I’m new to video editing and enjoying learning and playing with it. I use a GoPro Hero6 and like to shoot in 4k30fps using video stabilization. I’m finding my GoPro is glitchy and until I figure out what the issue is, I want to correct the files that I can. One issue is the “auto flip” feature of the GoPro messes up sometimes and the video get’s recorded upside down. Shotcut makes it easy to rotate the video. The question I have is once I’m done rotating the video and I want to export the file to save for furture use, I don’t know what the best export settings are. I want the file to look exactly the same as GoPro’s codec. When I use H.264 and max the settings out, it looks great but the file size is double what the original was. How can I match what the original file is? Thanks in advance for your help.
I’m not sure what the GoPro is using by default(you might be able to see that by right clicking on the file and opening properties assuming you’re a windows user) “Max settings” on export is usually overkill, typically H264 looks great at the “60%” quality setting and going past 90% is insane. You can(although it will take longer) export as x265 which delivers better video at lower bitrates than h264. I also suggest simply trying the youtube preset with no changes if your final goal is to upload it to youtube.
Thanks D_S. I am a Windows user and I was checking out the original file properties. It’s encoder is “GoPro AVC encoder”. Codec is H.264 / AVC/ MPEG-4 part 10. Res is 3840x2160 @ 29.97 frame rate. Ultimately, I just want to correct the file and save it. I want to use the files native structure but that doesn’t appear to be an option. I may upload some to YouTube but right now I just want to preserve the native file quality. It seems when I export them, the files are much larger than the originals and all I’ve done is rotate the video 180 degrees.
Try the default H264 export without changing anything, that very likely mirrors what the gopro is using internally.
So the test file that I’m playing with is 482MB. When I use the default H264 export settings after apply filter “Rotation” the exported file size is 832MB. When I view each of the files, they both look amazing but the original is half the size. I’ve been experimenting with different deinterlacer and interpolation settings but haven’t found the magic config yet.
If this means you are setting the quality at 100% then this is where you are going wrong.
Your GoPro source is already compressed (packed) to perhaps 60% or 70% quality and is incrementally decompressed as you edit the footage (=decoded. Just as players do as they play the clips). Setting the export encoding to 100% will increase the size of the file because you have chosen not to ‘pack it’ as tightly as the original was.
That makes perfect sense. I was using the default which has been 60%. I just ran a test at 50% it the video looks great and the file size is slightly smaller than the original. Original is 482MB - 50% is 423MB. The data rate at 50% is slightly lower as well. I’m going to try 55% next. My goal is to maintain as much of the original quality as possible without ending up with a larger file size.
If you plan to upload to Youtube, remember they will re-encode your file anyway. So instead of worrying about your output file size, aim for the best compatibility for Youtube.
I may eventually upload to YouTube but right now I’m just trying to correct upside down video from the GoPro and maintain the original file quality. Thanks for the help with this. It appears 53% is the near equivalent to what GoPro uses based on my 9 tests!
If you want to maintain quality without eating space I suggest looking towards x265 for long term storage as it should offer smaller sizes with the same quality
I’ve tried x265 in Shotcut. It’s glacially slow in my tests and maxes out the CPU with all fans revving.
I never said x265 is fast, although in my expereince Glacially slow is an exageration you seem to generally trade quadrupled encoding time for half the file size unless you’re on a very old or very new(AVX helps) architecture, depending on your goal that can be a worthwhile trade
https://forum.shotcut.org/uploads/default/original/2X/d/dfabb369b101066a35b3cc53dabe732395bd06be.png
Depends on your patience threshold, mine is fairly low… 
Fair enough, it took a fair amount extra to run that benchmark on the C2550 and W500 systems … I usually edit on the second fastest system listed on that sheet though so I can’t say I always have patience either XD
Thanks for the advice. My biggest reservation with x265 is my PC doesn’t have thumbnail images of the clip. (I know, lame issue) But seriously, when I’m scrolling through trying to build a playlist to edit down it’s difficult. My GoPro uses x265 when recording 4K @ 60fps and 264 when recording 4K @ 30fps. A side problem that I have is my x265 files that were created by my GoPro stutter and play very rough in Shotcut and it’s painful to edit. They play perfectly fine on the PC it’s just editing in Shotcut that’s the problem. Those are 4K@60 which may be the bigger problem. I don’t plan on recording that fast but I’ve done it accidentally and now need to deal with the video!
x265 is hard on the cpu(I mean just look at that chart) and decoding it in realtime while you’re in shotcut isn’t easy which is why you get the stutter. Regarding the thumbnail, I get them on mine? might be a system setting or something to do with the gopro.
Interesting. I’m running Windows 10. What OS are you running? I don’t think it’s a GoPro thing because when I use x265 for any file I’m playing with I loose the thumbnail.
Windows 10 and windows server 2016 datacenter, I only suggested it’s a gopro thing since the only x265 files I have are ones i’ve made myself.
Hi just a recommendation, as no one else has suggested it yet. Check to see if the video’s have been output in a variable frame rate, most of the people on here use the free program MediaInfo to determine this. If your file is a variable frame rate it will say that and it will tell you the average frame rate and the minimum and maximum frame rate. If your files are a constant frame rate, it will tell you that. From reading on the forums here and other places, that video editors do not like variable frame rate files. The first clue that you have a variable frame rate file is that Shotcut is showing a different rate than you said you shot at. you say 30 Fps and Shotcut is showing 29.97. While you can see 29.97, it normally only happens with films that have been converted from 24 Fps to 29.97 to be shown on interlaced tv sets. Anyway if you find that they are variable frame rate they need to be changed to constant frame rate at 30 Fps. Most people use the free video converter HandBrake for this.
Thank you! I’ll check both of them out! I appreciate this. What a great resource this forum is!