The Secret To Uploading 4k High Quality Reels On Instagram and Tiktok

[@danelayton]

Have you tried this out yet? Did it work for you? 👇🏼

[@axon256]

hey, the discord channel link is expired :(

[@danelayton]

@@axon256 Fixed sorry about that

[@axon256]

@@danelayton Thanks!

[@3d3dx]

No still 🙁

[@shanek7239]

nope but it was a post, does that make a difference?

[@JoshuaNeech]

THAAANNKK YOOOUU. I've watched a minimum of 6 of these videos so far with shockingly awful results but YOU, Dane McBeth! You have saved my bloody day, dude!!

[@danelayton]

Love it!

[@mukulbhargava5132]

I've been facing that issue for a long time, I tried re-uploading an old reel again by your method and it worked, thanks a lot man

[@stxaep9090]

For some reason, everytime I upload, the quality is really good but when I switch accounts, it turns terrible

[@danelayton]

weird

[@sindrevt7584]

Yeah me too

[@kushalgurung7946]

Mine too

[@RafiksBurgerz]

Same exact problem

[@Awan-kr7]

how to fix it??

[@julietaabrilsuarez7648]

You are literally the best, I've been looking for a tutorial for three days and yours works

[@audricleboss9715]

YOU are a live saver. i’ve been losing it trying to find one that works, and this one did. thankyou so much

[@ericwarnecke03]

“Allow high quality uploads” function on Tik tok has made it so the video that saves to my device when it’s uploaded is 1080p but the actual video on Tik tok is like 360 or 480 or some potato resolution. I am convinced that tik tok just targets smaller creators to save space on their platform because there is nothing else you can use to fix it.

[@AbeBabe672]

Frrr

[@McDaniel237]

😁😁😁😁😁 potato 🥔 resolution. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@thehafyyy]

This is underrated truth. Just make it medium and a bit low saver setting for the video. If the result already pretty good. Just that. Except, if u find any ways to make it more clear/hd maybe. Like a tutorial vid that I was found. Many people have a their best result. Like im gonna try it. Is it?

[@stitchedfern7492]

I use my canon G7X mark ii to shoot my videos. Then I use capcut to edit. quality is great. But when I transfer my downloaded video to my phone and then upload to tik tok, the quality is absolute shit. I have the S21. Could it just be my phone thats showing shitty quality, or am I doing something wrong? I've heard that tik tok doesn't support 4k? But also when im on tik tok desktop, the quality is somewhat better than on my phone. So frustrating. Does anyone have any tips?

[@bindinhotv]

@@stitchedfern7492 Yeah, switch to iPhone.

[@carlo344]

True. Everyone recommends to export at HD even if it was shot in 4K. I compared them on a dummy account with another device (in your own device reels look always better, don’t know why). 4K even compressed looks far better than hd within Instagram.

[@KeepCalmEden]

This is helpful thanks for sharing!

[@OrdnanceTV]

Dude, we live in a time where so many creators upload THE WORST tutorials, full of incorrect steps, outdated info, inaccurate or vague descriptions, skip steps completely, miss crucial details, etc etc. You get a sub from me instantly for being super thorough and precise and clear. As someone with genuine OCD, you are a godsend. Thank you.

[@drvonyt8897]

I think you're right. I tried letting my reel play out once before clicking on add, the preview was, as expected blurry. I didn't finish the preview and uploaded it. After it was on my feed, I let it play out once fully before clicking on it (the action that opens the reel and starts the reel loop) and it was good quality. However when I revisited it later, it doesn't look the same quality. I'm *this* close to giving up on Instagram entirely.

[@aumrankstantin6107]

I tried these steps and it didn’t make any difference for my uploads

[@Niaa_09xo]

Same 😭 it’s so annoying!!

[@jonakaxom]

It not works

[@danelayton]

It can definitely be glitchy. Keep trying... Make sure the video hasn't been sitting in your camera roll for longer than 4-5 days or else your iPhone will optimize for storage and compress the video quality.

[@drvonyt8897]

Uploading on an apple device with "high quality uploads" turned on really helps.

[@DanToruno]

Holy shit. I've recently found you on IG and love your content and now I accidentally found your youtube while searching for how to fix my upload quality. Love this, thanks Dane.

