YouTube Video Lagging/Skipping - Changed from Original Upload?

[FarNerdy]

Hi all,

Forgive me in advance for any sort of exasperated comments that come through this post, but I am at my wit's end. I'll do my best to explain the situation - it may be long-winded but I assure you the information is important because...I truly have no flippin' idea what's going on:

1. I uploaded a new video to my YouTube channel yesterday. The file was 1.4GB and a little over 13 minutes long. It was 1080p 30fps, AAC audio. It took roughly 1/2 an hour to upload and process (over a 60mpbs internet connection) to YouTube.
2. I played it through twice to check for any errors, and it played through just fine. No issues, no errors, not even a tiny blip in the audio.
3. I created my marketing plan for the video - set up the Adwords campaign, shared the link across social media platforms, etc. The views starting coming in, reaching 1,000 within the first 24 hours.
4. I went to check on the video's campaigns and interactions, etc. this morning, and all seemed to be well - this is where I ran into my issue:

I watched the YouTube video again. I noticed that in the first three minutes, it had skipped over some frames. I figured this wasn't a huge deal - it didn't distract from the video, and I am aware that I have super sensitive eyes to the product since I made it. But as I continued to watch, I noticed that it wasn't just skipping frames anymore - it was completely dropping frames, skipping them completely, AND it was also REPLAYING frames, sometimes 3-4 seconds worth. This video is set to a mix of musical tracks, so this caused the entire video to desync completely from the audio, including the dialogue.

I am so confused - I am not sure why it was running just fine for the first 20ish hours or so, and now it runs as if it didn't upload properly. I have uploaded the video again as a private video so only I can see, and it runs exactly the way it should - just as the first one did when I first uploaded the video. I plan to check this new upload tomorrow morning to see if it has the same issue.

I have done the following to try to fix this problem:
- I have checked other computers, mobile devices (iPhone and Android), and other platforms (gaming consoles); the skipping/repeating/desyncing happens on all of the above, on all browsers (I checked Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge/IE). In addition, and I think this is VITAL information - the skipping, repeating, and desyncing happen in the EXACT SAME PLACES every time I stream the video, on every device, on every browswer.
- I have cleared my cache and temporary internet files from all browsers
- I checked to make sure I had the most updated version of Adobe Flash on all of the devices where possible, and it is updated
- I made sure I was running the video with HTML5

I don't know what to do at this point. The video isn't the quality I wish to produce in its current state, but to lose all the views and comments that have already been applied to the video would be so unfortunate, especially when the video was playing properly for the first 24 hours.

The only way I can describe how it looks is that it looks as if it were uploaded with a spotty connection, and some pieces of the video just didn't translate appropriately in the upload. It skips frames here and there, then suddenly, whole pieces of a scene are gone, then it moves forward 10 seconds and suddenly tracks back 3 seconds, as if set on repeat for just that one scene.

Is there a fix for this?

 

[reedo_43]

Send me the link and I will check it on my pc. I only have 20meg connection

 

[FarNerdy]

Send me the link and I will check it on my pc. I only have 20meg connection

https/youtu.be/NMAuz6m2wYA

First errors begin occurring at the 2:27 mark.

 

[eodeo]

It is skipping and it first became apparent around 2:20 for me. By 4:20 audio is clearly out of sync.

The problem is the way YouTube re-encoded your video after you have uploaded it. I'd suggest you use h264 codec with 6mps target 9 maximum for this type of video. Ideally, you'd want to use qunatizer based encoders such as x264 or Xvid. Unlike bit rate based encoders, quantizers are perfect for every resolution and all content. Maximum of 9mps is fine for humans talking, but very low for water, smoke, snow or any other erratic "natural" element. Quantizer based encoders account for changes in content and apply appropriate bit rate throughout the whole video - lowering it below 9 for humans and increasing it well above for more dynamic content.

If you don't have access to these codecs like you’re not using Adobe After Effects, use "freemake" to re-encode your video to "mp4" with default values. It will make your video less big, and highly unlikely to be changed when uploaded to YouTube.

 

[eodeo]

I don't think you can fix this video anymore, without deleting this version and re-uploading it.

 

[FarNerdy]

It is skipping and it first became apparent around 2:20 for me. By 4:20 audio is clearly out of sync.

