- Location
- Chattanooga
I now have 48 posts in my YouTube channel tanglerwr - that's my dog's name, Tangle, and my initials. I recently realized how far I'd come from those first uploads with resolutions like 640x320 or so, to my last of 1440x1080. I’ve learned a lot about cameras, file formats, screen formats (16:9 vs 4:3), YouTube, and video editors. I thought some of the things I’ve learned might be of some use to others, so here’s some stuff and even a tip(s).
If you're just getting started with all this, there's probably a lot of questions, like what kind of camcorder, what camcorder definition (resolution), what definition can be uploaded to YouTube, how do you edit the videos, what's the problems with .mov files etc.? Where to start? Well, we need to start with what you’re going to do with the video once you’ve recorded something.
There are several things you can do with them: watch them on a TV, on a computer, or any number of personal electronic gadgets, and upload them to YouTube. I’m gonna cover TV, computers, and YouTube. The first thing I think is the resolution or definition issue. Definition refers to how many ‘dot’s of light make up each frame of a video. Essentially, the more dots, the sharper the images. E.g. a 640x320 clip will look coarse and blocky maybe kind of fuzzy and blurry. Here’s an example of a low resolution (definition) video. I don’t recall exactly what the definition is, but it’s something like 640x320, BTW, be sure to select the 360 setting on YouTube or the video will really be messed up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmnnvC_CeJM
Compare that to a recent video recorded and uploaded in HD (high definition, in this case 1280x720)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wBOhgwpJRU
Quite a difference! But what resolution do you really need for good video on YouTube?
Well, here are three examples, recorded simultaneously on three cameras (two different types of cameras), located at exactly the same distance from the subject, in three different definitions. The first Aiptek HD 1080P camera was set to 1440x1080x30. That’s the 1080P definition and it means there are 1440x1080 dots per frame and there are 30 frames per second; it’s high definition. The second Aiptek HD 1080 was set for 1280x720x30 (720P); it also is high definition. The third camera is a Sony HandyCam with a fixed definition of 720x480 which is SD or standard definition.
Here’s the first example - set the definition in YouTube to 1080p, then try the other settings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sdgXDb6nUE
What you should see is that there is no perceivable difference in sharpness in the 1440x1080 and the 1280x720. Plus, on a high speed link, the lower def plays smoothly. On slower links, the higher defs play in segments, i.e. you’ll see a short segment, then it freezes while the video ‘catches up’. What causes this is the amount of data that must be transmitted. Much more data has to be transferred from YouTube to your computer for HD videos and it can only transfer so fast.
Here’s something else to consider. What’s the definition of your computer monitor and what is it set to? My computer/monitor only goes to 1280x1024. So should we expect my computer/monitor to display a 1440x1080 video at it’s best? No, the defs don’t match.
Another thing is the computing ‘power’ of your computer. Higher def videos require more computing power. E.g. my Aiptek HD 1080p manual says that if you want to view 1440x1080 videos, the minimum system requirements are a Pentium 4, 3.2GHz Core 2 Dual or above, with 1GB (2GB recommended) RAM, and a display card with 256MB of RAM.
Here’s the second video – same event, but lower def. i.e. 720p. Set the definition in YouTube to 720p, then try the other settings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wBOhgwpJRU
Here’s the last of the set, SD (720x480)
Set the definition in YouTube to 480p.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdVoLrn9pY
Unfortunately for the comparison, the Sony has a considerable wider angle lens, so you see more in the pic, so that may affect how you ‘see’ the video.
So what have we learned from this? To start with, there is a significant, observable difference between 720x480 SD and 1280x720 HD, and there’s little difference, if any, between 1440x1080 and 1280x720. Also, be aware that the higher the definition, the less record time you get and the longer it takes to upload to YouTube. Further, the benefits of HD may not be realized unless you computer and computer monitor has the display resolution and computing power to utilize the HD.
There’s a lot more to it than this, such as which cameras, the effect of panning, low light level performance, zoom capabilities, shake compensation, and even more. But maybe this gives you a better idea of the ‘definition’ and YouTube viewing and uploading.
If you're just getting started with all this, there's probably a lot of questions, like what kind of camcorder, what camcorder definition (resolution), what definition can be uploaded to YouTube, how do you edit the videos, what's the problems with .mov files etc.? Where to start? Well, we need to start with what you’re going to do with the video once you’ve recorded something.
There are several things you can do with them: watch them on a TV, on a computer, or any number of personal electronic gadgets, and upload them to YouTube. I’m gonna cover TV, computers, and YouTube. The first thing I think is the resolution or definition issue. Definition refers to how many ‘dot’s of light make up each frame of a video. Essentially, the more dots, the sharper the images. E.g. a 640x320 clip will look coarse and blocky maybe kind of fuzzy and blurry. Here’s an example of a low resolution (definition) video. I don’t recall exactly what the definition is, but it’s something like 640x320, BTW, be sure to select the 360 setting on YouTube or the video will really be messed up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmnnvC_CeJM
Compare that to a recent video recorded and uploaded in HD (high definition, in this case 1280x720)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wBOhgwpJRU
Quite a difference! But what resolution do you really need for good video on YouTube?
Well, here are three examples, recorded simultaneously on three cameras (two different types of cameras), located at exactly the same distance from the subject, in three different definitions. The first Aiptek HD 1080P camera was set to 1440x1080x30. That’s the 1080P definition and it means there are 1440x1080 dots per frame and there are 30 frames per second; it’s high definition. The second Aiptek HD 1080 was set for 1280x720x30 (720P); it also is high definition. The third camera is a Sony HandyCam with a fixed definition of 720x480 which is SD or standard definition.
Here’s the first example - set the definition in YouTube to 1080p, then try the other settings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sdgXDb6nUE
What you should see is that there is no perceivable difference in sharpness in the 1440x1080 and the 1280x720. Plus, on a high speed link, the lower def plays smoothly. On slower links, the higher defs play in segments, i.e. you’ll see a short segment, then it freezes while the video ‘catches up’. What causes this is the amount of data that must be transmitted. Much more data has to be transferred from YouTube to your computer for HD videos and it can only transfer so fast.
Here’s something else to consider. What’s the definition of your computer monitor and what is it set to? My computer/monitor only goes to 1280x1024. So should we expect my computer/monitor to display a 1440x1080 video at it’s best? No, the defs don’t match.
Another thing is the computing ‘power’ of your computer. Higher def videos require more computing power. E.g. my Aiptek HD 1080p manual says that if you want to view 1440x1080 videos, the minimum system requirements are a Pentium 4, 3.2GHz Core 2 Dual or above, with 1GB (2GB recommended) RAM, and a display card with 256MB of RAM.
Here’s the second video – same event, but lower def. i.e. 720p. Set the definition in YouTube to 720p, then try the other settings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wBOhgwpJRU
Here’s the last of the set, SD (720x480)
Set the definition in YouTube to 480p.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdVoLrn9pY
Unfortunately for the comparison, the Sony has a considerable wider angle lens, so you see more in the pic, so that may affect how you ‘see’ the video.
So what have we learned from this? To start with, there is a significant, observable difference between 720x480 SD and 1280x720 HD, and there’s little difference, if any, between 1440x1080 and 1280x720. Also, be aware that the higher the definition, the less record time you get and the longer it takes to upload to YouTube. Further, the benefits of HD may not be realized unless you computer and computer monitor has the display resolution and computing power to utilize the HD.
There’s a lot more to it than this, such as which cameras, the effect of panning, low light level performance, zoom capabilities, shake compensation, and even more. But maybe this gives you a better idea of the ‘definition’ and YouTube viewing and uploading.