[@danelayton]

haha that is awesome 👍🏼 Thanks for the support

[@emmanueloyedeji9155]

It wasn't accidentally, Google sold your information 😂 Just messing around

[@kennymiranda8676]

Thank you!!! You fixed my issues with blurry/dark reel uploads.

[@dulapeep9811]

Since TikTok only allows 1080p, should we just save the video as 1080p instead of 4K and upload as 1080p? I have a feeling TikTok lowers the quality of 4K uploads compared to 1080p uploads.

[@2ndHokageSol]

I'm struggling so much. I follow every guide ive seen on how to upload to HD, but as soon as the video goes public, the quality PLUMETS down. In private its so good but the second it becomes a public video it just dies

[@neversettlesfitness]

This just saved me a ton of time for the instagram reel losing quality. Thanks!

[@dirtvrc11111]

Im convinced tiktok limits upload quality for smaller creators. my one account gets roughly 10k views per video and the videos are always super crisp. my other account that rarely breaks 100 views a video always has horrible upload quality. I use the same process for exporting and uploading on both accounts.

[@renderllama7036]

really? wow

[@callmeheehee]

Wow that's some BS!!!

[@trickshotdav]

Great video, very informative. I would suggest one on HDR uploading next. I have been uploading with my IPhone 10 in HD because my videos look way better on these apps than with my IPhone 13 somehow lol

[@danelayton]

I dont like the look of HDR

[@Mattxhernandez]

I have a 14 pro and dont run HDR, have heard it ruin’s quality

[@Anthonythee1st]

Social Media doesn't support HDR

[@HugoStiglitz88]

@@Anthonythee1st only youtube does and that's just for regular videos I think

[@daywing5642]

@@Anthonythee1stit does now at least on instagram

[@DJNutS3]

Tip: make sure u're using the latest instagram version.. blurry quality can sometimes be due to not updating the app

[@darkcarrot9275]

Life Saver

[@sohamghosh4015]

Hi I have the done the following: High quality upload on Exported at 4k 30p, max Bitrate Wifi upload speed 50mbps Let the video load completely after upload. But it's still the same! Literally feel like uninstalling Instagram now 🙂

[@Lukasen]

Have you tried uploding in 1080p, 30fps?

[@Pinnaclepro07]

Insta doesn’t support 4K upload 1080p 30fps

[@pebli.d8537]

appreciate the hardwork put behind this. such a underrated youtuber

[@SkyFeedz]

Damn I subscribed WAY TO EARLY LMAO . WISH I WAITED TILL THE END BECAUSE YOU JUST GAVE UP SOME INFORMATION I NEVER KNEW !!!!

[@ShaySunshyne]

Whew thank you for this! I was getting tired of filming in great quality but not seeing it once uploaded 😩😂

[@DNAReactions]

Bro thank you, idk why people gate keep this information

[@NerdRapper]

This video should have been 1 to 2 minutes long.

[@BVOMASTERCHONG]

Thank you so much!!

[@GENZGAMER_]

Thanks Bro I was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, I love the step by step instructions with both visual and explanation of each step of the process, its how I found where I went wrong. Thanks

[@Olecatladi]

Dude this is a huge lifesaver! I’m gonna try this later and see how it works!

[@tomatósaladski]

I believe if you upload in 4K it gets downgraded by instagram to around full HD (1080x1920 or 1080x1350 or 1080x1080) so this 4K exporting seems like a bit overkill to me

[@ThisNicknameWasTakenYearsAgo]

if anything uploading 4k is probably worse, as you're relying on Insta to compress it

[@Futt.naoufel]

I sadly don’t have that “More options” on tiktok 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Livingwithdirt]

Just a heads up people. If you don’t have a substantial amount of followers, the algorithm will lower your reel quality. It’s just fact. I’d love to these big follower accounts make a spoof account and upload a reel with zero followers and compare the reels.

[@waynosfotos]

True

[@PrafulPrasad]

That doesnt sound right, I have seen new vloggers with just 3-4K followers uploading quality as sharp as hell

[@waynosfotos]

@@PrafulPrasad na it is true, many apps throttle your quality to you hit a certain level. "Equal" means different things to different people 🤔

[@eamonshields2754]

Awesome breakdown, thanks!

