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Broadcast package presentation:4:3 or 16:9 and what display LCD, Plasma ?
Hi guys,
I have very important decision to make with which I
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7 Replies
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Jennifer-
I am just completing a project for a large museum exhibit that is going to be playing back from many MAC minis to many LCD screens, and a couple of plasma screens. I have done a lot of experimentation with connections, compression, you name it.
My advice is- absolutely go for plasma. The more LCD full screen playback I see, the less I like it. And render progressive frame, no fields. And the connection you want is DVI to DVI or HDMI, not VGA. It is digital, and cleaner, less blurry looking than VGA.
As for 16X9 or 4X3- that is both a matter of taste and a matter of what the TV station wants from you in the end. They didn’t specify? -
Thanks Charlie,
Great info, good to about your Plasma findings ! So I guess in your case you
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Oh wow, thanks Dave,
I really like the part of you say about broadcasters wanting to see the ability to design the same work in both 4:3 and 16×9. Thanks something I was really hoping to hear !
Working in either 1280×720 or 1920×1080 would be definitely ideal, but would require much more resources and computer power, which I don
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This decision should be really easy for you, because you already know the format your client works in! Find out the broadcast specifications the client will require for the final product, and stick to that. Any editor or facilities person at the Station should be able to tell you – they probably have printed or web-based guidelines available for advertisers.
Already covered above a bit, but here’s a checklist:
Resolution, frame rate, interlaced/progressive, aspect ratio, 4:3 safe required? , tape delivery format.
Personally, I would do my presentation using the tape format you will ultimately be supplying them with. For example, if the client ultimately requires widescreen standard def NTSC pictures, with text 4:3 safe, supplied on Digi Beta, then THAT’S how I’d make my presentation. If they can’t provide you with a Digi Beta deck and a good widescreen monitor to present it, a half-day hire will cost you a few hundred bucks. You may have to take your uncompressed output files to a facility who can transfer them to tape if you don’t have the hardware yourself.
But in the end, you’ll be showing them EXACTLY what you can supply, and they’ll be impressed that you already know all their requirements. Plus, digi beta decks don’t drop frames, choke and die NEARLY as much as computers do.
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Thanks very much Andrew and Dave,
Just because it
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Hmm … here are a few tidbits for you to chew on:
1. Screen resolution is only relevant when you consider the size of the screen and the viewer’s distance from the screen. You can get away with lower res when the viewer is farther away from the screen. How big is the screen in their field of view? That is relevant. In other words, DVD res or similar should be fine if it’s a screen in a boardroom and people are not leaning closely into it.
2. Yes, quicktime full screen does get resized, so 640×480 (for example) gets blown up to 1024×768 (for example). The only way to avoid it would be to make a 1024×768 Quicktime movie, which would have to be compressed for playback, of course. Haven’t tried it.
The resizing also happens with DVD, since DVD is currently locked at 720×480.
3. You can get nice MPEG-2 compression with off-the shelf software, but you should post at the DVD or compression forum to find out which will do it for you. If you outsource, you’ll save time (by not experimenting), but it’s not the only way to get nice compression. Look for the keywords “two-pass” and “VBR”, or “variable-bitrate” encoding.
4. I’d design at 720×540, then render at that size to the Photo-JPEG codec, and see how it plays back full screen. If that’s too much, you can try 640×480 in the same codec, or drag it into a 720×480 DV comp for DVD.
5. If you go for hard drive playback (not DVD), you should render in a square-pixel format with an image size that is a multiple of 4:3 or 16:9. Non-square pixel formats such as 720×480 will look stretched on a computer … unless it’s being played through the DVD Player.
6. Windows Media (WMV) files have surprising quality for the file size, which means it’s a format to consider. I believe you do need a Windows version of AE to render WMV files.
7. Consider a backup laptop with the piece loaded on the day.
8. If you can, test your complete setup (computer, movie, audio and screen) in the presentation room in advance. Consider light levels, volume levels, chat levels, getting people’s attention at the start. And when you finally show it, don’t keep your eyes glued to the video: check out the audience’s reactions, for what they’re worth.
my 2 cents,
Steve -
Hi Steve,
Thanks a lot, these are all great pointers ! I hear a lot good stuff about .wmv recently, so I definitely give it a try. I also like your last point about the presentation itself, these are small things many of us know, but when it comes to do the presentation we often forget due to stress and last minute rush.
I really like the way this thread turned to all these valuable tips on presenting stuff and more, as there are quite many different approaches of doing it.
Cheers,
Jen
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