How Long Does YouTube Take to Process HD?

Creating videos for your YouTube channel might take a lot of time when you first start. You eagerly await the upload of a high-definition video, but when a low-resolution version shows up on your screen, you give up and try again later.

The issue might occasionally become even worse: your video may become stuck during processing and take an eternity to complete.

YouTube may take a while to process HD videos, depending on the file format and size. The procedure may also be impacted by variables like frame rate and video duration.

Because of this, processing a video may take a few minutes to many hours. Thankfully, there are techniques to cut down on this period of time.

Continue reading to find out about the most common problems that might be causing your video uploads to take longer.

How Long Does YouTube Take to Process HD?

A typical two-hour video might take up to two hours to upload, depending on your internet speed. It can take up to four hours to upload a 4K video, which is four times as large as a 1080P, 30 frames per second video. It can take considerably longer to render a 4K video at 60 frames per second.

What Factors Determine the Processing Time?

Here are a few of the factors that determine how fast videos are processed.

1. Video Quality

The majority of us may be familiar with video quality, but we don’t really understand what makes it. The resolution, bitrate, and frame rate are the three key variables that influence video quality.

A. Resolution

The total number of pixels in a video across all dimensions determines its resolution. Hence, more pixels mean better quality and resolution. 1440p (2K), full HD (FHD), high definition (HD), and standard definition are the most popular resolutions (SD). You can change your video’s resolution from HD to SD and submit it if YouTube takes too long to process it.

Even a lighter HD with a reduced resolution may be your goal. The highest HD quality available is 1080p (Full HD), while the lowest is 720p (HD). There is a slight difference between the two resolutions, and because 1080p has more pixels than 720p, it produces a picture that is smoother and crisper.

B. Frame Rate

A video is made up of several still pictures that are shown one after another quickly. If the pictures change quickly enough, the eye cannot distinguish between them and perceives the images as one continuous stream.

A-frame rate is the number of still pictures displayed in a given amount of time (usually one second). The quality improves as the frame rate increases. The processing time on YouTube may increase if your video doesn’t have the proper frame rate.

C. Bitrate

The bitrate is the quantity of data needed to encrypt a file in a certain length of time. A greater bitrate means higher quality since it impacts both the size and the quality of your content.

Your file size will rise with a greater bitrate, resulting in more megabits per second (Mbps). For instance, your codec will use certain compression to achieve the desired bitrate of five Mbps for a 1080p file.

2. Video Length

A longer HD video may be difficult to upload since it will take a lot longer to process. To make it easier to publish and to boost your views, try breaking up your lengthy videos into smaller segments. Seven to fifteen minutes is a suitable video duration for your YouTube channel. Longer HD videos may require processing for anywhere between 20 and more minutes.

3. Video Format

YouTube is compatible with the majority of popular file types, including MPEG4, AVI, MOV, WMV, and FLV, but it is recommended to submit videos in MP4 since it processes faster. You should think about the codec you’re using in addition to the file extension.

A video file that has been encoded using a codec is smaller and easier to handle. The video is decoded and played back with a quality that is close to the original by the target program, such as YouTube.

An MP4 video with the H.264 video codec, which provides high-quality video with a short size, is often a supported YouTube file. H.265 is a more recent codec version that enhances file quality.

4. Broadband Upload Speed

How quickly you can transfer data from your device to your YouTube channel is determined by upload speed. If your internet connection is shaky or unreliable, YouTube may take longer to process HD videos. Make sure you have a fast connection before submitting a video to YouTube.

Using a speed test, you may check the stability and speed of your connection. An ideal upload speed is five Mbps, but anything less might cause issues.

The required speed may vary depending on the type of video being played; for HD 1080p, for instance, Google advises a speed of approximately 20 Mbps.

How to Improve YouTube’s Processing Speed?

Here are some suggestions you may use to speed up the process now that you are aware of the elements that influence how long it takes to publish your video on YouTube.

1. Close Unnecessary Tabs

Multiple tabs may be opened in modern browsers like Google Chrome, which uses some of your computer’s resources, particularly RAM.

You should be aware that uploading a video consumes RAM as well. You might not have enough RAM to quickly upload your video if you have too many tabs open.

You may terminate certain tabs or add-ons in Google Chrome and Firefox‘s dedicated task managers to release resources. Sort the processes according to memory use, then kill those that are consuming all of your RAM.

2. Stop Unnecessary Background Processes

Processing speed can be slowed down by juggling several jobs. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete first, then choose Task Manager if you’re using Microsoft Windows.

Look through the list of active processes and kill any that you don’t require. Leave a process if you don’t understand what it does. Avoid mistakenly terminating a crucial process and forcing your computer to restart.