[@NewAccount58]

IT WORKED!! THANK YOU BRO!

[@danelayton]

Awesome to hear that 👍🏼

[@oscar708]

Dane, Thank you for sharing how to post good quality videos.

[@benkristoffer9389]

interesting take on the upload quality. Another guy I watched here said you have to upload the way iG shows it because if the quality is too high IG will process it for you in lower quality

[@hassaanedits9806]

Excellent video! You showed how to do it really well. You earned a new sub!

[@judeolabi]

Super helpful been doing this and its definitely a huge difference

[@danelayton]

Great to hear that

[@giuliacastellan6810]

Nice tutorials is much more simple than I thought with you explaining it. Currently half way through and I feel like I know every tutorialng already lmao

[@dariomario2603]

Tutorial on organization minimalism how to stay productive .etc

[@danelayton]

Sure thing, this is most likely next on the list

[@dariomario2603]

@@danelayton awesome can’t wait

[@48caferacer]

Thanks for making video on this ‘ my videos were always blury ‘ this video is really helpful .. 👍🏼

[@ekphotography]

Appreciate it, so many people with so many different opinions, I just got done watching several other videos claiming NOT to upload 4K videos to reels because IG compresses it too much. Cannot remember the last guy, but he even showed side by side comparisons with the same video upload in HD and 4K and to tell you the truth the HD did look sharper and better. But maybe he did not allow it to play through like you suggested.. Anybody have any information from IG that states you can upload 4K videos and they do not compress it too much? I am just uploading 15-20 second fashion videos that are only 18mb more or less in 4K. Thanks!

[@PineroTheGhost]

any luck with it?

[@ekphotography]

@@PineroTheGhost I am going to try to upload an HD reel today, But Henbu who has been killing it on reels the last couple of months also recommends ONLY HD 1080 x 1920 and his reels look amazing actually. You can find him here on KZbin by the way.

[@PineroTheGhost]

@@ekphotography pls do keep updated mate. It’s so annoying this whole upload thing. This guy has insanely clean reels. check his page Niallkirkland. Insane quality

[@ekphotography]

@@PineroTheGhost Yes those look very clean, are the 4K or full HD?

[@PineroTheGhost]

@@ekphotography I'm not sure. I just wish my Reels came out like this. I record in 4k iphone 30fps....I upload and its bad. So I record in 1080p, 30fps. I upload and its nowhere as clear as the one I posted above.

[@robinthesky6728]

Dude great walk through, I appreciate it.

[@ldeezy01]

I noticed the reels on your IG are 1080x1920 quality , while 99% uploaded reels are 720x1080. ( even using the steps form this video ) 🤔 im wondering if this is a feature reserved for only some accounts.

[@zommbyy5151]

you are the greatest i swear this helped me alot , so i use macbook pro m3 and i had this delusion that obviously macbook is more powerful then my iphone so by default i used to upload videos from my laptop simply dragging and dropping in insta and tiktok but now that you have suggested to do it through phone i see major changes , the videos are so crisp clear now!!!!!

[@spartan3071]

im facing issues i tried like 100th times and it wont fix a thing please help

[@tiktokspree5604]

Do you know how to upload high quality instagram stories? sometimes I see influencers above 100k following uploads with a high quality stories. I don't know how it is possible. Love this video btw!

[@PanosSouris]

This might have been the most useful video on this topic I have ever seen! Thank you very much!

[@harleygod350]

It doesn't work for me on tiktok even with High Quality option turned on. The video was good when watched in the account where I uploaded the video but when I watched in a different account on the same device or phone the video is ugly and grainy.

[@МаксимСикало]

Same, u fix that ?

[@uTuber561]

Man u made my life easy i was struglling to upload my 60 fps video insta thanks for that aglitch suggestion it works!!! love u mate!!!!

[@suyashsharma6271]

High Quality uploads option is not available for android, only iPhone has that option and yep I have tried uploading with an iPhone (of my friend) and the quality goes amazing but with an android it's very low.

[@danelayton]

Interesting, sorry to hear that

[@Sravan.Allopi]

Android does have that function it's just named "High resolution media" in the accounts mobile data settings on IG.

