Video resolutions

[Jase]

Just working through my first proper real review and have realised a flaw in my scoring methodology - I actually have no idea about video resolutions for use on the web. Does anyone have a list of common ones used online? I went a bit mad originally and had included 800x600 for example which I now know is fucked up and dont wanna screw anyone with a review and then change it all later :eyebrows:

[Rosie]

They vary a lot - especially since the Yanks use NTSC and we use PAL which are different ratios. Personally I use two resolutions, 640x480 and 320x240

[-HF]

i'd go for VGA sizes (640x480 and 320x200), that'll cover most bases. 800x600 is for those with mighty connections and the will to use 'em. the quality jump from 640 to 800 isn't THAT big IMO but my add a load of traffic.

[Jase]

They vary a lot - especially since the Yanks use NTSC and we use PAL which are different ratios. Personally I use two resolutions, 640x480 and 320x240

Not so worried about the variations between NTSC and PAL but am more looking for "ranges" - does anyone use higher than 640x480 or does it just make file sizes too big? What about lower than 320 and mid way between that and 640?

[SGS]

Not so worried about the variations between NTSC and PAL but am more looking for "ranges" - does anyone use higher than 640x480 or does it just make file sizes too big? What about lower than 320 and mid way between that and 640?

Anything over 640x480 is an extravigance and stacked with problems for end users.

[Jase]

After some research and the comments here I have settled on:

Under 320 x 240
320 x 240
512 x 384
640 x 480
Over 640 x 480

Thanks guys

Jase

[dvtimes]

What format are you using, ie wmv?

I think 320x240 is a good size but set to high reulution, thus you can view at 200% and it still looks good.

[SGS]

What format are you using, ie wmv?

I think 320x240 is a good size but set to high reulution, thus you can view at 200% and it still looks good.

What are you using to encode WMV with?

[dvtimes]

What are you using to encode WMV with?

I use studio version 9.

But I think pro softwear will do a much better job.

But its a good bit of softwear to teach yourself vid editing before you go pro softwear.

[Mattyboy]

The bitrate is important as a smaller resoultion but higher bitrate means you can watch the movie in full screen (if bitrate is high enough). Don't assume higher resolution is better.

DVT is right about this :)

[dvtimes]

The bitrate is important as a smaller resoultion but higher bitrate means you can watch the movie in full screen (if bitrate is high enough). Don't assume higher resolution is better.

DVT is right about this :)

Am I ever wrong!!!!!!

[Mattyboy]

Am I ever wrong!!!!!!

LOL

[SGS]

I use studio version 9.

But I think pro softwear will do a much better job.

But its a good bit of softwear to teach yourself vid editing before you go pro softwear.

I have Studio 9. We are experimenting with a few things at the moment and pulling our hair out.

[Mattyboy]

I have Studio 9. We are experimenting with a few things at the moment and pulling our hair out.

Premiere is king when used with a decent card. I use Matrox RTX100 suite on a machine built soley for editing.

I started off with Pinnacle 7 and while good, it doesn't come close to Premiere.

[dvtimes]

At the moment studio 9 is fine.

But I have seen some really great editing done on better software such as impressive titles.

If I was getting pro software it would be the stuff that you can actually paint on each frame, so you can add fun stuff such as star wars light saber effects and other cool stuff.

[SGS]

The bitrate is important as a smaller resoultion but higher bitrate means you can watch the movie in full screen (if bitrate is high enough). Don't assume higher resolution is better.

DVT is right about this :)

What max bitrate to you encode at?

[-HF]

oy, i am about to learn something here, the GFX card has a massive influence on the functions of video editting? i always assumed it was mostly done in the CPU? did i assume wrong there?

i only upgraded to the Athlon 3k cos the 900 had had issues when transferring my videos from my digital mini DV camcorder (private stuff only, no content) onto HDD. the 3k worked better but still fucked up when the videos were slightly too long. can the GFX card really be the actual problem there?

edited to add on: i'm still running a trusty GF2 MX400 with 64 MB. i'm stingy when it comes to hardware, as long as everything i wanna do is done with the present stuff. i'd still run the A900 if i hadn't hoped the 3k would help solve the video editting issues. :D

[Mattyboy]

What max bitrate to you encode at?

On one site, 1000k/bs.

[dvtimes]

oy, i am about to learn something here, the GFX card has a massive influence on the functions of video editting? i always assumed it was mostly done in the CPU? did i assume wrong there?

i only upgraded to the Athlon 3k cos the 900 had had issues when transferring my videos from my digital mini DV camcorder (private stuff only, no content) onto HDD. the 3k worked better but still fucked up when the videos were slightly too long. can the GFX card really be the actual problem there?

edited to add on: i'm still running a trusty GF2 MX400 with 64 MB. i'm stingy when it comes to hardware, as long as everything i wanna do is done with the present stuff. i'd still run the A900 if i hadn't hoped the 3k would help solve the video editting issues. :D
From what I believe, a decent card will simply process the film faster (in real time). Your looking at a card of around £400 or more.

To be honest, my gear is just a basic pc, no fancy stuff.

But you do need a decent amount of normal memory.

More memory the better.

[dvtimes]

If I had the cash, I think I would get an apple with pro software for vid only.

