Formats and Resolutions
Definitions:
Bitrate
In telecommunications and computing, bitrate (sometimes written bit rate, data rate or as
a variable R or fb) is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time.
A camera will shoot at certain bit rates. Some codecs in post-production are bit-rate
specific. Audio has a different set of bitrate parameters.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitrate
Interlaced Scan
In an interlaced video system, only half of the lines making up the frame are shot at a
time. For example, the camera might capture only the odd frame lines first, then capture
the even lines second. If the frame rate of an interlaced video system is 25 fps, it has 50
fields per second. Since each field is shot separately, interlacing makes a 25 fps system
look like a smoother-running 50 fps system without actually having to use the doubled
bandwidth required by a true 50 fps sytem.
http://tangentsoft.net/video/glossary.html
Progressive Scan
Progressive or noninterlaced scanning is a way of displaying, storing or transmitting
moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_scan
Lossless
Lossless data compression is a class of data compression algorithms that allows the
exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossless
Lossy
A lossy compression method is one where compressing data and then decompressing it
retrieves data that is different from the original, but is close enough to be useful in some
way.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossy
Aspect Ratio
The ratio of the width to the height of a tv picture. Standard definition= 4:3, High
Definition native = 16:9
Codec
A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital
data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau (a blending of two or more
words) of 'compressor-decompressor' or, more commonly, 'coder-decoder'.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codec
Transcoding
Transcoding is the direct digital-to-digital conversion of one encoding to another. This is
usually done in cases where a target device does not support the format or has limited
storage capacity that mandates a reduced file size, or to convert incompatible or
obsolete data to a better-supported or modern format.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcoding
Offline Edit
The preliminary or rough-cut editing that produces an EDL (edit decision list).
Online Edit
The final edit using the master tapes and an edit decision list (EDL) to produce a finished
program ready for distribution; usually associated with high-quality computer editing and
digital effects.
Resolution
The amount and degree of detail in the video image, measured along both the horizontal
and vertical axes. Usually, the number of available dots or lines contained in the
horizontal and vertical dimensions of a video image.
Audio Sample Rate
The amount of audio samples every second in an audio stream measured in kilohertz.
CDs are sampled 44100 times a second, or at 44kHz. Our standard post production
audio sample rate is 48kHz.
Color Sampling
How devices (usually cameras) capture images while using less color/chroma
information than luma (brightness) information. This is written/referred to as a three-part
ratio to address how many samples are taken in a four-pixel reference. A prosumer
camcorder will usually shoot 4:1:1, a nicer camera will shoot 4:2:0, a 7D or 5D shoots
4:2:2, a RED or ARRI will shoot 4:4:4.
This is important to know when you are capturing/importing/converting to match the
codec of the image.
Pulldown
A process by which frames are repeated in order to convert the original 24 frames of film
to the 60 frames of video required to show the picture on a TV. THX An encode/decode
process for optimizing theater sound reproduction into 7.4 channels of information.
Formats and resolutions
Analog and early digital
o
o
o
o
o
o
350×240 : Video CD
300×480 : Umatic, Betamax, VHS, Video8
350×480 : Super Betamax, Betacam (pro)
420×480 : LaserDisc, Super VHS, Hi8
500×480 : Analog broadcast
670×480 : Enhanced Definition Betamax
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
720×480 : D-VHS, DVD, miniDV, Digital8, Digital Betacam (pro)
720×480 : Widescreen DVD (anamorphic)
1280×720 : D-VHS, HD DVD, Blu-ray, HDV (miniDV)
1440×1080 : HDV (miniDV)
1920×1080 : HDV (miniDV), AVCHD, HD DVD, Blu-ray, HDCAM SR (pro)
2048×1080 : 2K Digital Cinema
4096×2160 : 4K Digital Cinema
7680×4320 : UHDTV
Sequences from newer films are scanned at 2,000, 4,000, or even 8,000
columns, called 2K, 4K, and 8K, for quality visual-effects editing on
computers.
o
35 mm film is scanned for release on DVD at 1080 or 2000 lines as of
2005.
35 mm original camera negative motion picture film can resolve up to
6,000 lines.
35 mm projection positive motion picture film has about 2,000 lines, which
results from the analog printing from the camera negative of an
interpositive, and possibly an internegative, then a projection positive.
IMAX, including IMAX HD and OMNIMAX: approximately 10,000×7000
(7000 lines) resolution.
Digital
Film
o
o
o
Video Containers
A container can be considered the shell or ‘wrap’ around the file. A container provides
the file extension, though inside of the container the data can use various kinds of
codecs. For example, a .mov container can have data inside of it encoded using the
APPLE PRO RES codec or the H.264 codec. In either case, the file extension stays
.MOV.
MOV – QuickTime container for editing and delivery
AVI – Windows based container
MKV – Open source multimedia container
MP4 – Web delivery container
Video Codecs
When you “watch a video,” your video player is doing at least three things at once:
1. Interpreting the container format to find out which video and audio tracks are
available, and how they are stored within the file so that it can find the data it
needs to decode next
2. Decoding the video stream and displaying a series of images on the screen
3. Decoding the audio stream and sending the sound to your speakers
A video codec is an algorithm by which a video stream is encoded, i.e. it specifies how to
do #2 above. (The word “codec” is a portmanteau, a combination of the words “coder”
and “decoder.”)
Editing/Storage/Special-purpose Codecs
HD codecs:
Apple Pro Res 422
high definition lossy video compression format developed by Apple.
422 Proxy = lowest quality, intended for offline edits
422 LT = light, lower quality
422 HQ = high quality
444 = supports 444 color, alpha channel support, mastering storage codec, highest data
rate.




