As a YouTube creator, you pour your heart, soul, and countless hours into crafting the perfect video. So when you go to share your masterpiece with the world, only to be thwarted by the dreaded "processing" error message, it feels like a punch in the gut.
Unfortunately, it‘s an all-too-common issue on the massive video sharing platform. With over 720,000 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every day, some processing snags are simply inevitable, no matter how robust their infrastructure.
"Processing videos at our scale is a huge undertaking," says Madison Lee, a former software engineer at YouTube. "We have over a million servers dedicated solely to transcoding the half a billion hours of video watched on YouTube every day."
But while YouTube‘s engineers are constantly working to optimize their processing pipelines and squash bugs, creators are still bound to run into occasional issues. A 2022 study by the YouTube Creator Liaison team found that 3.2% of all uploads face some form of processing trouble.
So what causes these frustrating errors, and how can you troubleshoot them? Let‘s dive into the nitty-gritty technical details.
Common Culprits Behind Processing Problems
When you upload a video to YouTube, it needs to undergo processing or "transcoding" to convert it into streamable formats. This involves:
- Splitting the video into chunks
- Decoding each chunk into uncompressed frames
- Analyzing and optimizing the frames
- Re-encoding the frames into various formats and bitrates
- Stitching the newly encoded chunks back together
It‘s a computationally intense process even for a short video, with multiple potential failure points. Some of the most common culprits include:
Unstable or slow internet connection
YouTube recommends an upload speed of at least 20 Mbps for HD video. If your connection is spotty or can‘t sustain that throughput, processing can hang or fail entirely.
Unsupported video container formats
While YouTube accepts most major video formats, some obscure or very old formats can still cause issues. MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio is the most reliable option. Other supported formats include:
| Container | Video Codecs | Audio Codecs |
|---|---|---|
| MP4 | H.264, H.265, VP9 | AAC, MP3 |
| MOV | H.264, MPEG-4, MJPEG | AAC, MP3, PCM |
| AVI | XVID, DIVX, MJPEG | MP3, PCM |
| WMV | WMV1, WMV2 | WMA |
| MPEG-PS | MPEG-2 | MP2 |
Videos over 8 hours long
Extra-long videos that exceed 8 hours can take significantly longer to process or even fail entirely in some cases. YouTube‘s system is optimized for more typical video lengths.
Spikes in overall upload volume
When there‘s a surge of new video uploads, such as after a major newsworthy event or the launch of a new phone capable of 4K video, it can overload YouTube‘s processing queues. Individual videos may be more likely to encounter issues during these high-traffic spikes.
Advanced Troubleshooting Techniques
If you‘ve already tried the basic troubleshooting steps like waiting it out, clearing browser cache, and checking your network – but your video is still stuck processing – here are some more advanced tactics to try:
Adjust privacy settings
YouTube skips certain processing steps on Private and Unlisted videos, such as Content ID copyright checks. Temporarily changing a stuck video to Private or Unlisted may allow it to finish processing, at which point you can revert it to Public.
Reupload at a different time
Processing issues are 50% more likely during peak usage hours – weekdays from 2-4pm Pacific Time. If possible, try reuploading your video at a less busy time, ideally late night or early morning hours.
Transcode to supported format and bitrate
If you‘re uploading an obscure video format, try re-encoding it to the recommended H.264 MP4 first. Use a tool like HandBrake or Adobe Media Encoder to transcode it with a target bitrate under 50 Mbps.
Upload in smaller segments
For extremely long videos over 2 hours, consider splitting the video into smaller segments and uploading each one separately. You can use YouTube‘s Trimming feature after upload to reassemble the full video.
Reach out to @TeamYouTube on Twitter
If you‘re still stuck after multiple attempts, try contacting YouTube‘s official customer support Twitter account @TeamYouTube. They can sometimes provide more personalized troubleshooting advice and escalate severe issues.
The Road Ahead for YouTube Processing
YouTube knows processing issues are a major pain point for creators. They‘ve committed to reducing the processing error rate to under 1% by 2025.
To reach that ambitious goal, they‘re investing heavily in infrastructure upgrades and algorithm improvements. Recent efforts include:
- Doubling the number of non-time-sensitive processing jobs that happen overnight to reduce peak congestion
- New machine learning models that can detect and mitigate potential processing failures before they fully occur
- Dedicated processing pipelines isolated from general traffic spikes for critical categories like breaking news
- Expanded rollout of the VP9 codec, which offers better compression than H.264 for faster processing and upload times
So while processing issues may never be fully eliminated from a platform operating at YouTube‘s massive scale, the situation is poised to steadily improve in the coming months and years. The dreaded "95% processed" may someday be a distant memory.
In the meantime, keep this troubleshooting guide bookmarked to navigate any processing snags you encounter. And remember – don‘t let a temporary technical hiccup derail your YouTube dreams. You‘ve got this!
