LinkedIn is one of the most popular professional social media platforms, with over 740 million members worldwide as of 2022. On LinkedIn, users can post written content, images, and videos to share professional insights, build their brand, and connect with other professionals.
With video continuing to grow as a highly engaging content format, many LinkedIn users are interested in posting videos to their profiles and pages. However, one common question is whether LinkedIn compresses or alters the quality of videos uploaded to the platform.
The short answer is yes, LinkedIn does use compression when users upload videos. However, the extent of compression varies based on the original video quality and length. Overall, LinkedIn aims to balance quality with efficient file sizes to optimize the viewer experience across different devices and connection speeds.
In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at LinkedIn’s video compression practices, including:
- An overview of what video compression means
- The types of compression LinkedIn applies to uploads
- How compression affects video quality
- Best practices for uploading high-quality videos to LinkedIn
Understanding the impact of compression will help you upload videos that look great to your professional audience on LinkedIn.
What is Video Compression?
Before getting into LinkedIn’s specific compression practices, let’s look at what video compression is and why it’s commonly used.
Video files tend to be very large in their raw, uncompressed formats. However, large files mean longer upload times and buffering issues for viewers. Compression allows you to shrink video files to more manageable sizes by reducing redundant visual data.
There are two main types of compression:
Lossless compression shrinks the file size without permanently removing data. It compacts the data so the original quality can be restored when the video is decompressed.
Lossy compression removes some data permanently to achieve much higher compression ratios. This results in some loss of quality, although with optimized algorithms the impacts may be minimal.
Most online video platforms, including LinkedIn, use lossy compression since file size reduction is a higher priority than perfectly preserving source quality. The goal is to balance visual quality with quick loading and smooth playback, especially on mobile devices and varying network conditions.
LinkedIn uses the industry standard H.264 video codec for compression. The level of compression, and resulting quality, depends on the resolution, frame rate, and other factors of the original uploaded video.
LinkedIn Video Upload Limitations
When considering LinkedIn’s video compression, it helps to know some of the limitations and requirements for uploads:
- Max resolution of 1280×720 (720p HD)
- Aspect ratio must be between 1.91:1 – 4:5
- Max frame rate of 30 fps
- Max file size of 5GB
- Supported formats: .MP4, .MOV, .AVI
If you upload a video that exceeds these limits—for example, a 4K video or a file over 5GB—LinkedIn will automatically compress and resize the video to meet its requirements. This will usually result in noticeable quality loss.
That’s why it’s best to export your videos matching LinkedIn’s guidelines to avoid this additional compression pass.
How Does LinkedIn Compress Uploaded Videos?
When you upload a video that already matches LinkedIn’s requirements, it will still undergo one level of compression to reduce the file size. However, the quality reduction will likely be minimal in most cases.
Here is an overview of how LinkedIn handles video compression on uploads:
- Videos are compressed using H.264 encoding, a common lossy compression standard.
- The level of compression depends on the video resolution, frame rate, and initial file size.
- Higher-quality videos (720p HD) at the maximum specs (30fps) are compressed less than lower-quality or over-spec videos.
- LinkedIn aims to balance quality with quick loading and smooth playback across devices.
- Actual video bitrates after compression range from 1-4 Mbps depending on source quality.
- Audio is compressed separately at 192 Kbps using the AAC codec.
In practice, a high-quality 720p video uploaded to LinkedIn could retain over 90% of its visual quality after LinkedIn’s compression pass. Lower-quality sources would likely lose a more noticeable level of quality.
However, it’s difficult to predict exactly how much compression will occur for a given video. LinkedIn utilizes variable bitrate encoding methods that dynamically adjust compression across the video timeline to meet size targets. Some sections will be compressed more than others.
How Much Does Video Quality Drop on LinkedIn?
To demonstrate how LinkedIn compression impacts video quality, we uploaded test videos at different resolutions and frame rates.
The results show that 720p HD videos see very little quality change after LinkedIn compression. For lower resolution sources like 480p, the quality loss is more noticeable:
| Source Video | Resolution | Frame Rate | Quality Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 720p HD | 1280 x 720 | 30 fps | Barely Noticeable |
| 480p SD | 854 x 480 | 30 fps | Slight Noticeable Drop |
| 360p | 640 x 360 | 30 fps | Noticeable Softer Image |
Based on these results, aim to upload the highest resolution video possible within LinkedIn’s limits to minimize compression quality loss.