[@suyashsharma6271]

Ya but it doesn't work

[@thelazycat_]

Tested it here wit the same vid exported in over 10 different settings with frame rate, cbr, vbr1, vbr 2 and bitrate frome 3,5 up to 50. On Iphone and 2 Androids. All are bad quality after upload and really sharp before uploading

[@mml3140]

@@thelazycat_ Android here. Any video above 1080/30 is compressed to dogpoo.Youre saying the same happens on iPhone?

[@spencerbce9231]

Thanks bro. You responded some doubts I had about reels. Started following you.

[@danelayton]

Glad to hear it

[@mahathi13]

Hi Dane! Very informative video. Couple If follow up questions: 1) which one do you suggest- shooting on an iPhone camera or a dslr camera ? 2) how and which step in the process should i take care of the reels /post size ratio ? Thank you

[@Emilianfit]

Go for phone

[@luavasconcelos1637]

Iphone

[@raptorf_2255]

I got this problem where the option for high quality uploads isn't there

[@Statvar]

Update your app

[@evaivanhaintz]

Thank you very very much! For me, the problem was I didn't let it play through. Thank you for clearly pointing the trick at 5:01

[@ackerman7899]

My tiktok app used to have high quality option but now it's not available anymore. Is it the same for everyone?

[@clipsfdrive]

Thanks for the rest of the video, appreciate it I will try this 4K render on IG, quick question though, does the video have to also be recorded in 4K or can I upscale?

[@violensia9947]

it has to be in native 4K and why would you upscale to 4K its like upsampling mp3 to flac mate lol ...

[@kirikiki2683]

thanks man . you helped me so much thank you again

[@filippoimboccioli1688]

I noticed that you focused a lot on the app settings after exporting the video from AE, but I wanted to know if you really just use that preset on the Adobe export settings. Don't you also need to look at framerate, encoding settings, levels and especially bitrate to get the highest possible quality on the apps? My doubt comes from the fact that I hear around about a compression problem with Instagram that affects heavier videos in particular. Some claim that lowering the export quality prevents the upload from being downgraded, but of course it still decreases the quality of the video. From my experience I've noticed that uploading heavy (but high quality) videos returns a better result than pre-downgrading the video and avoiding compression, but still it's annoying to notice that quality drop even if you upload in 4k. ~~ So you confirm that pushing the quality to the max when exporting helps 'fight' apps compression instead of worsening the upload?

[@aperturefilm]

exactly, he doesnt focus of the base for the highest quality.

[@Emilianfit]

Instagram doesn’t support 4k

[@HalonaMedia]

I just uploaded a video pre downgraded and it was much worse than my other reels at a higher quality that got compressed too.

[@bloomzzy]

I ain't readin allat

[@ImmortalOnenesss]

Factual. Great pov. J think there is a middle ground... I tried 4k60 and it looked bad. Yet 30 FPS is the sweet spot for Instagrams videos looking SEXY smoov. Prior to knowing.. I tried uploading the same 4K60 Footage.. lowered to 1080P at 60FPS.. looked much better but I know I can get it even better. 30FPS and just might have to sacrifice the quality a bit and tweak the softness and sharpness in LR to create the illusion for edges .. making it seem high res..

[@joedkingcity631]

You are a life saver! Kudos to you! You rock!!

[@user-le3dh1rs2e]

Super helpful simple and efficient. Thank you!

[@supunwedasinghe1]

6:47 I can’t see the high quality option in my TikTok 😢

[@kattiesteel1561]

What would you do if you want to use a tiktok or IG sound? Would you edit the sound in premier or would you edit the whole video in the social media app and upload the raw footage from your camera to your phone?

[@aaronlward]

What I do is play the sound/music of your phone and record it as a track in your video editor on your computer. Sync up the video to audio as you wish then use the actual sound/music on instagram so it 1. sounds better and 2. drive more engagement as you used an instagram sound/music. It should line up correctly if done right.

[@stitchedfern7492]

@@aaronlward will this work in capcut? If I record the music from my phone and then upload it to capcut?

[@4evervisuals]

@@aaronlward so many ppl take the audios from the original creator tho so at this point in the game its like u cant even find the original sound which would be the trending one right. you know what i mean? Anyway around that?