3. Don’t Use a VPN When You’re Uploading

Since a VPN creates a secure connection, you may use it to access the internet safely. While surfing websites and sending or receiving data, it conceals your IP address.

A VPN slows down your connection and might make it harder for you to submit your content since it places additional filters between you and YouTube’s servers.

4. Optimize Your File

Your video file may occasionally be too large and filled with superfluous information. To find the greatest quality/size balance, you can experiment with various bit rates, codecs, and file formats.

Using online video converter programs is a great way to convert your video to another format. Drag and drop the video file into the box of Clipchamp, create a free account there, and then select Convert My Video.

Flixier is an alternative that you have. After selecting a file, you may alter its parameters and select a video’s typical resolution, format, and quality.

5. Other Tips

Upgrade your internet speed: A fast internet connection speeds up file transfers and enhances surfing speed.

Use recommended browsers: The most recent versions of browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer, are what YouTube recommends users use to upload their videos.

Keep your browser up to date: Teams working on browser development are always improving their programs to make them operate faster and use fewer resources. Therefore, upgrading your browser can enable you to submit videos a little bit faster.

When Is the Best Time for Uploading HD Videos?

Nothing is more annoying than trying to upload videos during peak internet traffic. Uploading videos could be more challenging in your location due to high internet traffic.

The busiest hours, which are often from 7 to 11 p.m., are when you’re most likely to suffer a slower connection. Avoid posting your videos during periods of heavy traffic. Plan your uploads before or after the peak internet time to hasten to process.

Is There a Way to Calculate Upload Time?

Is it possible to determine the upload time? Based on your connection speed and file size, and an upload calculator is a helpful tool that estimates how long it will take for your video to upload.

For instance, it takes 15 minutes to upload a 550 MB video with a 1080p resolution. If you have a typical internet connection, which is roughly five Mbps, then it makes sense.

How to Check YouTube’s Processing Status?

You will get a notification from YouTube letting you know the video has finished uploading and will be accessible shortly once it begins processing HD.

YouTube will let you know the status of each individual file if you upload numerous files at once.

To see your YouTube status updates,

• Click the My Packages link under Content Delivery in the left-side menu.
• You may get all the information on procedures and errors by clicking on Your Packages.
• To get status files, click the download link.

How to Troubleshoot Errors?

YouTube may reject your submission, show issues on your page, or email you to let you know. Your video may occasionally not be processed due to an error.

1. Content Claim and Copyright

If you don’t have the copyright, you can’t add protected content to your channel. You are still violating someone else’s copyright if you use music or visuals that are protected by copyright in a video that you recorded yourself.

A royalty-free audio and picture licence or written permission from the content owners must be used. Check out YouTube Creator Studio, which enables you to locate the claimed or copyrighted content, to prevent making this mistake.

2. Duplicate Video

Due to YouTube’s recognition of duplicate material, this error may appear when you submit a video more than once.

You can correct the problem by deleting one of the files, adding extra information, or altering the new video slightly.

3. Inappropriate Content

YouTube could find objectionable content in your video. For instance, this issue manifests when the content is inappropriate for younger viewers. You can fix the mistakes in your video and retry if you believe your content is fine.

4. Video Length

Your lengthy video will be rejected since it is longer than 15 minutes, as shown by a red warning icon. You may only post videos up to 15 minutes long without account authentication, which causes this error to appear.

You may submit videos of various sizes after authenticating your YouTube account.

YouTube vs. Vimeo: Which One Takes Longer to Process HD?

You may publish your videos on a range of platforms, including Vimeo and YouTube. You can determine which platform is better for you by comparing the two:

1. YouTube

Some believe that because YouTube has fewer constraints on the size and format, HD 1080p videos load more quickly on the site. You can increase the capacity of your video uploads to 128 GB when you authenticate your account.

Since there is no upload cap, YouTube can handle this maximum standard size quite quickly.

2. Vimeo

Given that it has higher size restrictions, Vimeo could take longer to process HD. Your video can still look hazy on Vimeo even after processing.

Despite the fact that viewers may watch the videos for free, posting videos might be expensive. Only 500 MB of storage is available in Vimeo’s free version.

How Does YouTube Process HD Videos?

Multiple HD video formats are supported by YouTube. However, it’s possible that the video you upload won’t immediately play back at its full quality. Because YouTube is still processing the HD file, it shows a lower-quality version of your video.

In order to deliver the highest video quality to your viewers as quickly as possible, YouTube caches videos across various data centres. Your video is copied many times at various resolutions and kept on all of its servers.

Additionally, it uses file codecs to compress the data into a lesser quality and then decompress it into HD.