Why Samsung videos look worse on Instagram, and the settings that help

Instagram re-encodes all of your videos, so even if a clip looks good in the Samsung Gallery app, it could end up looking a little soft/blocky as a Reel, or lose the colour it had on your screen.

There are a few things you can do on your Samsung to make sure you’re starting with the best file possible and one setting in Instagram you can change to preserve as much quality as possible.

Why the same clip looks worse after posting

Meta/Instagram favours better video quality for content/accounts with more views. Videos that people stop watching get served with poorer video quality. Adam Mosseri (Head of Instagram) said so in October 2024 (via The Verge). Meta previously described how newly uploaded videos are processed with basic encoding and are given better encoding options the more they’re watched. Mosseri says the differences aren’t massive, but new accounts will start on the basic end when uploading Reels.

Everything else should be within your control, and here are the typical culprits and solutions:

There’s also a Video brightness option that can be found under Advanced features in your Samsung’s Settings that enhances the brightness and colour of videos as they’re being played (Samsung notes this option may not be available for use with all apps). So, for example, your video might receive a brightness boost when played through Gallery but not when played through Instagram.

Instagram's video specs for Reels

Instagram’s Help Center says that for Reels, aspect ratio should be between 1.91:1 and 9:16, fps should be 30 or more, and minimum video resolution should be 720 pixels. How each spec maps to a Galaxy camera is listed in the right column. Note that the most specific information about Reels specs that Meta provides is in their developer documentation for uploading Reels.

Samsung's user guide notes that HEVC-encoded video files may not be playable on all devices or shareable on some websites.

Although HEVC is listed as a supported video format in Meta’s specifications, if you experience problems uploading or playing your video, try changing the Video format to H.264 (most compatible), especially if you're planning on sharing your video on social media sites and apps.

Turn on Upload at highest quality

Instagram’s Help Center lists a Reels quality setting which ensures your videos upload in the highest quality possible (though it may take longer to upload). Instagram’s @creators account has also touted the setting as a tip on Threads.

1. 1

   Go to your profile

   Tap your profile picture or Profile in the bottom right corner of the Instagram app.

2. 2

   Open the menu

   Navigate to Instagram’s settings page by tapping the menu button in the top right corner.

3. 3

   Find Media quality

   Find and select Media quality under Your app and media.

4. 4

   Switch it on

   Turn on Upload at highest quality. Check again if you get a new phone. Use Wi-Fi to avoid using data on your phone plan.

HDR video and why it can look washed out

Galaxy flagships can shoot 10-bit HDR video. There’s an HDR button (which Video format adds to the preview), and Camera Assistant has its own HDR10+ toggle. Samsung’s own user guide advises that HDR video needs an HDR-capable device to play properly. That’s a problem, because if you’re posting to Instagram, you can’t be sure which of your audience will be able to see your Reels on an HDR-capable phone.

Meta’s engineering team explained in July 2023 that when you upload an HDR video to Instagram, Instagram’s servers will generate both an HDR and an SDR version, and that the SDR version will be played to viewers whose phones can’t play HDR video. Meta also noted that HDR videos posted to Instagram Reels from Android phones at the time played back with washed-out colours on newer Android phones, until Meta fixed its tone mapping implementation.

All of which means that if you want your Reels to look as intended on all phones, you should consider turning HDR off, or colour-grading Log video and exporting it as SDR. Our Samsung HDR guide explains each HDR setting, and the Log video guide covers grading for SDR.

Instagram's camera or the Samsung camera

As reported by The Verge back in January 2024, Instagram’s in-app camera on the Galaxy S24 can make use of some of the features from Samsung’s own camera app, including video stabilisation (so long as it’s enabled in Samsung’s app), Nightography and Super HDR. The Galaxy S24 was the first phone that let you share HDR photos to Instagram.

Android 17 takes things a step further with Instagram Ultra HDR support for shooting and viewing (announced by Google back in May 2026), after a collaboration between Google and Meta, for select ‘flagship’ Android devices. It also brings Night Sight integrations, native video stabilisation and an overall improved pipeline for shooting and uploading photos and videos. According to SamMobile, these changes come to Samsung Galaxy phones in One UI 9, which is based on Android 17.

That said, Samsung’s own camera app still supports more advanced video shooting options such as 4K recording, Pro video, Log and true slow motion, so it’s still the best option if you plan on colour grading your footage afterwards or using more advanced settings. Instagram’s camera is best reserved for impromptu content for Reels and Stories. Our slow motion guide covers exporting those clips.

Resolution, frame rate and bitrate by clip

Another advantage of recording in 4K is that cropping in post won’t result in a noticeable loss of image quality.

Instagram Reels should be at least 720 pixels wide. If you crop horizontal 1080p video for a vertical Reel you’ll end up with an image only 607 pixels wide, which is not good enough for Instagram.

If you crop a 4K image instead, the resulting vertical video will measure 1215 by 2160 pixels, which is well above Instagram’s requirements.

Do all editing in one app and avoid exporting/downloading/re-uploading as much as possible since every time you do that it's being compressed again. Same goes for screen recording your video. That's yet another time it's been compressed before Instagram even gets its hands on it. Our video settings guide lists each Galaxy’s frame rates, and the stabilisation guide covers walking and dancing shots. For photos and carousels, the Instagram photography guide covers sizes and export.

A quick check before you post

• Watch the clip once with Video brightness switched off, so you judge it the way most viewers will see it.
• When you’re ready to share your Reel, make sure you’re uploading the original file (or your single export from your video editing app), not a copy that has been through text or DM apps, since those apps apply their own video compression. To trim and add captions to your Reels first, see the best video editing apps for Android.
• Upload over Wi-Fi with Upload at highest quality enabled. This will take longer but will yield better results.
• Make sure faces are well lit and evenly lit to avoid graininess/noise. Noise/grain uses up valuable bandwidth/bitrate that Instagram allots for your video.
• If your new Reel looks lower-quality than expected, wait it out. According to Mosseri, Instagram will actually re-process videos at higher quality the more people watch them.

None of these settings turn a bad video into a good one. What they do is make sure that the video you’re happy with in Gallery is as close as possible to the one Instagram receives, and that Instagram’s compression has as little noise and earlier compression to work through as possible.