Montage Help CenterChoose the quality
For a video, you pick one of three qualities. They change how much detail each second keeps, so how big the file is; the picture's size stays your video's own.
Written by Ben (Founder) · Updated November 6, 2026The three qualities
| Quality | What the window says | Detail per second, for a vertical Full HD video (1080 × 1920) |
|---|---|---|
| Smaller file | For messages and email | 4 Mb/s |
| Standard | For social media | 8 Mb/s |
| Best | The sharpest, the biggest file | 12 Mb/s |
A bigger picture gets more, in proportion: a 4K video gets four times as much. A smaller one gets less, never under 1 Mb/s. The sound is always the same: AAC, 192 kb/s.
The size is shown before you export. Beside each quality, the window says about how big the file will be, from your video’s length.
Which one to pick
- Standard is picked when the window opens. It is right for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube.
- Smaller file when you send it by message or email, and size matters more than detail.
- Best when you keep a copy, or the video has a lot of movement or fine detail.
More settings in the Mac app
The app shows presets instead: Standard, Smaller file, Best and Master for editing (ProRes 422 HQ). Under More settings you choose the format, the encoding, the size, the pictures a second, the quality, the colours and the sound, and save them as your own preset. Export settings and presets
Questions
Does Best make my video bigger than I filmed it?
No. Every quality keeps your video’s own size; only the detail per second changes.
Can I choose the quality of a sound or a Premiere Pro file?
No, the quality is only for a video. The sound is always a WAV, and the file for Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve points to your own footage.
Is the size in the window exact?
It is close: it comes from the quality and your video’s length, so the file can be a little bigger or smaller.