Before You Hit Upload

A 15-Step Quality-Control Checklist for Flawless Video Releases

“Launch day is not the time to discover a typo in your lower-third.”
- Every post-supervisor, ever

A rock-solid QC (quality control) pass is the final 1 % of effort that protects the other 99 % of your work. Skip it and you risk blown-out audio, compression mush, or metadata mistakes that tank discoverability. Follow the checklist below and publish with total confidence.

The 15-Step Checklist (featured-snippet-ready)

Keep reading for the “why,” the tools, and the instant-fix tips behind each step.

Why Formal QC Pays Off

• Saves re-uploads (and lost views) when a hidden error surfaces.
• Protects brand perception - viewers equate polish with credibility.
• Improves watch-time: glitches spike abandonment within the first 30 s.

Treat QC like a pre-flight checklist: if one item fails, the plane stays on the ground.

Phase A – Timeline & Export Prep

1. ✅ Spelling & Lower-Thirds Accuracy

Inspect with: Built-in spell-check (Premiere Pro, Resolve) + human eyes.
Fix-it tip: Read every graphic aloud; it forces the brain to slow down and catch typos.

2. 🖼️ Title-Safe & Action-Safe Margins

Nothing screams “amateur” like text hugging the bezel on TVs.
Inspect with: NLE safe-area overlays.
Fix-it tip: Keep critical text inside 90 % width × 90 % height for cross-platform safety.

3. 🎨 Color Space & Gamma Consistency

Mixed Rec. 709 and Rec. 2020 clips shift skin tones or crush blacks.
Inspect with: Video scopes - Waveform (luma) & Vectorscope (chroma).
Fix-it tip: Convert all media to a unified timeline color space before grading.

4. 🎧 Audio Peaks & Loudness Target

Web platforms normalize to ≈ -14 LUFS.
Inspect with:

• Premiere Loudness Radar
• Resolve Fairlight Meters
• FFmpeg quick scan:

ffmpeg -i master.wav -af loudnorm=I=-14:TP=-1.5:LRA=7 -f null -

Fix-it tip: Aim between -15 and -13 LUFS integrated; true peak below -1 dBFS.

5. 🎞️ Frame-Rate Uniformity

Mixed 23.976 fps and 24.000 fps causes duplicate/drop frames.
Inspect with: MediaInfo → “Frame rate”.
Fix-it tip: Conform all footage to the project FPS before editing.

Phase B – Master File Verification

6. 📦 Codec / Container Suitability

Delivery examples

• YouTube 4 K: VP9 or AV1 in WebM/MP4
• Broadcast: ProRes 422 HQ in MOV
  Fix-it tip: Avoid H.264 8-bit if heavy color tweaks are still planned.

7. 📈 Bitrate vs. Platform Guidelines

Under-shoot and compression destroys detail; over-shoot and the site re-encodes aggressively.
Rule of thumb: 4 K 60 fps VP9 ≈ 45–55 Mbps (see our bitrate guide).

8. 🔑 Key-Frame Interval ≤ 2 s

Short GOP aids seeking and adaptive bitrate switches.
Set in: Export dialog or -g 120 (for 60 fps) in FFmpeg.

ffmpeg -i master.mov -c:v libvpx-vp9 -b:v 50M -g 120 output.webm

9. 💬 Subtitles & Captions Sync

Inspect with: YouTube preview or VLC subtitles track.
Fix-it tip: Export as WebVTT; it keeps formatting and is editable post-upload.

10. ⚡ Fast-Start (Moov Atom First)

Ensures instant playback while buffering.
Set in FFmpeg:-movflags +faststart

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -movflags +faststart fast.mp4

Phase C – Platform Dry-Run

11. 🔍 Artifact Scan After Transcode

Wait for the highest resolution to finish processing, then:

• Play at 1080 p and 4 K.
• Toggle “Stats for Nerds” → verify codec, bitrate, dropped frames.
  Fix-it tip: If macro-blocking appears, bump source bitrate 10 % and re-upload.

12. 🖼️ Thumbnail Legibility at 10 % Size

Shrink to 128 × 72 px; can you still read the text?
Fix-it tip: Use 2–3 words max and high-contrast colors.

13. ⏭️ End-Screen & Card Functionality

Broken end-screens kill retention.
Inspect with: YouTube Studio → “Editor” tab, preview on desktop and mobile.

14. 📱 Mobile Playback Test

Simulate 4 G or “Fast 3 G” in Chrome DevTools, or just tether to a phone.
Watch for buffering and readability of on-screen elements.

15. 🔎 Metadata & SEO Fields

• Title ≤ 70 chars, keyphrase up front
• 5–15 keyword tags
• Chapter timestamps (00:00 Intro…)
• Correct license & language
  Fix-it tip: Paste title & description into a plain-text editor first - hidden formatting chars break feeds.

FAQ Lightning Round

Do Shorts need all 15 steps?
Yes - but the process is quicker (no captions, smaller thumbnails).

I mastered at -10 LUFS; will YouTube clip it?
Not clip, but auto-attenuate. Your video will play softer than others - aim for -14.

Is ProRes in MP4 okay?
No. MP4’s spec disallows ProRes. Wrap in MOV or MXF.

How long should I wait for YouTube to finish 4 K processing?
Anywhere from 30 min to 4 h. Publish unlisted until 4 K is visible.