Best quality to encode that's compatible with PS4

[PoeticKinetics]

Hi folks I have a PS4 with the PSVR kit. I also have a Nikon Keymission 360 video camera, which records in 4K. I'm in love with the concept of VR and watching my home videos that I've shot in 360 in the PSVR, however the image quality is a bit lousy due to the VR headset being limited to 1080p resolution, which means I need to reduce the resolution of my 4K videos and re-encode them.

I'm trying to work out the best quality and file format to encode them with. I'm using Adobe Premiere Pro (but I'm very new to it).

Here are the details of the original file which the camera records in;

MPEG-4 (Base Media / Version 2)
Profile High@L5.1
Codec ID: avc1
Frame Rate Mode: Constant
Colour Space: YUV Chroma Subsampling: 4:2:0
Bit Depth: 8bits
Colour Range: Full
Resolution: 4K - 3840 x 2160
FPS: 24
Bitrate: 58
Format: .MP4 (H.264/MPEG4 AVC) Audio: AAC Stereo.

*Note I have a regular PS4, not a PS4 Pro which is 4K compatible. I was considering one, but the res would still be restricted to 1080p due to the VR headset.

The the formats which the PS4 can handle are the following;

MKV Video: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level 4.2 Audio: MP3, AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital)
AVI Video: MPEG4 ASP, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level 4.2 Audio: MP3, AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital)
MP4 Video: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level 4.2, H.264 Audio: AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital), LPCM MPEG-2 PS Video: MPEG2 Visual Audio: MP2 (MPEG2 Audio Layer 2), MP3, AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital), LPCM
MPEG-2 TS Video: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level 4.2, MPEG2 Visual Audio: MP2 (MPEG2 Audio Layer 2), AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital)
AVCHD (.m2ts, .mts)
XAVC S™ (.mp4)

Currently I export my videos as H.264 1080p, High Level 4.2, CBR, Bitrate 58 (which is the bitrate of my original footage from the camera). But even this appears quite compressed. I could potentially export as H.264 Level 4.2, 4:2:2 which the PS4 can handle, however my original footage is 4:2:0, so I'm not sure if transcoding like that would be any benefit?

I'm happy to look at other software, or plugins for Premiere as needed. I'm on a Mac.

Thank you

[Cauptain]

Try Handbrake: https://www.videohelp.com/download/HandBrake

Its very easy tool for encoder any video. Freeware too.

For PS4 settings: MP4 container, 1080p@30/60fps at 8000/12000k bitrate.



Claudio