Why do videos have to be processed?

The video file you've uploaded may work on your device, but it may not be compatible with all devices. What we don't want is for only half your website visitors to be able to watch your videos. So videos need to be processed and converted so that they'll play on almost any type of device; whether that be an iPhone, iPad, Android, PC, Mac, etc. We may also compress the video so that it isn't too large and runs smoothly.

Videos can be saved in a huge amount of different formats, but the format you're uploading a video in will often not be compatible with different types of devices when played back.

eg, let's say you upload a video in a particular format, but that format isn't compatible with the Safari web browser, or Microsoft Edge for example. That would mean that people using those web browsers wouldn't be able to see your video.

To make sure your video can be seen by as many people as possible we "process" it. By this we mean that we:-

a) Convert it to a multiple widely compatible formats so that there should always (or in 99% of cases) be a format that the visitor's device / web browser / tablet / phone can view without any issues

b) Compress it (where applicable) so that it's not too huge and so that it plays back smoothly

Processing can take a while, but it is really necessary