Encoding for iPhone

Topic: Knowledge Base / File Encoding / Uploading

Simian recommends the following guidelines to encode iPhone 3G and 3GS-compatible files. These settings will consistently produce a reasonably sized file without sacrificing quality.

Note: if the mobile encoding option is set in your account, Simian will automatically encode your spots to an iPhone compatible format.

File Type - Quicktime Movie (.mov) or MPEG-4 (.mp4)
Codec - H.264
Data Rate - 1,300 kbits or less
Audio Data Rate - 128 kbps
Aspect Ratio - 640x480 for 4:3 Ratio and 640x360 for 16:9 Ratio. Please note that the first generation iPhone only supports video up to 480x360.
De-interlace - Always make sure to enable this option to improve image quality and remove video banding. Preserve Aspect Ratio/Letterbox - The name of this option varies among encoding products and only needs to be used if you are encoding to an aspect ratio that differs from the original. In other words changing from a 16:9 aspect ratio to a 4:3 aspect ratio.
Fast Start (Compressed Headers) - Always enable the Fast Start option to enable your video to start playing before it fully downloads. If your encoding application has the Compressed Headers option for Fast Start, we recommend using that option.