If you’ve successfully uploaded a video, but you’ve run into an issue before or during conversion, there may be a problem with your source file. Here are some common culprits:
Corruption
If your video is failing to convert, or unable to play for the entire duration, it’s likely that your source file contains corruption. Corruption can be introduced on your hard drive or anywhere along the production process (shooting, editing, exporting). To test for corruption, try playing your file in another video player, such as Quicktime or VLC. Note: We recommend viewing instead of spot-checking, as corruption may only be present in certain parts of your video.
If the file plays all the way to the end without issue, try re-uploading to VideoMan one more time. If you still see a conversion error, try re-exporting your video from the program you used to create it. We recommend following our compression guidelines for the best results.
If you don’t have access to the original software, you can use a free program like Handbrake (handbrake.fr) to re-encode your video file, which should hopefully remove any corruption from your audio or video track.
Variable frame rate
All videos are converted to a constant frame rate on VideoMan. Depending on the level of variation, variable frame rates can cause certain videos to fail conversion. Variable frame rates can also lead to playback issues after conversion, such as audio sync discrepancies. Be sure to always set a constant frame rate in your editing software. If your editing software does not offer these customizations, we recommend using Handbrake to re-encode.
Non-square pixels
All videos are converted to square pixels for playback over the web. If your video is being displayed with an unexpected aspect ratio (for example, an HD 16:9 video displaying as SD 4:3) check the export settings within your editor. Be sure to uncheck any options for anamorphic video.
Invalid file type
We support a wide range of video and audio codecs, but we recommend following our compression guidelines to avoid complications. All files must contain a valid video track (even if it only contains a black slate or still image). However, audio is optional.
Here are some examples of file types we do not support for upload or conversion:
- Powerpoint or Keynote Files (ex- .key, .pptx, .ppt, .pptm)
- Documents (ex- .pdf, .txt, .doc, .docx, .xlxs, xml)
- DVD-Video disc information (ex- .IFO, .ISO, .BUP)
- Audio files (ex- .mp3, .wav)
- Project files (ex- .wlmp, .prproj, .imovieproj, .camproj)
- GotoMeeting Files (ex- .g2m)
- Webex files (ex- .arf or .wrf)
- Multiple audio or video tracks
All videos should be uploaded with a single video and audio track. The audio specifically should contain two channels of stereo audio. For 5.1 or spatial audio, we’ll downmix to stereo for you, though we recommend performing this action before upload.
When multiple audio or video tracks are present, our encoder has no way of knowing which track was intended for playback, so it will select one at random. For this reason, we recommend mixing down video and audio tracks in your editing software before uploading to ensure all your videos play as intended.
You can always check the VideoMan status page for updated information on any current site-wide issues. Contact us if you’re still having trouble or have any further questions.