Export options and presets in Video by Zaweba

A finished edit is only half the job until the file comes out the way the recipient wants it. Video by Zaweba keeps a set of extra choices behind the main export settings for exactly that, covering sound layout, timecode, overlays, legal levels, metadata and presets you can reuse and share.

None of them are needed for a quick upload. All of them earn their keep the first time a client, a channel or a colleague sends a list of requirements.

Sound channels and sample rate

You can export the sound as the project has it, or force it to mono, stereo or 5.1, and choose the sample rate. Mono is useful for a voice recording heading to a system that expects one channel. Stereo is the safe default for most viewing. 5.1 matters when a deliverable asks for surround.

The sample rate should follow the spec rather than habit. If a sheet names a rate, set it here rather than converting later in another tool.

Timecode and overlays

Burned-in timecode writes the running time onto the picture. It is what you want on a viewing copy so that someone giving notes can say exactly which frame they mean. It is not what you want on the final master, so keep two presets, one with it and one without.

Text or picture overlays put something over the whole export, such as a word like draft, a company logo or a small credit. Use them for review copies and for sharing work in progress, so a file that gets forwarded is clearly marked. Again, a separate preset stops an overlay creeping onto the real deliverable.

The broadcast-safe limiter

Television channels set limits on how bright, dark and saturated the picture may be. A grade that looks lovely on a computer screen can step outside those limits. The broadcast-safe limiter holds the export inside them, so you do not have to chase stray highlights by hand. Turn it on for broadcast work and leave it off for the web, where the extra headroom is fine.

It is a safety net rather than a grading tool. If the limiter is changing a lot of the picture, it is better to bring the grade back yourself on the timeline so you decide what gives way.

Metadata and presets you can share

The export can carry a title, an artist and a copyright line inside the file. These travel with the video, show up in many players and file browsers, and help a file stay identifiable after it leaves your hands.

When a set of choices is right, save it as a preset of your own and mark it as a favourite so it sits near the top. Presets can be shared as .ozexport files. That is handy when two people deliver to the same place, or when you want the settings on another machine: send the file, load it, and the export matches without anyone reading a spec twice.

A small library worth building

Most people end up with a handful of presets: a web master, a review copy with timecode and a draft overlay, a broadcast version with the limiter and the channel's sound layout, and perhaps a mono voice export. Name them clearly, favourite the ones you use weekly, and keep the .ozexport files somewhere backed up.

These options work with everything else in Video by Zaweba's export, including the render queue and quick export, which reuses your last preset. Get the presets right once and every later delivery becomes a choice from a short list rather than a session spent reading requirements.