Screen Resolutions SD HD DVD BluRay Web handheld?

What does all this mean?
We will try to break everything down in simple terms.

We work in all formats at Foto Media, and often it can be hard for a client to decide exactly what format is best suited for them and their specific projects.

"In short we recommend most, if not all the time, HD."

Before we break down each Format, we need to understand the term 'Pixels'(px);
Basically a 'Pixel' is one small (often square) dot on your screen and for these breakdowns think of a pixel much like any other type of measurement i.e (Centimeters, Millimeters, Inches etc.)

So lets say a video is:
720px x 576px
this is basically telling us that your video is 720 'Pixels' Wide by 576 'Pixels' High (which is SD).

Australian standard TV (PAL) resolution sizes:

SD(Standard Definition)	HD 720(High Definition)	HD 1080(True High Definition)
720px x 576px.	1280px x 720px	1440px x 1080px 1920px x 1080px.

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Mediums in which your videos can be distribued on (via disc copy):

DVD	Blu Ray
SD	HD 720 HD 1080

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Mediums that don't really have set resolutions they conform to (online/digital copies):

Web
Web is the tricky one, see the Web category can be potentially be any size, small or large you want, though you are often limited by a users internet speed and must keep this in mind when distributing via web.
Though with sites like Youtube, Vimeo, Google Video and Facebook, most run by these standards;

HD 720	HQ	SD Web
1280px x 720px	480px 360px	320px x 240px

for more info about these resolutions ...
Youtube Handbook
Optimize HD Youtube Video

Handheld
Handhelds refer to many varieties of devices such as phones, palm pockets, even things like the Nintendo DS.
The most common handheld format we work with is the popular Apple iphone.
Even trickier than the web resolutions are the handhelds, often the videos need to be cropped at the top and bottom for the video to even go fullscreen.

iphone	many, many more...
640px x 480px

Download some of our iphone videos or Subscribe to our itunes podcast.

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In Summary

Now considering all these options, we can see that the (True) HD resolution 1920px x 1080px is currently the highest standard and this is what we will often recommend for our clients. True HD is becoming the standard as Blu-ray discs are becoming more common and DVD's resolution just can't compete with watching a high-quality production on a 42" LCD screen.

If you want more info on Foto Media's services in HD video productions or interested in a quote on your next video production, contact us over at our website www.fotomedia.com.au.

Keep an eye out for our next upcoming blogs on (or subsbribe to our RSS feed;
-Aspect Ratios
-PAl/NTSC