TikTok Platform over compresses my exports

Help/How To
1

Hey all, I have been using shotcut for a while now and it’s great software. However, I am having an issue where my exports are getting massively compressed by the TikTok platform specifically. My Youtube Shorts and Instagram Reels look great, but TikTok just seems to think it needs to massively compress my videos (even when I compress a video all the way down to just 5MB).

I have searched forums, documentation, and asked AI for the optimal way to export videos for TikTok. I always get the same answer:

  • Format: MP4 (H.264)

  • Codec: H.264

  • Resolution: 1080x1920 (9:16 aspect ratio)

  • Frame Rate: 30 fps (or match your source if 60fps)

  • Rate Control: VBR (Variable Bitrate) or CBR (Constant Bitrate)

  • Bitrate: 8-12 Mbps (adjust for complex scenes)

  • Audio Codec: AAC

  • Audio Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz

  • Audio Bitrate: 128-192 kbps

  • Color: Rec.709 (SDR)

I have tried these settings, I have tried exporting it to it’s native 4k, I have tried compressing the crap out of the video, I have tried exporting as .mov, I have tried the 10 bit ProRes codec, and still nothing changes. Every time it finishes posting the video looks like utter crap (super compressed with tons of artifacts ).

Has anyone else had this problem or does anyone NOT have this problem and can share their workflow in Shotcut so I can try to repeat?

My source footage is shot from an iPhone 16pro max with HDR turned off @ 4k 30fps.

Thanks in advance :folded_hands:

2

Okay, I didn’t quite figure out what is going on with Shotcut, but I found a workflow that doesn’t compress the crap out of my videos.

Since I am filming 4k @ 30fps on my iPhone I start my project 4k @ 30fps. Once the edit is complete, I export my video @ 4k resolution with decently high quality (CRF 14). Then I use FFMPEG to scale the video down to 1080p.

I use the following command:

ffmpeg -i your-4k-export.mp4 \
-vf “scale=1080:1920:flags=lanczos” \
-c:v libx264 \
-preset slow \
-crf 18 \
-profile:v high \
-level 4.2 \
-pix_fmt yuv420p \
-color_primaries bt709 \
-color_trc bt709 \
-colorspace bt709 \
-c:a aac \
-b:a 192k \
-ar 44100 \
-movflags +faststart \
output_1080p_tiktok.mp4

This helped preserve the quality of my videos on the TikTok platform (also works for YT & IG).

Final Result → https://www.tiktok.com/@beernerd.app/video/7597129309991603511