All work with Mac platforms.
Can be read but cannot be exported on a PC platform in most cases.
ALL PRO RES CODECS ARE 10 BIT.
4444 is a mastering codec (or online codec) for high-def cinema cameras like the
RED, Panavision, etc.) Before mastering to your online resolution, you need to
know the COLOR SAMPLING AT WHICH THE CAMERA SHOOTS (ex: C3004:2:2, RED = 4:4:4).
Avid DNxHD
High definition lossy video compression format developed by Avid. More confusing
because instead of dividing into proxy, lt, etc, Avid bases the codecs on bit rates and
each combination of frame size and frame rate have different bit rates.




The smaller the bit rate number, the lower quality the footage. The higher the bit
rate number, the higher the quality of footage.
Only bit rates followed by the letter X are 10 bit.
You still need to know the COLOR SAMPLING AT WHICH THE CAMERA
SHOOTS.
Each of the four options have an extremely similar size to codec ratio as the main
for options using PRO RES.
Two examples are as follows:
Footage shot at 1920x1080 with a 23:98 frame rate have the following options:


DNxHD 175X 10-bit
DNxHD 175 8-bit


DNxHD 115 8-bit
DNxHD 36 8-bit
Footage shot at 1920x1080 with a 29.97 frame rate have the following options:




DNxHD 220 10-bit
DNxHD 220 8-bit
DNxHD 145 8-bit
DNxHD 45 8-bit
Redcode
This is a codec developed to play back red files natively in Quicktime or other QTenabled applications. This codec is installed when RED CINE-X is installed on your
system to allow for native playback of the RED files. I don’t recommend editing with
them.
XDCAM EX, HD, AND HD 422
If shooting on an EX-3, you could choose a corresponding XDCAM codec, the codec
developed for these cameras. These codecs are also based on the frame size and
shooting bit rate of the camera. Because the EX-3’s are 10bit/4:2:2 and shoot at
50mbs/sec, you would choose the XDCAM 422 codec that corresponds to the frame rate
and frames per second of the footage you shot.
Older formats often used with SD:
NTSC DV/DVCPro
Compressed
Uncompressed 8-bit, Uncompressed 10-bit
Online editing codecs for native DV formats. Very large files.
Motion-JPEG [MJPEG]
General purpose video editing and storage. Designed to work with interlaced footage.
Apple None
lossless, but inefficient. Possibly good for storage.
Apple Animation
lossy at quality settings from 1%-99%, lossless at 100%. Animation at 100% is generally
used as a “storage” or intermediate work format. Not recommended for video playback.
Photo Jpeg
used at 100% as a storage/transfer format, it creates significantly smaller files than
animation. Often used in an offline edit. Designed to work with progressive images.
WEB DELIVERY CODECS
Most generally used:
H.264-high-quality WWW, Podcasting, Media player (REQUIRED FOR VIMEO)
MPEG-4 – high quality WWW video
Other web formats:
Ogg Video/Theora – open source streaming and encoding format
WebM = VP8/Vorbis – new codec designed to work with HTML5
H.265 is being developed for 4K streaming at smaller sizes than H.264
Older codecs:
H.261
VC H.263
H.263
Sorenson Video 3 – high quality WWW video
Real Video – becoming obsolete – main video codec for RealVideo/RealMedia
General Audio Containers
Same general info as in the Video Containers section. An audio container is the shell or
‘wrap’ around the file using though inside of the container the data can use various kinds
of codecs. It seems though, that the file extension also indicates whether or not the file
