1.4: Video Formats
- Page ID
- 116738
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Video Formats
Another decision to consider in the development process is what format you are shooting your video in. Format refers to the resolution and frame rate of your video. Full High Definition (FHD) has been the standard for many years. Technology has advanced so much over the past decade, now content creators have the ability to shoot Ultra High Definition (UHD) video with a resolution of 4K or above on their mobile phones. There may be times when you need to convert your video to a lower resolution, perhaps even Standard Definition (SD). You can always convert your video to a lower resolution without concern for loss of video quality. Converting your video to higher resolution is a different story. You can transcode media to a higher resolution, but you run the risk of your video quality looking pixelated, grainy and low resolution.
Audiences are used to watching media displayed on their televisions, computers, and mobile devices in a landscape aspect ratio for High Definition Video (16X9). Theaters often project movies with wider aspect ratios, such as Cinemascope (1:235), Widescreen (1:185). Audiences that watch content on mobile devices are used to watching vertical videos and a variety of other formats, such as square (2:2).
The image below shows a chart of resolutions displaying the aspect ratios and pixels in a variety of formats. 8K UHD video requires at least 4320 pixels in height; 5K UHD video requires at least 2880 pixels in height, 4K UHD video requires at least 2160 pixels in height; Full HD video requires at least 1080 pixels in height; Standard Definition video requires at least 480 pixels in height.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): UHD, FHD and Standard Definition Resolution Comparison Chart (Creative Commons License; Wikimedia Commons)
High-resolution video files can be very large, take up a lot of storage and can be difficult to share remotely. Video codecs were developed to make them easier to store and share. You can learn more about video codecs in Chapter 13 Formats & Compression.
Do your research and find out what the current delivery requirements are for the platform you want to distribute your content. The requirements are constantly changing and may differ depending of the delivery. According to the requirements listed on DPP Film Tech, there are a range of formats that Netflix supports:
- SD / HD sources: Netflix accepts MPEG-2 transport stream or iTunes® package Apple ProRes files.
- HD and 2K sources can also be supplied as IMF Application 2 Extended files.
- 4K / UHD sources: Netflix accepted IMF Application 2 Extended files.