Ok so this week it’s a continuation of the dearth of information as a result of the Christmas – New Year shenanigans.
I did however manage to at least scrape up a few tidbits worth taking note of.
The 4k Resolution Wars Loom Large
The buzz regarding 4k video continues this week with YouTube about to showcase their new VP9 codec for 4k steaming next week.
VP9 is a development of the original VP8 codec created by Google as an alternative to the H.265 codec specifically designed for streaming video.
The H.265 code is the next generation of the H.264 codec… of course!
Confused yet?
OK. The deal is that 4k resolution video is here in both theory and practice but for the average consumer it is still down the road a piece.
The main things holding it back are the lack of recording devices that offer this ultra high definition video, the lack of devices in consumer hands that can actually display at that resolution and finally… an agreed upon codec that can encode at the device end of the stick and decode at the delivery end.
For YouTube the requirement is that the codec they use must be able to deliver 4k at a streaming bit-rate that will not result in the end user sitting blankly in front of a screen watching the little “loading” logo endlessly spinning.
For this reason they, and by “they” I mean their owners, Google have been working on their VP8 codec to come up with an advance which will allow that whilst maintaining the promise quality.
On the other hand the “video industry” cabal have been developing their new codec to do the same and although it is a bit more than a “rework” of the existing H.264 codec they have dubbed theirs H.265 for the sake of naming continuity.
So once gain we find ourselves in the position of being stuck between large forces all trying to have their codec adopted as the standard resulting in the usual confusion.
This happened with MPEG2, H.264, AVCHD and seems to be inevitable.
The good news is that the “industry” seems to be open to adopting compatibility for the new VP9 codec as well as their own so to some degree that should lessen the impact.
Why is this important to you?
Well to be honest at the moment it probably isn’t. The market penetration of 4k right now is negligible but in watching all of unfold I can;t help but notice the usual problem arising.
At no time have any of the players in this game even mentioned the word “editing.”
That’s where we come in!
Both of these supposedly awesome codecs are promising ultra high definition video at 4k resolution at half the bit-rate of current codecs with no loss of quality.
BUT!
None of them (as usual) seem to have taken into consideration just how the editing software manufacturers are going to add editing capability to the mix.
As I look into my crystal ball I foresee many sleepless night for many editing software programmers in the future.
Further reading here:
- YouTube Commits To VP9 Supported 4K And Asks LG & Sony Along For The Ride
- YouTube Prepares For 4K
- YouTube Showing Off 4K Streaming at CES
Green Screen Tips
The thing with using green screen or chroma-key is that all the software makers at the consumer level offer it and wildly extol the virtues of their product’s ability to deliver the effect.
The problem with that is that having green screen capable software is really only half (if that) the battle.
In this video Gripps covers some of the basic setup factors that you need to get right at the shooting stage in order to get decent results in the editing stage.
Green Screen Basic Set Up Tips & Tricks
More Tips For Using Still Images
In last week’s roundup I posted a link to a site giving a few great examples of how you can “save” a project from a lack of footage through the use of still images.
In fact the examples in that post weren’t just examples of saving a project but were in fact showing how still images can be used to enhance a project enormously.
NoFilmSchool also picked up on the post and added a few tips of their own so this one too is well worth taking a look at.
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