I just finished putting together a video using Windows Movie Maker. It was saved to my hard drive as a WMV file and is 11.5 MB.
It's basically a slide show with music underneath. When I play it back on my computer, it looks great. The transitions are smooth, and the fades are clean. I then uploaded it to Youtube, and the opposite is true. When played back on Youtube, the video is choppy and the fades are more like cutaways.

Is there any way to upload my video so it looks like it does on my computer? I've watched hundreds of videos that are very similar to mine, and they look fine - no choppiness at all.

Thanks!

Craig

Dani AI

Generated

— The symptoms (smooth locally, choppy on YouTube; fades become apparent cuts) almost always come from YouTube re-encoding your WMV and the original export not matching YouTube’s preferred parameters. YouTube transcodes every upload and will reduce frame rate/bitrate or change GOP/keyframe behavior if the source is low-bitrate, uses a nonstandard/variable frame rate, or is encoded with a codec that re-encodes poorly. For current guidance on target formats and bitrates see .

Practical fix: export or transcode to an H.264 MP4 (AAC audio) with a constant frame rate and a bitrate at or above YouTube’s recommendations. If Windows Movie Maker won’t give you direct control, export the highest-quality WMV from Movie Maker and transcode that file with a tool such as HandBrake. Useful settings to try: MP4 container, H.264 (x264), Constant Framerate (match the project, e.g. 24/25/30fps), keyframe interval ~2 seconds, AAC 128 kb/s audio, and a video bitrate that matches the resolution (for example ~2.5 Mbps for 480p, ~5 Mbps for 720p, ~8 Mbps+ for 1080p) or use a quality-based RF around 18 for visually lossless.

Quick troubleshooting checklist: upload a short test clip after re-encoding to compare results; give YouTube time to finish processing (HD versions can take longer); check playback quality settings in the player; test in another browser or on another connection to rule out local bandwidth. If choppiness persists after using a solid H.264/MP4 export with constant frame rate and sufficient bitrate, re-check the Movie Maker timeline for unusual frame timing or interlaced output before re-exporting. ’s pointer to YouTube help is useful, but in practice re-encoding to H.264/MP4 is the most common and effective solution.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

hi, i don't have an answer as i don't use youtube ,but have you tried youtube help .

Yeah, I went through all their trouble-shooting, but none really addressed my problem.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.