has some kind of data loss or compression. Example: AIFF is considered a noncompressed format, as is WAV. An MP3 or AAC infers that the data inside is
compressed.
AIFF – indicates general non-compression format.
WAV – indicates general non-compression format.
MP3 – indicates compressed format
AAC – indicates compressed format
MP4 – indicates compressed format
General Audio Codecs (much more extensive info and codecs list can be found)
Non-compression:
PCM – Good choice for sending to pro tools sessions. Usually stored in containers such
as WAV, AIFF
Lossless compression:
Apple Lossless – stored within an mp4 container with the file extension .m4a.
Lossy compression:
AAC – higher quality than mp3 at similar bitrates. Good for web delivery, and
compression for digital audio storage/playback (ITUNES and VIMEO use this codec)
GUIDES TO CHOOSING CODECS
The first, and best, rule to keep in mind when choosing a video codec is to select the
codec that matches the format of the video footage you are editing. Thus, if you are
shooting NTSC DV, the DV/DVCPRO - NTSC codec may be the best one to choose for
your offline edit, Uncompressed-8 bit or Uncompressed-10 bit may be your online
choice. THIS IS A DECISION YOU NEED TO MAKE BASED ON THE QUALITY OF
THE ORIGINAL FOOTAGE AND ORIGINAL CAMERA SPECS.
(Outside the US, use the DV - PAL codec with your PAL DV video.)
The second rule is if you are selecting a codec to integrate multiple video formats
choose the codec that provides the highest quality. What does this mean? If you are
editing a documentary with 1920x1080 HD interviews shot on an EX-3 but your archival
footage is partially in SD, you will want to use a high-res codec for the entire film, and
convert the standard def footage to the high-res codec.
The third rule is to select your codec based upon your final output format. Do you have
specific deliverables for a project or does it have to go to multiple delivery formats?
Would it make more sense to select your codec and project settings based on the
delivery? What is the highest quality deliverable you can create with the footage?
Assess this and work backwards.
CONTAINER/CODEC FORMAT TABLES (from Wikipedia)
Audio formats supported
No
Lossy compression
compressi
Lossless compression
on
MLP /
MP WM
RealAu
Vorbi Opu Musepa
AC-
DT
PC
LPC
3
S
M
M
AP FLA ALA WavPa Dolby DTS
AAC
3
A
dio
s
s
ck
E
C
C
ck
TrueH -HD
D
QuickTi
Ye
me
s
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes[39]
official
?
No
?
No
not
Ye
AVI
s
ly
Yes
Yes
Yes[4
0]
?
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
?
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
?
Ye
Yes
s
Matrosk
Ye
Yes
a
Yes
Yes
Yes
No[41]
Ye
Yes
Yes
s
Ye
Yes
Yes
s
not
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes[4 Ye
Ye
MP4
Yes
official
?
?
Yes
s
2]
Yes
s
Yes[4
No
?
No
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
s
3]
ly
Ye
MXF
Ye
No
No
?
?
?
Yes
Yes
s
s
Ye
Ogg
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
s
Video formats supported
MPEG- MPEG-
MPEG-4
H.264/MPEG-4
VC-
1
2
(A)SP
AVC
1/WMV
Microsoft
QuickTime
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
Yes
?
?
?
AVI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes[44]
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
Ogg
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
Yes
?
?
?
Matroska
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
MP4
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes[46]
No
No
?
?
Yes
MXF
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
?
?
?
?
RealVideo Theora
VP8 MVC
MPEG4 V2
Yes Yes[45]