On the file side:
I would reiterate what's been said - encode H.264 (most efficient Youtube supported format atm), VBR (variable bit rate - reduces size further by compressing more where there is little detail - eg in large areas of black in titles, and compressing less to retain quality where needed), 2 Pass if you have a powerful computer as that will allow compression algorithm to do a virtual encode first to work out most efficient compression (size-wise).
So: H.264, VBR, 2 Pass, bitrate average 16Mbps, max 24Mbps for 1080p (drop that to 8Mbps & 12Mbps to save even more space but really don't go below that - try varying a see effects on quality and be your own judge). Divide figures by 3-4 for 720p (720p = 1/4 1080p pixels, but with fewer pixels to compress algorithm is less efficient).
On the Internet side:
1. Go fibre - I know your parents choose internet provider, so not really an option at the moment but worth keeping in mind.
2. Upload at school/library - business and educational internet is most often symmetric, meaning the upload speed is the same as the download speed, and often they will also be fibre. This means you may well have a 100mbps upload speed (if so do over ethernet and not wifi, as that then becomes a problem). By comparison, your home internet is most certainly assymetric (download faster than upload) as most users download far more than they upload. For reference in the UK the download:upload ratio is typically 8:1 with the notable exception of Virgin Media's non-fibre services who implement a 20:1 ratio (pretty terrible imho).
3. Upload tethered to your phone's internet. ONLY do this if you have a TRULY UNLIMITED tariff. Mobile internet like business internet is symmetric in nature as people tend to upload quite a lot from phones (upload pictures/videos to social networks, phone auto backups to cloud servers, Siri/GNow/Cortana voice searches, video calls, phone calls...). The result is your phone internet is likely slower than your home internet for download but faster for uplaod than your home internet. 3G and HSPA+ will be faster than your 2Mpbs upload and 4G/LTE/LTEAdvancd will be significantly faster - 20Mbps+ upload.
Hope that is useful and vaguely clear![DOUBLEPOST=1434590888,1434590014][/DOUBLEPOST]Re your pixel issue, check:
1. Aspect ratio - should be 16:9 (widescreen) and not anamorphic or 2.35:1 or anything else
2. Pixel aspect ratio - should be set to square or 1:1 and nor 0.91:1 or anything else (Don't set to NTSC or PAL either if those options appear).
3. I wouldn't fret that much over 18 lines of pixels
