 185MB each for ~30s. The end result is still not the sharpest so I am going to experiment with the H.264 Codec which is what Vimeo recommends.

Since everything is generated live in my program I can pick whatever resolution i want when I run and export videos. The test videos below were exported at 1280X720.

Razzle HD Test 3 from Pehr Hovey on Vimeo.

Razzle HD Test2 from Pehr Hovey on Vimeo.


Razzle HD Test from Pehr Hovey on Vimeo.