Vimeo : Guidelines

Help Center / Compression
Guidelines

• 
  Codecs
  
  
  A codec is the format in which your video will be encoded.
  Different codecs have different features and varying quality. For best
  results, we recommend using H.264 (sometimes referred
  to as MP4) for the video codec and AAC (short for
  Advanced Audio Codec) for the audio codec. If you're on a Windows
  machine, WMV3 is a good choice for video codec.
  Note: Our encoders don't like Apple ProRes
  codecs. They're very intense codecs that create a hassle for our
  machines. If you insist on using your own settings, please avoid using
  Apple ProRes.
  
• 
  Frame rate and keyframes
  
  
  If there is an option that says "current," it is best to just go
  with that. Otherwise, this is usually 30 fps (frames
  per second) for USA, Canada, and Japan, while in Europe and rest of the
  world it's usually 25 fps. If there is an option for keyframes,
  use the same value you used for framerate.
  
• 
  Data rate
  
  
  This setting controls both the visual quality of the video and
  how big the file will be. In most video editors, this is done in terms
  of kilobits per second (kbits/sec or kbps). Use 2000 kbits/sec
  for standard definition 4:3 video, 3000 kbits/sec for
  widescreen DV, or 5000 kbits/sec for high definition
  footage.
  
• 
  Resolution
  
  
  640x480 for standard definition 4:3 video, 853x480 for
  widescreen DV, and 1280x720 or 1920x1080 for high definition.
  If you have the option to control the pixel aspect ratio (not display
  aspect ratio) make sure it's set to "1:1" or "1.00", also sometimes
  called "square pixels."
  
• 
  Deinterlacing
  
  
  If you have this option, enable it. If you shoot in DV format,
  this is an especially important. If you do not deinterlace, you will
  often get weird-looking horizontal lines in your video.
  
• 
  Audio settings
  
  
  Choose AAC for the audio codec. You'll want to set the
  bit rate to 320 kbps and the sample rate to 44.100 kHz.
  
• 
  Acceptable video format
  
  
  While we like MP4 the best, we will generally
  accept any of the following formats: 3g2,
  3gp, 3gp2, 3gpp, asf, asx, avi, divx, mts, m2t, m2ts, m2v, m4v, mkv,
  mov, mp4, mpe, mpeg, mpg, ogg, wmv.
  
• 
  Those are the basic principles that will apply to almost all of the
  video programs out there. Eugenia,
  an active member in the Vimeo community, has made some tutorials for
  specific programs that you can view:
  
  
  
  
  • Tutorial: Vimeo HD
    exporting guides from many editors
    
  • Tutorial: From
    miniDV to Vimeo in High Quality
    
  
  

http://vimeo.com/help/compression