[-HF]

From what I believe, a decent card will simply process the film faster (in real time).

define decent. decent for me is anything that will do what i have to do. apart from the video issues, the 64MB card is just fine, so it is decent in all other fields.

[Mattyboy]

oy, i am about to learn something here, the GFX card has a massive influence on the functions of video editting? i always assumed it was mostly done in the CPU? did i assume wrong there?

i only upgraded to the Athlon 3k cos the 900 had had issues when transferring my videos from my digital mini DV camcorder (private stuff only, no content) onto HDD. the 3k worked better but still fucked up when the videos were slightly too long. can the GFX card really be the actual problem there?

edited to add on: i'm still running a trusty GF2 MX400 with 64 MB. i'm stingy when it comes to hardware, as long as everything i wanna do is done with the present stuff. i'd still run the A900 if i hadn't hoped the 3k would help solve the video editting issues. :D

For editing you really need a master hard disk (SATA drives) which has the progs installed and a big slave disk just for the video footage. A specialist graphics card can do a lot of rendering in realtime for you and a good standard graphics card assists everything.

Had our machine built by Siren Technology (http://www.sirentechnology.co.uk/pages/products/categories/systems/main.htm#edit)

[dvtimes]

For editing you really need a master hard disk (SATA drives) which has the progs installed and a big slave disk just for the video footage. A specialist graphics card can do a lot of rendering in realtime for you and a good standard graphics card assists everything.

Had our machine built by Siren Technology (http://www.sirentechnology.co.uk/pages/products/categories/systems/main.htm#edit)

true

i buy 40 gb drives every few months, and store films on them. go for at least 8mb buffer.

a tip i read was to defrag the slave drive after each film if you use princal studio 9. i do this and find less problems doing this.

but do not fill the drive, leave at least 1 gb of space.

for ease i use a pull out caddy (only £5). so its easy to change the harddrive.

[Mattyboy]

true

i buy 40 gb drives every few months, and store films on them. go for at least 8mb buffer.

a tip i read was to defrag the slave drive after each film if you use princal studio 9. i do this and find less problems doing this.

but do not fill the drive, leave at least 1 gb of space.

for ease i use a pull out caddy (only £5). so its easy to change the harddrive.

Aahh, how i love defragging :noway:

[-HF]

For editing you really need a master hard disk (SATA drives) which has the progs installed and a big slave disk just for the video footage. A specialist graphics card can do a lot of rendering in realtime for you and a good standard graphics card assists everything.

that explains a few things. not much point in going overkill for family vids though, i'll keep abusing those with the gear for that. :D

[SGS]

Had our machine built by Siren Technology (http://www.sirentechnology.co.uk/pages/products/categories/systems/main.htm#edit)

I have been looking at these guys to build our new video machine. Were they good to deal with?

Also looking at the *possibility* of moving away from Premier and Distreet XL to go with Vegas as we use HDV and are looking at more up to date programs for our requirements.

[Mattyboy]

that explains a few things. not much point in going overkill for family vids though, i'll keep abusing those with the gear for that. :D

Very true. If your not doing it pretty much full time then yes, its overkill.
I installed Premiere on an "off the shelf" PC with same proccessor speed/memory as custom build and the difference was unreal. Way slower and it struggled and slowly crawled to a halt after a few hours of work.

[-HF]

yep, that's what i experience when i try to do vids over a certain length. there is one person close to us who has a system that handles things well.
and for content stuff there are pro people in that field who want to make money and save me from the worries. :D

[Mattyboy]

I have been looking at these guys to build our new video machine. Were they good to deal with?

Also looking at the *possibility* of moving away from Premier and Distreet XL to go with Vegas as we use HDV and are looking at more up to date programs for our requirements.

There a helpfull bunch there. I had a faulty drive and they travelled to me and replaced/fitted the hard disk at no cost next day. Phone support is good and if you tell them what you need to do, they'll make you a good system for what YOU need.
The machines/cards are a big step up but they supplied some great *easy to understand* manuals which they produced themselves.

I even got the empty boxes for motherboard/card etc which is rare these days.

[SGS]

There a helpfull bunch there. I had a faulty drive and they travelled to me and replaced/fitted the hard disk at no cost next day. Phone support is good and if you tell them what you need to do, they'll make you a good system for what YOU need.
The machines/cards are a big step up but they supplied some great *easy to understand* manuals which they produced themselves.

I even got the empty boxes for motherboard/card etc which is rare these days.

Ok, we will give them a go and get them to build a machine for us. We are lucky enough to have a superb video editor that works with us as part of our production team (they post on this board here :) ) but we still need a machine here for last minute promo clips, trailers and the usual last minute problems that need to be sorted at a moments notice.

I will tell them that you recommended them to us. :)

[Mattyboy]

Ok, we will give them a go and get them to build a machine for us. We are lucky enough to have a superb video editor that works with us as part of our production team (they post on this board here :) ) but we still need a machine here for last minute promo clips, trailers and the usual last minute problems that need to be sorted at a moments notice.

I will tell them that you recommended them to us. :)

Cool. Andy was the guy i spoke to. He knows his stuff inside out :)

[SGS]

Cool. Andy was the guy i spoke to. He knows his stuff inside out :)

Great and thanks for the help :)