The Best Export Settings for Demo Videos: Resolution, Frame Rate and Crop
1080p or 4K? 30 or 60 fps? Which aspect ratio for LinkedIn, X or a landing page? A no-nonsense guide to exporting screen recordings that look sharp everywhere.
You recorded a great demo. Now a dialog asks for resolution, frame rate, quality and shape, and each choice changes how the video looks and how big the file is. Here is what to pick, and why.
Resolution: 1080p for almost everything
1080p is the default for a reason. It is sharp on laptops and phones, every platform accepts it, and files stay manageable. Choose 4K when the video will be shown large, such as a full-width hero on a desktop site or a conference screen, or when you need to crop heavily afterwards. Choose 720p for quick internal clips where size matters more than detail.
Zoom helps here too: a 2x zoom on a 1080p export shows UI text at a size that stays readable even when the viewer's player shrinks the video.
Frame rate: 60 fps for software
Screen recordings are full of motion that 30 fps renders as stutter: scrolling lists, the cursor, and zoom transitions. 60 fps keeps them smooth. The one rule: do not export at a higher frame rate than you recorded. Our own testing found that exporting a 60 fps take at 30 fps drops every other frame and makes cursor motion look jerky, so match the take.
Quality and file size
Glidesmith encodes with the Mac's hardware H.264 encoder through VideoToolbox, which keeps export fast and the files widely compatible. Use the higher quality presets for anything public. Screen content has sharp edges and small text, which compress worse than camera footage, and a starved bitrate shows up first as blurry text.
Aspect ratio by destination
| Destination | Shape | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Website, YouTube, docs | 16:9 | The default. Matches most players. |
| LinkedIn and X feeds | 4:5 or 1:1 | Takes more of the feed on mobile. |
| Reels, Shorts, TikTok | 9:16 | Record a narrow window or region for best results. |
| Slides and presentations | 16:9 or 4:3 | Match the deck. |
In Glidesmith, open the Crop tab and pick a shape, or drag the handles. The export follows the crop, and the background and padding are laid out for the new shape.
Quick recommendations
- Landing page loop: 1080p, 60 fps, 16:9, no audio, keep it under 30 seconds
- Launch post: 1080p, 60 fps, 4:5 for feeds
- Tutorial: 1080p, 60 fps, 16:9, with microphone audio
- Big screen: 4K, 60 fps, 16:9
Want a head start? See every export option in Glidesmith.
Written by Glidesmith Team
Building Glidesmith, the Mac screen recorder for demos and tutorials. Local, no account.
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