The problem is the way YouTube re-encoded your video after you have uploaded it. I'd suggest you use h264 codec with 6mps target 9 maximum for this type of video. Ideally, you'd want to use qunatizer based encoders such as x264 or Xvid. Unlike bit rate based encoders, quantizers are perfect for every resolution and all content. Maximum of 9mps is fine for humans talking, but very low for water, smoke, snow or any other erratic "natural" element. Quantizer based encoders account for changes in content and apply appropriate bit rate throughout the whole video - lowering it below 9 for humans and increasing it well above for more dynamic content.

If you don't have access to these codecs like you’re not using Adobe After Effects, use "freemake" to re-encode your video to "mp4" with default values. It will make your video less big, and highly unlikely to be changed when uploaded to YouTube.

Thank you for this - it is extremely helpful. However, I am a bit confused still. I use Adobe Premiere Pro to make the videos, and I selected the H.264 - 1080p/30fps, with an export of .mp4 preset. Wouldn't that be the correct setting for the video to upload appropriately? Forgive me for not knowing if that is correct or not. I had assumed that it was. Thanks again.

 

[reedo_43]

Send me the link and I will check it on my pc. I only have 20meg connection

https/youtu.be/NMAuz6m2wYA

First errors begin occurring at the 2:27 mark.

Plays perfectly for me all the way through at 1080p.

 

[eodeo]

It should be fine, but unfortunately I'm not using premiere so I can't tell you in more detail. The only obvious thing is that 1.4gb is huge for 13min video, especially for h264. Even so, it should only penalize you on the upload speed -which clearly wasn't a problem for you. Try to download "freemake", re-encode your video to mp4 there, and than re-upload it privately to YouTube. Wait for about an hour so that YouTube is done processing it and see if this version is also skipping. It may help you prevent this problem in the future.

Maybe some premiere user can give you a more definitive answer.

 

[eodeo]

Btw, I am a fan of Once upon a time. I found your video interesting and I immediately wanted to watch the "original" video, the kind that plays as you intended it to

 

[FarNerdy]

It should be fine, but unfortunately I'm not using premiere so I can't tell you in more detail. The only obvious thing is that 1.4gb is huge for 13min video, especially for h264. Even so, it should only penalize you on the upload speed -which clearly wasn't a problem for you. Try to download "freemake", re-encode your video to mp4 there, and than re-upload it privately to YouTube. Wait for about an hour so that YouTube is done processing it and see if this version is also skipping. It may help you prevent this problem in the future.

Maybe some premiere user can give you a more definitive answer.

Thanks, I'll give that a go and see if that provides any solution. I had considered this before. I checked this video around 7 hours after first uploading yesterday, and it was still fine. But when I checked it last night before I went to sleep, it showed the signs of skipping, but I attributed it to the fact that I was using my cell phone on a weak wifi signal, and thought nothing of it. It wasn't until this morning when I checked it again that I found it to be legit. That's why I was curious about it being the encoder, because it would have shown up before a 7-hour mark, right? Now you can see why I'm so stumped!

 

[FarNerdy]

Btw, I am a fan of Once upon a time. I found your video interesting and I immediately wanted to watch the "original" video, the kind that plays as you intended it to

Well I definitely hope to have the original up soon with the proper playback! Thanks for the encouragement

 

[FarNerdy]

Btw, I am a fan of Once upon a time. I found your video interesting and I immediately wanted to watch the "original" video, the kind that plays as you intended it to

Hey - could I ask you a favor? I went to check the original video today, and - for me, at least - the video is suddenly not having a single one of the problems or issues discussed on my original post...? I just want to make sure it's not just me. I would be so appreciative! Thank you for all of your help thus far .

 

[eodeo]

Yup. No glitches or asyncness. Looks good now. It appears to be purely problem on the YouTube side- their re-encoding of your video. I'm not sure you could have done anything to avoid that. Maybe a smaller file size will allow YT to process it faster, but that's just speculation. I'm glad it sorted itself out

 

[FarNerdy]

Yup. No glitches or asyncness. Looks good now. It appears to be purely problem on the YouTube side- their re-encoding of your video. I'm not sure you could have done anything to avoid that. Maybe a smaller file size will allow YT to process it faster, but that's just speculation. I'm glad it sorted itself out

Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear it's not just me. Thank you for all of your help again, I truly appreciate every step you assisted with for me.