Are TikTok and Douyin upload parameters the same?

The basics match: 9:16, 1080p, H.264. But music rights, moderation and feed logic are separate systems — parameters can be reused, content strategy cannot.

Quality drops after upload — what can I do?

Platform recompression is inevitable; raise the source instead: 10-12Mbps at 1080p, and never upload footage that has already been compressed once.

Must landscape video become vertical?

Not mandatory, but the feed window is small. Talking-head and people content gain a lot from crop-recomposition; pure text-and-knowledge pieces can stay landscape.

Workflows 4 min read

TikTok Upload Specs: Vertical Frame and Going Global

TikTok and Douyin share a lineage, so the parameter playbook mostly carries over — but the music library, moderation and feed logic are separate systems. Align the specs before publishing abroad.

The platform’s ground rules

9:16 vertical (1080×1920) is the feed’s main stage: landscape can be posted, but the display window squeezes to a middle strip — black bars or cropping on the sides. Vertical-first is not a preference; it is real estate.

On duration, 15 seconds to 3 minutes is friendliest to completion rate; longer content deserves chapter splits — the recommendation logic is ruthless about watch-through, and long videos start at a disadvantage.

Encoding advice and going-global differences

H.264 + AAC is the stable pairing: the platform supports HEVC, but its transcode chain and compatibility debugging run longer. 1080p at 30 or 60fps; feed the source 10-12Mbps — platform recompression is inevitable, and source bitrate sets the floor of what survives it.

The extra going-global variables: music rights libraries do not overlap with the domestic ones — the in-app library is the safe choice (self-brought tracks getting muted or taken down is a recurring incident). Burn subtitles in: external subtitle support on viewers’ devices varies, and burned-in guarantees visibility everywhere. And the cover weighs heavier in TikTok’s feed — pick a frame with information in it.

The workflow

Landscape source: crop and recompose to vertical first (key subject inside the safe area), then compress to target specs (H.264 + AAC, 1080p, 10-12Mbps), and verify codec and bitrate with an inspection before upload. The whole chain runs locally in a browser — footage never leaves the device.