What's the Deal with Video Quality Anyway? Understanding 4K, HD & 1080p Resolutions

What is High Definition or HD?

To briefly make things more confusing, there is no standardized definition for HD. However, the simplest answer is that it is a video with a resolution higher than standard definition. Additionally, it is generally accepted that any resolution with more than 480 vertical scan lines will be considered HD.

What is a scan line?

A scan line is a single horizontal row of pixels. This term goes back to the days of cathode ray tube displays. While that technology is no longer used, the term has stuck.

So, what do different resolution types, like 720p, 1080p, and 4k mean?

With a little of the history out of the way, how does this apply to OpenReel? In Capture, you can choose 720p, 1080p, or 4k as your resolution (device dependent). All of these resolutions are considered HD, but that doesn’t make them the same.

Adding just a few lines vertically and horizontally causes the pixel count to go up exponentially. The more pixels you capture, the higher quality your image is going to be. But there is a tradeoff: as that pixel count goes up, so will the file size. 

At what resolution should you film?

Choosing which resolution to use can be a tough question to answer, but should be determined before starting a project. A few things to consider when making this choice will include how much post-production editing will you be conducting, how are you distributing the final product, and what are your filming situations going to be like?