360p and lower resolution sources are more likely to end up soft and pixelated after LinkedIn compression. 480p maintains reasonably good quality, but 720p HD is ideal.
Frame Rate and Bitrate Also Matter
Resolution isn’t the only factor that impacts how much compression occurs. Videos with higher frame rates and bitrates also tend to retain more quality:
- 30fps videos are compressed less than 60fps videos downsampled to 30fps.
- A higher-bitrate 720p video would likely fare better than a lower-bitrate one.
Aim for 720p resolution at 30fps with the highest manageable bitrate. Not only will this help counteract LinkedIn compression, but it also ensures maximum quality before uploading.
Best Practices for Upload Quality
To ensure your videos look great after LinkedIn compression, follow these best practices:
Export at 720p Resolution
Export your video at 1280×720 resolution (720p HD) to match LinkedIn’s maximum size. This minimizes extra downsampling compression they’ll apply.
Use A Minimum Bitrate of 8-10 Mbps
When exporting, use a video bitrate of at least 8-10 Mbps for 720p footage. This provides enough data to withstand LinkedIn’s compression pass. YouTube and Vimeo also recommend 8+ Mbps for 720p.
Match LinkedIn’s 30fps Frame Rate
Export your videos at 30fps to avoid frame rate conversion and added compression.
Use 2 Pass Encoding If Possible
For the cleanest possible compression, use 2 pass encoding in your export settings. This takes more time but optimizes the final quality.
Use A Video Optimizer As A Final Step
Run your exported video through a quality optimizer such as Handbrake or Avanti. This applies light noise reduction and final quality adjustments before uploading.
Following these best practices will help you upload crisp, clean videos to LinkedIn that hold up well after compression. Monitor the results and tweak your export settings as needed.
Does Compression Affect Video Performance?
Beyond just visual quality, does LinkedIn’s video compression affect metrics like views and engagement?
According to LinkedIn, properly compressed videos optimized for their requirements should perform just as well as uncompressed sources. The compression allows faster loading and smoother playback for viewers.
However, severely compressed or degraded videos may see reduced engagement. Compression artifacts can be distracting and make it harder for viewers to connect with the content.
That’s why it’s important to start with a high-quality source and follow LinkedIn’s guidelines—heavy-handed compression could indirectly impact your video’s effectiveness, even though LinkedIn applies it evenly.
Alternative Ways to Share High-Quality Video
If you want to share extremely high-quality videos without LinkedIn compression, there are a couple options:
Upload to YouTube or Vimeo
YouTube and Vimeo allow uploads above LinkedIn’s specs and offer high-quality streaming. Upload your video to one of these platforms, then embed it directly into LinkedIn posts.
The drawback is that viewers will have to click out of LinkedIn to watch the video.
Use LinkedIn Company Pages
LinkedIn Company pages support uploading uncompressed videos up to 10GB in size. Consider creating a Company page for your brand if you want to showcase pristine quality video content.
Use LinkedIn Live Video
With LinkedIn Live Video, you can broadcast real-time video up to 1080p resolution and get excellent quality. Livestreams aren’t compressed as aggressively. Just keep in mind the ephemeral nature of live video.
Does LinkedIn Compress Images?
LinkedIn also compresses images uploads like profile photos, but the impact is minimal in most cases.
Here are the key image compression details on LinkedIn:
- JPEG compression is applied to all image uploads.
- LinkedIn strips image metadata and replaces it with their own.
- Images larger than 25MP are resampled down to 12MP.
- Lossless PNG images may lose very light compression.
- Maximum upload dimensions are 2880×2880 pixels.
As with video, try to upload the highest quality image possible within LinkedIn’s size limits. This minimizes quality loss from resizing or compression.
Profile pictures should be at least 400×400 pixels if possible. For banners and creative images, use the full available 2880×2880 pixel size.
Auto-compressing oversized images often results in more noticeable quality loss than compression of images sized correctly.
Conclusion
To summarize, LinkedIn does apply video and image compression during uploads to optimize file sizes and streaming quality.
For best results:
- Export videos at 720p HD and 30fps following LinkedIn’s guidelines.
- Use the highest bitrate and encoding quality possible.
- Upload highest quality images possible within size limits.
Following LinkedIn’s specifications and best practices will minimize compression impacts and ensure your videos look great for your professional audience. Monitor results and continue optimizing your video exports as needed to find the right balance between quality and file size.
