Vimeo upload settings: H.264, 10-20 Mbps at 1080p, constant frame rate

Vimeo recommends H.264 High Profile with a constant frame rate, 10 to 20 Mbps for 1080p, and AAC-LC audio at 320 kb/s and 48 kHz. Sume lets you set resolution and frame rate on a render but lists no bitrate or codec field, so the bitrate target is yours to check after the render. Specs are from Vimeo Help, read 2026-10-01.

What bitrate does Vimeo recommend per resolution?

Which frame rates and audio does Vimeo want?

Vimeo asks for a constant frame rate of 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 or 60. Audio is AAC-LC at 320 kb/s and 48 kHz. Color is BT.709 or BT.2020, with 10-bit or more recommended. Its video formats are H.264 High Profile, Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) or H.265.

Which of those can I set with Sume?

Frame rate: Timeline's output.fps takes 24, 25, 30 or 60, and each is on Vimeo's list. Resolution: width and height are even integers from 256 to 2160, so 1080p fits, but 4K UHD (3840x2160) does not. Sume's docs list no bitrate or codec field. The render endpoints refuse codec, crf and filtergraph keys with a 400, so you cannot tune the encode from the request. Sume's docs say nothing about color space or audio bitrate.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/timeline-1.0/render \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: vimeo-1080p-001" \
  -d '{
    "audio": { "mode": "silence", "duration_seconds": 30 },
    "output": { "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "fps": 30 },
    "video": [
      { "source_url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/shot.mp4",
        "start": 0, "duration": 30, "fit": "cover" }
    ]
  }'

How do I check the result?

Probe the finished file with Video inspect 1.0. With frames: false it is a probe only, it is unbilled, and it reports width, height, container, fps and duration_seconds. It does not report file size, codec or bitrate, so check those with a local tool before you upload.

Bitrate is simply file size divided by duration, so a local check shows whether a 1080p file landed inside 10 to 20 Mbps.

What if the bitrate is below Vimeo's range?

Vimeo gives the ranges as recommendations. If a render comes out lighter, upload it and compare playback against your target before you re-render.