MUSIC VIDEO DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS 

As a publisher for certified encoding vendors to the world’s top video outlets, we are required to ensure the highest possible video quality using professional post-production practices. Adhering to the following specifications will ensure your videos do not fail quality control or delay your release. These requirements are based on our retail partners’ strict standards. 

 

VIDEO FORMAT OPTIONS (all in a .MOV container) 

• Apple Pro Res 422 (HQ) 

• Apple Pro Res 422 

• Apple Pro Res 422 (LT) 

• Apple Pro Res 4444 

• Avid DNxHD 

• Uncompressed 8 or 10bit 

• H.264 * If videos are not available in the preferred format above, Orchard can digitize a master tape of the video in a broadcast-grade format (e.g. HD CAM, Digital Beta, etc.) at the Client’s expense

 

 CONTENT REQUIREMENTS 

• Audio must be delivered in stereo, either PCM 48.000 kHz 16-bit audio or AAC audio

• Release names must be labeled accurately, e.g. Lyric Video, Audio-Only, Live, Behind-The-Scenes, etc. 

• Exported from edit timeline or captured directly to this format from the uncompressed master 

• Original format (i.e. NTSC or PAL) and original/master resolution, frame rate and interlacing cadence 

• Cannot be up-converted from compressed media (e.g. H.264, MP4, DV, MPG, WMV) and cannot derive from DVDs, mini DVs or other consumer-grade masters 

• Must have “frame independence” – no frame blending or duplicate frames, often caused by NTSC-PAL or PAL-NTSC conversions, editing 24 FPS video in a 30 FPS edit timeline, de-interlacing a telecine cadence, or by mixing frame rates 

• Titles originally shot on film or on 24P cameras should arrive in 23.98 FPS 

• Must contain at least one frame of black at the beginning and end, but no more than 1 second.

• No chyrons, URLs, social media handles (e.g. Twitter or Instagram), watermarks, bugs, DVD logos, promotional intros, release dates, websites, color bars, slates, countdowns, advertisements 

• No artifacts, glitches, compression gradients, color shifting, or other imperfections 

• For reference, typical file sizes for music videos range from about 1GB to 10GB

 

 COMMON REASONS FOR QUALITY CONTROL REJECTION 

• Mono audio • Video is up-res’d from a standard definition source 

• The video is de-interlaced, and therefore pixels are visible on diagonals

• The video has duplicate or merged frames 

• The video’s resolution width is smaller than 720 pixels 

• The video has artifacts, glitches, dropped frames, or audio clicks, pops, or outages 

• The video shows signs of compression, arrives on video DVD or in a compressed codec other than H.264 

• Chyrons 

• Release date information 

• URLs (this includes Twitter or Instagram handles) 

* If the music video’s quality or content does not reach the standards to be sold on Download-To-Own retailers, it will be processed for Streaming-Only stores and the client will be notified by an automatic email notification. 

* Download-To-Own stores do not accept pseudo music videos, e.g. Audio-Only, Behind The-Scenes, Promos, etc.