High Def and the On-Line Video Tour
High Definition (HD) Video is getting a ton of press nowadays.
But what part does HD Video play in on-line video? Can you get true HD Video in your on-line video tours? The quick answer is "no, you can't." The technically correct answer is "sort of."
The biggest problem with using HD Video online is the fact that it requires a very high-speed line to get it to the viewer's computer screen for immediate display. While it's possible to download and play a very large file after it's downloaded, that's not how we use video for real estate tours. We want, and the viewer expects, to see the video within seconds of their request.
Most on-line video we see today is piped to our computers in Adobe's Flash file format. Almost every computer out there has the Flash plug-in installed. If they don't, they'll get a message when they click on a Flash application that offers a free download that will install the plug-in for them in just a few minutes.
The average viewer won't see the higher quality picture that a high def camcorder produces. When the video is uploaded to most sites it is converted to a Flash movie and displayed as a Flash application. So you lose the advantage of high-quality HD video when you publish on the Internet. While it may be possible to watch high-quality HD on-line, it's not generally available for the average Internet user. The average home buyer is an average Internet and so that's our target audience.
The other problem with the HD format for on-line video is the shape of the displayed image. The ratio of width to height is 16 to 9. The ratio of the old standard TV set, and the old standard computer screen, is 4 to 3. That is, for every 4 inches of width you have 3 inches of height. This doesn't look like a problem at first because it appears that you are getting a wider view in the 16 wide by 9 high format of HD.
But the problem doesn't lie in the display of the picture. It is in the creation of the video that we have challenges using the HD format. The camera manufacturers have given us a wider picture. But, generally speaking, they gave us the same lens that we had on the old 4x3 format. So, if I take a video of a small room I get the same width with my new HD 16x9 format that I got with my old 4x3 format. The problem is, on the 16x9 HD format, I give up some area on the top and the bottom of the picture that I had on the 4x3 format. And video tours are all about showing the house, from floor to ceiling. That's the reason we use wide-angle lenses and adapters.
So for now the old standard-definition camcorder with a wide-angle lens is probably best for taking video that you want to upload for Internet viewers. Most HD camcorders that I have seen, or read about, will shoot in the old 4x3 format. But, most will cut the sides of the picture in, reducing the amount of the subject from side to side that you will have in the frame. To compensate you'll have to use a wider-angle lens than on the 4x3 standard-definition camera. And that will introduce more distortion.
All of this has nothing to do with the production of video for use in non-Internet applications or specialized on-line applications that support high-def video and 16x9 display formats. HDV is certainly the future in Video and for everything but on-line display for the masses is here now.
So don't throw away that old standard-definition camcorder just yet!
But what part does HD Video play in on-line video? Can you get true HD Video in your on-line video tours? The quick answer is "no, you can't." The technically correct answer is "sort of."
The biggest problem with using HD Video online is the fact that it requires a very high-speed line to get it to the viewer's computer screen for immediate display. While it's possible to download and play a very large file after it's downloaded, that's not how we use video for real estate tours. We want, and the viewer expects, to see the video within seconds of their request.
Most on-line video we see today is piped to our computers in Adobe's Flash file format. Almost every computer out there has the Flash plug-in installed. If they don't, they'll get a message when they click on a Flash application that offers a free download that will install the plug-in for them in just a few minutes.
The average viewer won't see the higher quality picture that a high def camcorder produces. When the video is uploaded to most sites it is converted to a Flash movie and displayed as a Flash application. So you lose the advantage of high-quality HD video when you publish on the Internet. While it may be possible to watch high-quality HD on-line, it's not generally available for the average Internet user. The average home buyer is an average Internet and so that's our target audience.
The other problem with the HD format for on-line video is the shape of the displayed image. The ratio of width to height is 16 to 9. The ratio of the old standard TV set, and the old standard computer screen, is 4 to 3. That is, for every 4 inches of width you have 3 inches of height. This doesn't look like a problem at first because it appears that you are getting a wider view in the 16 wide by 9 high format of HD.
But the problem doesn't lie in the display of the picture. It is in the creation of the video that we have challenges using the HD format. The camera manufacturers have given us a wider picture. But, generally speaking, they gave us the same lens that we had on the old 4x3 format. So, if I take a video of a small room I get the same width with my new HD 16x9 format that I got with my old 4x3 format. The problem is, on the 16x9 HD format, I give up some area on the top and the bottom of the picture that I had on the 4x3 format. And video tours are all about showing the house, from floor to ceiling. That's the reason we use wide-angle lenses and adapters.
So for now the old standard-definition camcorder with a wide-angle lens is probably best for taking video that you want to upload for Internet viewers. Most HD camcorders that I have seen, or read about, will shoot in the old 4x3 format. But, most will cut the sides of the picture in, reducing the amount of the subject from side to side that you will have in the frame. To compensate you'll have to use a wider-angle lens than on the 4x3 standard-definition camera. And that will introduce more distortion.
All of this has nothing to do with the production of video for use in non-Internet applications or specialized on-line applications that support high-def video and 16x9 display formats. HDV is certainly the future in Video and for everything but on-line display for the masses is here now.
So don't throw away that old standard-definition camcorder just yet!
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