In case you haven’t heard the News: The word pixel is a short hand term for “picture element” and pixels of various shapes create a video display. Picture display settings must match image source configurations to avoid image distortion.
Finally Found a Home
So what does it all mean? Well we have finally found a home in the ATSC (Advanced Television Standards Committee), the industry group that defined the high definition (HD) video specification and the sooner everyone is switched over to HD video the better (which by the time I get this finished will have already officially happened). Because HD always uses square pixels in the final display format (not always true in the various acquisition formats), most of these issues (image distortion due to inconsistency between source and display pixel aspect rations) will go away. There are basically only two consumer frame sizes (1920x1080 and 1280x720), and both are widescreen aspect ratio, so creating and displaying video in these formats will be easy once standard definition analog video has gone the way of the woolly mammoth.
Of course, technology marches on and the next big buzz, buzz, buzz is always around the corner. In fact there is already trouble in paradise, as it is rumored there are experimental displays capable of wider widescreen aspect ratios, and higher screen resolutions (2K and 4K images, in the vernacular); I also mention this because a discussion about rumors of things big and wide seems strangely appropriate for a blog underscored by references to a certain pop icon. Anyway, we still have quite a way to go, but for the time being, HD is our baby, and we can do it all for our baby, to coin a phrase. Okay I’m reaching pretty far now…go to Plan B - here’s another chart!
How to Keep it Beatin’
Armed with this knowledge, you can keep the heart of rock and roll beating. The trick is to make your display match your source material. Although some people may prefer to watch video stretched or squished, keeping the letterbox or pillarbox off the screen, I prefer to see the video perfectly matched to a display device in the proper ratio. The problem is that today’s content is all over the place. Even though most currently available TVs are 16:9, there is a plethora of legacy 4:3 content on TV, and on stored media like DVD or VHS tapes. Most importantly, if you are creating video for business like I do here at Quicksilver (marketing, training, etc.), you want to be extra sure that the video looks right. I recommend thinking about aspect ratio from the earliest stages in the production process. Nowadays, whether shooting/posting in standard or high def, I would produce everything in the 16:9 aspect ratio unless there is a really good reason not to. Also make sure your aspect ratio is correct over all the deliverable formats. If the video will playback from DVD and a computer file (like WMV or Quicktime), two different videos must be created for each format.
Naturally, setting your AV gear up to display properly is also imperative to how it looks. And there are many places where a setting can screw up the ratio (and other parts of the picture as well), for instance, your DVD player, TV, computer, and cable box all potentially have settings that can affect the picture. As far as my preferred settings - for regular old television, if you subscribe to HD channels, I suggest you leave your TV in widescreen mode and have it throw up pillarboxes on 4:3 material where necessary. Some TVs and cable or satellite tuners have modes that dynamically change the ratio depending on the source material. I personally find this annoying because it switches continuously during commercials, and it sometimes interprets wrong. If you are not sure if your setting is correct (it can be difficult to tell with certain kinds of content), look for a program that contains a perfect circle. If the circle is an oval, then your settings are wrong, simple as that.
So in this not-so-perfect world, I say good luck and feel free to be square – it’s hip you know! Here is one last chart for the square…
Don’t Make Me Do It!
If you have stuck with me for all three parts, I’m happy to be stuck with you; therefore I have a $20 gift card waiting for the first person who correctly identifies all of the Huey Lewis references contained in the three parts of this blog. Enter your response as a blog comment and feel free to ask questions if you need clarification. Good luck!
Jeff Maslouski is manager of post production and is truly capable of putting a room into a hypnotic trance with his excruciatingly precise explanations of all things technical.
