Learn about Adobe Stock export presets in Adobe Premiere, including available formats, resolutions, audio options, and guidance on choosing the right preset for video submissions.
Stock video can be uploaded to Adobe Stock directly from Premiere. To streamline this process, export presets are available in the Export menu. These presets are designed to produce videos with the ideal settings for Adobe Stock, based on recording settings and delivery requirements.
Adobe Stock presets in Premiere
In Premiere, presets are saved output adjustments that can be applied to files while exporting media. Presets include video resolution, codec, and bitrate settings, as well as audio settings. They are accessed in the media export window (File > Export > Media).
When the Export Settings menu is opened, select the export format. Each format includes its own list of available presets. Only QuickTime and H.264 formats offer Adobe Stock preset options, with six presets available for each format. These presets determine bit rate, resolution, and audio settings.
The presets are found in the presets dropdown menu, just below the format dropdown menu. All Adobe Stock presets start with “Adobe Stock” in their name.
The following is a list of the presets that have been designed especially for Adobe Stock Contributors, as listed in Premiere:
H.264
- Adobe Stock 4K DCI with Audio (40 Mbps)
- Adobe Stock 4K DCI without Audio (40 Mbps)
- Adobe Stock HD with Audio (20 Mbps)
- Adobe Stock HD without Audio (20 Mbps)
- Adobe Stock UHD with Audio (40 Mbps)
- Adobe Stock UHD without Audio (40 Mbps)
QuickTime
- Adobe Stock 4K DCI with Audio (Apple ProRes 422 HQ)
- Adobe Stock 4K DCI without Audio (Apple ProRes 422 HQ)
- Adobe Stock HD with Audio (Apple ProRes 422 HQ)
- Adobe Stock HD without Audio (Apple ProRes 422 HQ)
- Adobe Stock UHD with Audio (Apple ProRes 422 HQ)
- Adobe Stock UHD without Audio (Apple ProRes 422 HQ)
Recommended use of QuickTime presets
Apple's QuickTime format is one of the most popular container formats for video delivery. The format supports a wide range of popular codecs. It's also the native wrapper for the very popular ProRes family of codecs. ProRes is preferred by Contributors and customers on Adobe Stock. Adobe Stock QuickTime export presets all use the ProRes 422 HQ video codec.
ProRes is a robust compression format that supports high bit depth and other file properties required by high-end video professionals. Use QuickTime with an Adobe Stock preset when source footage is 10‑bit or higher and uses 4:2:2 or higher color subsampling.
Recommended use of H.264 presets
H.264 covers a broad range of applications and codecs. Sometimes the H.264 compression scheme is used to create very robust file formats that support high-end needs similar to ProRes. In other cases, it can deliver files with limited technical properties for ease of delivery over the web and streaming platforms.
Regardless of delivery or file integrity, H.264 is a highly efficient codec that delivers excellent quality in a relatively small package. The Adobe Stock presets that use H.264 fall on the lower side of robustness. They contain settings that deliver high-quality in a small file, without sacrificing quality. For this reason, H.264 presets are recommended when source footage is captured at 8‑bit or 4:2:0.
Exporting a lower‑spec source file with the QuickTime preset to improve quality may seem tempting, but this approach is not recommended. Even 8-bit 4:2:2 source footage won't gain anything from using the larger 10-bit ProRes preset. Bit depth determines the number of colors a file can reproduce accurately, and colors cannot be created where they do not already exist. Putting 8-bit files in 10-bit containers does not give them 10 bits of color. This color information isn't added to or interpolated into the resulting file. It only makes the file bigger. Think of it this way. If eight people occupy a ten‑passenger van, it remains a ten‑passenger van, not a twelve‑passenger van, with two seats left empty. Extra unused capacity does not add value, so avoid unnecessary extra space in files.
Resolution and audio
For both QuickTime and H.264, there are six different presets. One preset with audio and one without audio for each of the following resolutions.
- 4K DCI: 4096x2160
- UHD: 3840x2160
- HD: 1920x1080
Confirm the exact pixel dimensions of your 4K video before exporting. UHD and 4K DCI are different formats, and exporting UHD footage as 4K DCI creates black bars on the sides (pillarboxing), which results in automatic rejection.
For each of the three resolution settings, there are two presets with different audio settings. One with audio, one without. In most cases, Stock clips are better without audio. There are some instances when audio will enhance the clip. For example, a shot of a roaring lion isn’t much different than a shot of a yawning lion without the audio.
It may seem sufficient to remove audio from the timeline and export the clip. However, the exported Stock asset still includes a silent audio track when downloaded. As a result, contributors must unlink and delete the audio track from the timeline before use. To make content easier to work with, export files without audio tracks when possible. Even when using custom export settings, be sure to uncheck the audio option.
Presets are a great way to streamline your outputs for all sorts of deliverables. These Stock-specific presets provide the ideal file settings for uploading videos to Adobe Stock. There is no need to research or experiment with output settings. All the parameters are ready to go with only a few clicks away in Premiere.
