Capture Video – It Will Only Stretch So Far

It Will Only Stretch So Far

The internet is a fantastic resource. Information, pictures, everything we could need to know about a topic is all out there. YouTube, as the second most popular search engine, featuring videos on every possible topic, is of course dear to my heart.

I often have clients who want to incorporate online videos into their own presentations. The question of permissions aside, using a video from Youtube comes with some complications. If all you want to do is play the video from Youtube, or use it as is, that is fine. The trouble comes when you want to edit it, or integrate it with other, original footage or graphics.

When you post a video to Youtube, it gets compressed. It has been made smaller. After all, online you can expect that people are viewing the video on something between a 3 inch smart phone screen and a 21-inch flat screen monitor. When you expect the final image to be that small, the amount of resolution you need to see it clearly is pretty low. The problem is, the details aren’t there if you try to integrate that compressed footage into a full size project.

Think of a t-shirt. That fabric stretches quite a lot, but the more you stretch it, the thinner the fabric becomes. The holes in the weave become more visible. The whole piece becomes more see-through.

Similar to the two images above. The first is a still from a recent corporate video shoot, as it was captured. The second is from the same shot, only enlarged. You can see a loss of image quality and some graininess in the second image that doesn’t occur in the first one.

That’s what happens when you enlarge a compressed video. You can make the display any size you want, but that doesn’t change the size of the actual file. The details just aren’t there. I know we’ve seen tv shows find remarkable details in the footage from a traffic camera or a cell phone image. I’m afraid that only happens on TV – or possibly at some super secret government agencies, but most video companies don’t have that kind of backing.

When you’re looking at online video as a resource, it’s important to consider how critical the image quality is going to be in your presentation.

Capture Video provides the highest quality video solutions to businesses in Northern Virginia. Contact us about marketing materials that make a statement at every size.