Uploading Full HD videos to Facebook?

TTTT wrote on 7/9/2020, 5:13 PM

Hello,

Maybe some people here have tried uploading Full HD to Facebook too and already found explanation...

I used to upload to FB in the past, but since 2016 I'm only uploading on YouTube.

I'm trying to upload a Full HD (1080p) video to Facebook (and later I would also have 4K videos to upload), but it always plays as 720p.
The best I go it that when I'm editing the video meta-stuff, its player get a blue "HD" logo, but choice is still limited to 720p.

I asked someone who published on FB, but he's not really sure about precise reasons. Here are some hints I gathered so far, but they may be wrong:
- I tried uploading H264 and H265. Facebook upload UI apparently doesn't recognize H265 as Full HD.
- Tried reducing my bitrate (no noticeable impact (on FB's behaviour, I didn't actually check)

- I though maybe it's taking time to process Full HD ... bit I think waited long enough (like 30 minutes)
- I was told that Facebook doesn't allow all page to upload Full HD. I was indeed uploading to a test page which as 2 likes. So I tried uploading to my main page (which has ~1950 likes) and in both cases I get the same result (720p playable, but blue "HD" logo in edit part. (And test page 1440p video tests and main has 1080p videos from years ago)
- I was told that maybe Facebook still limits bandwidth in the context of Covid-19 measures. OK, but on the guy's page, I can watch videos in 1080p. So ... not sure about this.

Any idea?

Comments

Musicvid wrote on 7/9/2020, 6:27 PM

I believe Facebook Player is 1280x720, which Is called HD 720p.

If it has changed recently, I hope someone will jump in and correct me.

TTTT wrote on 7/9/2020, 6:37 PM

Thank you for the suggestion, but this is not true anymore, though it has been true for years.
But I can confirm that I have videos from 2016 in Full HD on Facebook and even some test fragments on a test page in 1440p.

And yes I know that 720p is called HD, but apparently according to the chart on this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_resolution
1080p is also called HD. From some sources, 720p was called HD Ready while 1080p is more precisely called Full HD.
And I'm convinced that in Facebook's terms, "HD" means 1080p, as opposed to their previous 720p-limited player.
(How confusing...)

Musicvid wrote on 7/9/2020, 9:06 PM

I am familiar with video standards and nomenclature (my signature below).

But you are telling me Facebook (which I don't use) now accepts full HD, but apparently not yours. I suspect your answer lies on their help pages, although someone here may be familiar. But in order to help, we would need to know exactly what you are doing now.

https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/faq-how-to-post-mediainfo-and-vegas-pro-file-properties--104561/

Do let us know your solution when you find it, it will be helpful to others.

TTTT wrote on 7/10/2020, 9:52 AM

Right, I was hoping that someone would with some "up-to-date" suggestions that I could test. But here is data.

Also regarding the blue "HD" tag, I have a video from 2017 on my main page that can play in both 720p and 1080p and both definitions have the same blue "HD" tag, so both are HD for Facebook.

Test A
JULY 2020
Vegas Pro 17 Magix HEVC/AAC MP4 preset "Internet HD 1080p 50 fps (NVIDIA NVENC)"
Length: 03:05:10 (3min 5s 10frame)
Detected has "HD" (in Facebook terms) on "Test page" at upload time: No
Detected has "HD" (in Facebook terms) on "Main page" at upload time: No
Played has Full HD (1080p) on "Test page": No
Played has Full HD (1080p) on "Main page": No

General
Complete name : 20160430-H265_FHD_50fps.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (isom/mp42)
File size : 448 MiB
Duration : 3 min 5 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 20.3 Mb/s
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:37:34
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:37:34

Video
ID : 1
Format : HEVC
Format/Info : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile : Main@L4.1@High
Codec ID : hvc1
Codec ID/Info : High Efficiency Video Coding
Duration : 3 min 5 s
Bit rate : 20.1 Mb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 50.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.194
Stream size : 444 MiB (99%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:37:36
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:37:36
Codec configuration box : hvcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Format profile : AAC@L2
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 3 min 5 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 192 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 489 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 4.19 MiB (1%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:37:36
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:37:36

