Tilt Media Blogspot

HD video is here to stay, but with it come plenty of issues. Like frame sizes. In the image below blue represents a full 1920 x 1080 HD frame. Yellow represents a 720p HD frame. White is a full NTSC DV standard def frame and orange is the area within a standard def frame when the image is letterboxed. It is no wonder why standard def material is a challenge to upconvert, and likewise it is no wonder why HD material takes up more space on our hard drives and requires more processing power.

To make matters worse, frame rates vary with HD codecs. In standard def NTSC we had 29.97. With HD we have 29.97, 59.94 and 23.98. And they don't always play together. For these reasons pre-planning before the shoot will insure that post production goes smoothly. Sometimes the client will need some coaching on the various formats and their strengths and applications. Getting brushed up on the various codecs, frame sizes and frame rates (not to mention progressive and interlaced) will help you make the right decision for the shoot.

More on frame rates later...

RJR