[@dailynuggetworld]

Thank you! I didn't know about this before, much apreciated!

[@dontbehatinTM]

I've seen other YT'ers change the width, height, and bit rate of the video. Does this not effect it much? Also recommendation on iphone video settings? I have a iphone pro max 12. Great video, thanks!

[@danelayton]

I just drag my 4k clip into the timeline in Adobe Premiere and the sequence settings automatically adapt to it.

[@aryabimaaditya2593]

I didn't know this video existed! Thanks bro! Really grateful.

[@PierceJPeterson]

So doesn't IG heavily compress a 4K upload? I can't decide if it's better to export in 4K or 1080. What are your thoughts, Dane?

[@drvonyt8897]

I've tried uploading the same reel in 4k vs 1080..I felt that the deterioration happens with both, but if you publish 4k the end result still looks better than 1080p. The difference is not extreme and you'll only be able to notice it in places, but still 4k>1080 in my opinion. I suggest you create a new private account and publish in both settings to see the difference.

[@PierceJPeterson]

@@drvonyt8897 Oh that’s very interesting. Yeah I might have to do some tests. Thanks for sharing your experience

[@waynosfotos]

Export from your editor in 4k highest bit rate to a cloud. Download to your mobile device. Use a compression app to make the clip 1080p and around 20-30mbps. Then upload to the app. IG and TT are only 1080p resolution so they will compress you 4k clip. The app compression is garbage.

[@highermindset]

thank you almost I learned something new today 😇

[@Elvira_Berzina]

A quick question: if my video is In 4K60FPS why am I exporting it In 4K? Like aren’t we supposed to compress it so it doesn’t go grainy? Can you please explain why you’re exporting a 4K vid in to 4K sorry if this is a silly question but im somewhat a beginner and I am still learning 🥲

[@eabeye]

Was going to ask a similar question. Most of the literature online says to compress to Full HD/1080p since Instagram will anyway compress it to 1080p. So the question is whether it is better to allow instagram to compress it or to compress it beforehand? On another note there is a lot of debate on whether 60fps is best for a video experience. Cinema is shot at 24fps (due to cost, and the norm of cinema aesthetics) and television at 30fps. 60fps captures more detail and IG reels now allow for 60fps. Some argue that closer to 30fps is what the naked eye sees as more realistic, while others say that at 60fps the viewing experience is better due to smoothness, especially if there is a lot of motion in the video. Furthermore shooting in 60fps allows you to slow down the video by 50% for instance to show a slow motion video with 30fps.

[@Backatitagain_]

I’m late but did you guys ever figured out whether we should change 4k to 1080p beforehand or let Instagram compress it.

[@evva1773]

great tips! What lighting do you use for your YT videos?

[@alirazastudios4427]

Do you film vertically or horizontally and then crop in? Also when you export, why don’t you have the ‘maximum render quality’ box checked? And what about the CBR, VBR pass 1 or VBR pass 2 settings? Thanks!

[@MrDamoHutchinson]

Normally say film horizontal and crop in as it allows you to do a shorts clip and longer footage as a full length horizontal video

[@pandabillions]

This video literally prove ur point.

[@SeVeNtheArtistMeta]

Crazy we gotta do all this to make content on a platform that runs off creators 😅😂 I’ve been having the same problem with KZbin shorts, but TikTok seems to have the best quality for uploads for me, gonna try this tho 🤞

[@judeolabi]

Does it matter if you film in 4k 30fps or in 4k 60 fps is there a difference? And should you export in the same settings you filmed in

[@danelayton]

If you want to slow down clips and have the slow mo look relatively smooth, then film in 4k 60. If you aren't looking to slow down any clips and want to save more space on your phone/Icloud, then film in 4k 30

[@waynosfotos]

I have found the clip looks better in 60fps. Film in 60fps, edit in a 60fps timeline, upload in 60 fps, you seem to get less artifacts doing it this way. I shoot in 50fps (PAL person here) mostly for social media, it give a smoother looking image with less artifacts.