Test B

JULY 2020
Vegas Pro 17 Magix AVC/AAC MP4 preset "Internet HD 1080p 50 fps (NVIDIA NVENC)"
Length: 03:05:10 (3min 5s 10frame)
Detected has "HD" (in Facebook terms) on "Test page" at upload time: Yes
Detected has "HD" (in Facebook terms) on "Main page" at upload time: Yes
Played has Full HD (1080p) on "Test page": No
Played has Full HD (1080p) on "Main page": No

General
Complete name : 20160430-H264_FHD_50fps.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (isom/mp42)
File size : 448 MiB
Duration : 3 min 5 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 20.3 Mb/s
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:15:36
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:15:36

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.2
Format settings : CABAC / 1 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 1 frame
Format settings, GOP : M=1, N=30
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 3 min 5 s
Bit rate : 20.1 Mb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 50.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.194
Stream size : 444 MiB (99%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:15:38
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:15:38
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 3 min 5 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 192 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 489 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 4.19 MiB (1%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:15:38
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-09 21:15:38

Test C

JULY 2020
Vegas Pro 17 Magix AVC/AAC MP4 preset "Internet HD 1080p 50 fps (NVIDIA NVENC)"
Length: 00:14:00 (14 seconds)
Detected has "HD" (in Facebook terms) on "Test page" at upload time: Yes
Detected has "HD" (in Facebook terms) on "Main page" at upload time: Yes
Played has Full HD (1080p) on "Test page": No
Played has Full HD (1080p) on "Main page": No

General
Complete name : 20160430-H264_FHD_50fps-14s.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (isom/mp42)
File size : 39.6 MiB
Duration : 15 s 20 ms
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 22.1 Mb/s
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:21:33
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:21:33

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.2
Format settings : CABAC / 1 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 1 frame
Format settings, GOP : M=1, N=30
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 15 s 20 ms
Bit rate : 21.9 Mb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 50.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.211
Stream size : 39.2 MiB (99%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:21:35
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:21:35
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 15 s 19 ms
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 192 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 489 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 347 KiB (1%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:21:35
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:21:35

Test D
File encoded in 2017
Previous version of Vegas Pro, custom preset: 1920x1080x25p 68Mbps, MP4A 44100Hz 320kbps
(68 Mbps probably was the maximum recommended bitrate for Facebook in that time. They have never truly update their setting recommendations even when they updated player.)
Length: 01:02 (1min 2s approximately)
Detected has "HD" (in Facebook terms) on "Test page" at upload time: Yes (July 2020)
Detected has "HD" (in Facebook terms) on "Main page" at upload time: No
Played has Full HD (1080p) on "Test page": No (2020 upload)
Played has Full HD (1080p) on "Main page": Yes (october 2017 upload)
(Now, I notice that many of my old videos only play in 720p could it be because this one has got more engagments ... likes/hearts ... than other videos, or because it is shorter? Most of my videos are between 3 and 5 minutes. But on the other end, I have 13 second 4K tests with zero engagement on my test page and those currently play in 1440p , which is not 4K but still larger than all of my other tests.)

General
Complete name : 20171008-1920x1080x25p-MPEG4_AVC1_68Mbps-MP4A_44100Hz_320kbps.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (isom/mp42)
File size : 324 MiB
Duration : 1 min 2 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 43.7 Mb/s
Encoded date : UTC 2017-10-13 23:42:16
Tagged date : UTC 2017-10-13 23:42:16
IsTruncated : Yes

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L5
Format settings : CABAC / 1 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 1 frame
Format settings, GOP : M=1, N=30
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 1 min 2 s
Bit rate : 43.4 Mb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 25.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.836
Stream size : 322 MiB (99%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2017-10-13 23:42:24
Tagged date : UTC 2017-10-13 23:42:24
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 1 min 2 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 319 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 2.35 MiB (1%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2017-10-13 23:42:24
Tagged date : UTC 2017-10-13 23:42:24

Test E
JULY 2020 (I thought that it could have something to do with frame rate)
Vegas Pro 17 Magix AVC/AAC MP4 preset "Internet HD 1080p 25 fps (NVIDIA NVENC)"
Length: 03:05:10 (3min 5s 10frame)
Detected has "HD" (in Facebook terms) on "Test page" at upload time: (not tested)
Detected has "HD" (in Facebook terms) on "Main page" at upload time: Yes
Played has Full HD (1080p) on "Test page": (not tested)
Played has Full HD (1080p) on "Main page": No

Current fragments of conclusion:
Facebook doesn't recognise H265 as HD at upload time.

