I get asked a lot of technical questions re: output by machinimists who are making the transition from hobby to paid work. One of the main questions asked are about screen resolutions: what to shoot at, what to edit in. Here's my angle on it; give us your thoughts in the comments.

Regardless of the final output of the video – such as 320x240 viral web video – if it's a 4:3 ratio (most TV & web) I always plan on it eventually being burned to a playable DVD, either for our reel or for the client. 4:3 DVD's currently incorporate the NTSC format - 720x480. That's using rectangular sized pixels, 0.9, vs. a computer's square pixels, 1.0, who's resolution equivalent is 640x480 (If you're unfamiliar with square vs. rectangular pixels, check the read more link). 16:9 DVD’s and TV/web content are becoming increasingly popular, but we will save that for another discussion.  

So bottom line is, we shoot at as high a res as we can that generates a decent frame rate (this gives us the sharpest image) but we always edit in NTSC (720x480 0.9 pixel size). We never edit at a lower resolution than that, even if the client is very clear they only want say a 320x240 output. Why?

- It's very easy to output any lower 4:3 resolution from a higher master
- The client may change their mind and ask for a DVD (they almost always do)
- And blowing up a 320x240 edit to 640x480 looks terrible (don't do it)
- What if you get into a festival? You don't want them to project 320x240 do you?

Below is a chart we reference of common 4:3 and 16:9 resolutions we commonly shoot and/or output in. Feel free to print out and reference, and check out wikipedia for an extremely extensive List of Resolutions.

Abridged from Video Help

A computer display consists of square pixels while an NTSC TV consists of rectangular pixels. That is, each pixel on NTSC TV is vertically elongated. In other words, each pixel on NTSC TV is horizontally slim. If you were to output your computer display to a TV, then, the 4:3 display aspect ratio will be 640 x 480 on a computer display, and be 720 x 480 on a NTSC TV (the 480 height is fixed, and sometimes called 480i).

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written by Ricky Grove, July 18, 2008

Thanks for the write up. I've been wanting a short, succinct explanation of this topic. Very informative.

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written by Frank Dellario, July 20, 2008

Glad you liked bro, sometimes writing short and succinct is tough as you try not to open a can of worms and end up writing a whole book. Let us know anything else you've been wanting to know.

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written by Ricky Grove, July 20, 2008

Sure thing. I'm still a bit daft on the "square pixels" concept. I understand it basically, but how does it work in practice while you are editing?

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written by Frank Dellario, July 25, 2008

Ricky,
thanks for question re: square pixels, we'll put a blog together on that.

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