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Export settings reference for Media Encoder

Learn about effects, video, audio, and publish settings available in the Export Settings dialog for Adobe Media Encoder.

Adobe Media Encoder is used both as a stand-alone application and as a component of Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Character Animator, Audition, and Adobe Animate. You can set encoding options in the Export Settings dialog to render and export sequences & clips from Premiere Pro or compositions from After Effects. The export settings dialog allows you to adjust parameters of the video clip before you export it, such as frame rate, resolution, and quality.

To open the Export Settings dialog in Adobe Media Encoder, select the output of a source video in the Queue panel and do one of the following:

  • Select Export Settings from the context menu of the output.
  • Select Edit > Export Settings.
  • Click the format or preset name of the output. 
Note:

If Edit > Export Settings appears unavailable, make sure that you’ve selected an output in the Queue panel beforehand. 

Export Settings dialog

The Export Settings dialog box includes a video preview frame on the left with tabs to switch between Source and Output views, a timecode display and timeline so can you navigate to any frame and set In and Out points to trim the duration of the exported video. You can compare the Source and Output preview side by side to check for color or quality before export.

The right side of the dialog box shows all available export settings; from here you can choose an export format and preset, adjust video and audio encoding settings, add effects, closed captions, & metadata, and publish to popular social media sites like YouTube & Facebook.

For information about using the various encoding options in the Export Settings dialog box, see Encoding and exporting.

Source view

The Source tab shows the source video without any export settings applied.  Here, you can play back the video, and set In and Out points for export. Switch between Source and Output tabs to get a quick preview of how export settings affect your source media.

Source panel
Source panel

Source and output preview

Use the Compare tab to compare the Source and Output preview side by side. This is particularly useful when checking for color or quality before export.

The Export Settings dialog box is open and in the Compare tab, there are two previews, one for source and the other for the output.
Use the Compare tab to compare the Source and Output preview side by side

Crop settings

From here, you can crop your source video so that only a portion of the frame is exported. Choose from common crop proportions like 4:3 or 16:9 or set custom values for the cropped frame.

To crop a video, do the following:

  1. In the Export Settings dialog box, select the Source tab.

  2. To enable cropping controls, click the Crop button in the upper-left corner.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • Drag the sides or corner handles of the crop box.
    • Enter values for Left, Top, Right, Bottom, in pixels.
  4. To constrain the proportions of the cropped video frame, choose an option from the Crop Proportions menu.

  5. To preview the cropped video frame, click the Output tab.

Note:

To revert to an uncropped image, click the Crop button again to disable it.

Output view

The Output tab previews current export settings applied to your source video.

Source Scaling

The Source Scaling options available in the Output panel
The Source Scaling options available in the Output panel

If the frame size of export settings is different from the source’s frame size, use the Source Scaling menu to determine how the source fits within the exported video frame. This setting is available for any output format with editable frame dimensions.

Note:

Change Output Size to Match Source is not available with all export formats.  You can achieve the same result by clicking the Match Source button in the video tab or by choosing a Match Source preset.

Source Rotation

The Source Rotation settings enable you to rotate video or change the orientation of your video.
The Source Rotation settings enable you to rotate video or change the orientation of your video.

Use the Source Rotation options to rotate the video according to different output formats. You can also use the landscape and portrait options to flip the orientation of the video.

Timeline and time display

A timeline and timecode display are located under the preview frame in both the Source panel and Output views. The timeline includes a playhead showing the current frame, a duration bar, and controls for setting In and Out points.

Timeline
Timeline

A. Video preview frame B. Mark In and Out C. Time duration  D. Source Range E. Zoom Level F. Aspect Ratio Correction  

To preview different frames, click or drag the playhead along the timeline.  You can also type a timecode value in the current time display to move the playhead to that specific frame.

Export Settings

The top section of Export Settings allows you to choose the format of the exported video and select from a list of common presets. For more information, see Create custom presets for Media Encoder.

You can also change the exported filename and select a destination for the exported media.  Options to export video-only or audio-only files are also available, and a summary of source and output settings.

Export Settings
Export Settings

Effects settings

The Effect tab lets you add various effects to your exported media such as Lumetri color adjustments, HDR to SDR conversion, Image, and text & timeline overlays. 

Switch to the Output tab to see a preview of these effects applied on the project.

Effect settings
Effect settings

Video settings

Video settings vary based on the export Format you have chosen.  Each format has unique requirements that determine what settings are available. For more information, see Supported file formats.

Video export settings
Video export settings

Note:

Some capture cards and plug-in software provide their own dialog boxes with specific options. If the options you see are different from the options described here, see the documentation for your capture card or plug in.

For general information about compression settings, see Compression tips.

Audio

Audio settings are found in the Audio tab of the Export Settings dialog. Settings vary based on the export format you have chosen.

Audio settings
Audio settings

Multiplexer

Formats like H.264, HEVC (H.265), and MPEG include a Multiplexer tab that controls how video and audio data are merged into a single stream (aka “muxing”). When Multiplexing is set to None, video and audio streams are exported as separate files.

For more information about MPEG options, see the relevant MPEG specifications for MPEG-4 (ISO/IEC 14496) and MPEG-2 (ISO/IEC 13818) and the Wikipedia website.

Multiplexer settings
Multiplexer settings

Captions

Closed captions are typically used to display the audio portion of a video as text on televisions and other devices that support the display of closed captions. The new Captions tab in the Export Settings dialog box lets you specify the format and the frame rate while exporting closed caption data. The frame rate options depend on the file format that you choose while exporting. For information, see Exporting Closed Caption data.

Publish

You can use the Publish tab to upload files to different social media platforms. You can choose from the list of system presets available on Adobe Media Encoder. For more information, see Publish settings in Adobe Media Encoder.

Publish
Publish settings in Adobe Media Encoder

Render and time interpolation settings

Export and thin XMP metadata

Metadata is a set of descriptive information about a media file. Metadata can include information like creation date, file format, and timeline markers. You can choose the XMP metadata to include in your exported media from the Metadata Export dialog.

To open the Metadata Export dialog, click the Metadata button in the lower-right corner of the Export Settings dialog.

Metadata Export
Metadata Export

Note:

You can perform many of the same actions in the Metadata category in the Preferences dialog box, see Preferences. Changes made in the Preferences dialog box don’t apply to selected items in the encoding queue, but the templates and rules are available for later assignment through the Metadata Export dialog box.

For more information about working with metadata in Premiere, see Managing Metadata.

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