General
Complete name : 20160430-H264_FHD_25fps.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (isom/mp42)
File size : 448 MiB
Duration : 3 min 5 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 20.3 Mb/s
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:50:42
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:50:42

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.2
Format settings : CABAC / 1 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 1 frame
Format settings, GOP : M=1, N=30
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 3 min 5 s
Bit rate : 20.1 Mb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 50.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.194
Stream size : 444 MiB (99%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:50:44
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:50:44
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 3 min 5 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 192 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 489 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 4.19 MiB (1%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:50:44
Tagged date : UTC 2020-07-10 12:50:44

TTTT wrote on 7/10/2020, 12:10 PM

Just added MediaInfo data to previous reply.

Musicvid wrote on 7/10/2020, 8:20 PM

Did you notice that all except your 2017 encode are using the Nvidia NVENC hardware encoder? Might be a clue.

What if you just use Sony AVC, 1080p Internet template? It's pretty generic software encoding.

TTTT wrote on 7/11/2020, 11:11 AM

Thank you, though, not solved yet.

The only reason why nothing is mentionning Nvidia NVENC for the 2017 video is because I wrote "Custom preset:" then I described what I considered my most important parameters. I didn't mention the encoder but it's likely that I also used NVENC... (unless I'm missing something in the MediaInfo data?) I think that since 2016, I always considered NVENC as my best choice for encoding as it's the fastest for me, even with options such as "VBR high quality".

However, in my understanding, the encoder should not impact "how" a video is read (which is the codec's role), but only "what" is written in video content.

I did a test the default "Sony AVC\Internet 1920x1080-30p" preset, I kept all the default parameters even though 29,97p is not what I want in my final video, I also tend to encode at much higher bitrates ... But so, with "Sony AVC\Internet 1920x1080-30p" and all default parameters the best playback I get is still 720p.

But I'm really getting the feeling that, other than FB not recognising H265 as HD, there is something else going on which has to do with Facebook's "output algorithms" rather than actual video encoding ...

Musicvid wrote on 7/11/2020, 1:34 PM

Good luck.

TTTT wrote on 7/11/2020, 3:54 PM

After a while, I now notice, this upload (the "Sony AVC\Internet 1920x1080-30p") is finally playing in 1080p, but only on my main page, not on the test page that has only 1 or 2 likes.

Will be doing some more tests but if Facebook isn't offering any constant display quality, I'm not going to upload much there.

asdf-a wrote on 1/26/2021, 5:07 PM

Got the exact same issue. Did you ever solve it?

set wrote on 1/26/2021, 5:19 PM

Seems confusing to me, but this looks like FB's issues...

In my latest one:

https://www.facebook.com/setiawan3d/posts/10158215289877637

it is successful 1080p for square 1:1 1080x1080 video.

but previously fail, and only 640p!

https://www.facebook.com/setiawan3d/posts/10158179293922637

https://www.facebook.com/setiawan3d/posts/10158173765262637

Before this, successful 1080p for 4:5 video:

https://www.facebook.com/setiawan3d/posts/10158145409672637

and 1080x1920 (tall video) is just 720p:

https://www.facebook.com/setiawan3d/posts/10158170887627637

The quality cannot be not consistent.

TTTT wrote on 1/27/2021, 5:19 AM

Got the exact same issue. Did you ever solve it?

No. I know that Facebook has never been constant about media quality (as I also do photography, it seems the same happens regarding resizing and JPG compression, they use to be more constant regarding videos though). Yet it looks like a lot of things on Facebook are not necessarily the same from a user to another, from a page to another ... I would like to push things to it if quality was guaranteed (also have a better argument against people who just download my videos and re-upload them to Facebook) but considering current instability, I consider Facebook as a waste of time...