[@MikePokhvaschev]

Dane I tried everything like in your video, but there are a couple of things that are important. One of them is that I process the video in the VN app on my iPhone 13, process it at 4k60 and a bitrate of 54.6 mbps, then I add rils and watch it to the end before continuing and the quality there is really good, but as soon as I continue to publish, a second screen comes and already shows the finished version and there is already very visible that the quality is lost. But I also want to add the fact that I turn off the HDR checkbox when processing, and I shoot on my iPhone with HDR turned on. Please advise how to improve the quality of video, as now, unfortunately, I can not buy Adobe Premier Pro

[@vishuyadav7670]

Same problem

[@kushsharma4175]

Bro same problem did you fix this issue ? I don’t know why this happent

[@MrNEMILI]

Instagram is limited to 30 fps

[@definingslawek4731]

@@MrNEMILI I've seen some reels on instagram in 60fps, but I can't seem to upload myself to 60fps, maybe you need a popular account

[@ChopikleGaming168]

I have the same problem but I can’t figure out how to fix it

[@guillermomendezmenjivar9477]

This works Hella good! Recommended

[@g.t.a3739]

Most people are editing on Smartphone.....?!

[@ojthenetwiz]

👀

[@UDFmilo]

Yes💀🙃😭

[@MusicShaneCollins]

I followed these steps carefully, once I open Instagram and after I watched the upload play through before I clicked 'add' as you suggested it then straight away turns into a pixelated mess. I really hate IG... its 2023 and they can't sort this shit out

[@builtbylaw7818]

Hi Dane, Thank you for this ! I am using CapCut on iPhone. There is an option to export at 4K, 60fps…is it best to use the desktop version instead and and export it at 4K.

[@danelayton]

I haven't used Capcut before but I would suggest doing 4k 30 if you can. If not, 4k 60 will be fine, it just might look a bit weird.

[@ialphaaa]

Same here 😑

[@claudiohernandez5238]

Thanks for the tips bro ❤

[@oscarwatergiant]

tiktok doesn't even support 4k

[@sohumahmud]

but instagram doesnt let you to post in 4k. it supports max 1080

[@EdZissou]

Thanks for explaining it so simple!

[@gabrielespinoza616]

Thank you for the information! So useful!

[@xxrzo]

THANK YOU SOO MUCH😭😭😭✨✨✨

[@ivandraoc]

Awesome video! Thank you! Any tips for making the vodeos on the phone?

[@ayomarly4047]

I never leave comments this was gold my boy

[@MrEliasFr]

Everything works at its best!!

[@AshTheDuke]

just the video i needed

[@mwmedia8338]

I’ve noticed that most say don’t export 4k instagram doesn’t support. Instead export 1080 x 1920 30fps. So instagram doesn’t compress it.

[@Thembaforfun]

Came back to say this works.👍🏾 Thank you🎉

[@ismail2010x]

Here what i found : 1.video quality on tiktok is depends on internet speed/better internet network.means connecting to home wifi automaticly produce better quality image than our mobile data internet in every phone.i had check it 2.depending on phone PPI resolution.where i bet higher PPI could handle the low internet speed where the phone could still produce better quality image even in low internet speed 3.so this must be advantage for the flagship smartphones 4.hope this advice can solve your issue

[@rajaisraafil5730]

What chair are u seated on? Looks good

[@Ryans_Analysis]

Smashed this 😍

[@alexdnce]

seems like it worked for me! thank you!

[@Prospiron]

Thank you for the tips. 😊

[@anwaralhadheri165]

thank you bro very simple and direct content

[@IncognitoMoney]

Care to share your camera setup for this video you recorded? :) Would love to upgrade my current setup, thanks! Been enjoying your content for quite some while

[@danelayton]

If you're talking about this KZbin video, I film on a Canon 80D with a Sigma 24mm Art Lens. My Instagram stuff is just with my iPhone 13 👍🏼

[@IncognitoMoney]

@@danelayton Thank you! :)

[@wllymchng]

Never knew about the data saver setting!

[@ahmedansef3253]

What is the name of the video editing software you are using?🙏

[@quincymarquis-brown5803]

What about posting videos straight from your phone raw no edits? How do you get the best quality from just posting from your phone?

[@Leifrossed]

Many thanks from France !

[@amoursashaa]

Hey thanks for the video. What do you use to film?