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To submit questions to, or augment this FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) please click here, or email to info@ftcvideo.com with a subject of "Digital Video FAQ".

Q1: How much video can you put on a DVD?

Q2: Why should I transfer my video tapes to DVD?

Q3: What are NTSC and PAL?

Q4: What are the various resolutions of digital video?

Q5: What are the differences between duplication and replication?

Q6: How do I place video on my website?

Q7: Can video shot for a DVD be used on a website?

Q8: Can you take video off an existing DVD, edit it, and use it elsewhere?

Q9: What do the letters i and p mean in video formats?

Q10: What is the difference between optical and electronic image stabilization?

Q11: How much information can be stored on the various types of optical discs?

Q12: What are the different ways to deliver video over the internet?

Q13: How can you control video file size and quality on the internet (compression)?

Q14: Why is the color of my video off (white balance)?

Q15: What is Green Screen and how does it work?

Q16: What clothing is best for video?

Q1 [updated 5/5/08]: How much video can you put on a DVD?

A1:  At Fort Collins Video, we use standard DVD-5s.  These are the most common blank DVDs that you can find for sale in any computer or office supply store.  DVD-5s can hold 4.7Gb of information.  Ok, fine.  Now how much video can fit in 4.7Gb?   The answer to that is . . . it depends.  Video DVDs that can play in your standard DVD player store video in a compressed format called MPEG-2.   The key term in the previous sentence is compressed.  When video information is prepared for a DVD a decision is made on how much compression to use.  The more compression that is applied, the more video will fit on the DVD.  However, the more compression that is applied the lower the quality of the resulting video.  Degradation due to compression is most noticeable in video that has a lot of motion (like a soccer game).  Different people have different tolerances for the distortion that occurs from too much compression.   It is somewhat subjective.   Most people can see little or no compression caused problems with 90 minutes or less video on a disc.   Most people will see compression caused problems with more than 2 hours on a disc.  To get the best quality possible, keep the video to 70 minutes or less.

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Q2 [updated 5/5/08]: Why should I transfer my video tapes to DVD?

A2:  In their day analog video tapes like VHS, VHS-C, and Hi-8 were state-of-the-art and served to preserve our memories well.   But video tapes by their very nature have built-in issues that limit their lifetime.  The VCRs that play those analog tapes have complex mechanisms (have you ever seen one taken apart, or tried to fix one?  Sheesh, it's nearly impossible!).  Every time you play a tape it rubs against the quickly spinning video head and part of the signal is lost when small particles detach from the tape.  Worse than that, with age both the VCRs and tapes don't work as well and the ultimate disaster can strike - the VCR eats the tape!  Did you know that your video tapes are degrading just by sitting on the shelf?  That's right, the tape will slowly de-magnetize over time.

The DVD solves these problems!  When the DVD is read, there is no physical contact with a "tape head".  The DVD is read in a non-destructive way with a low-powered laser.  The lifetime of the DVDs we use have been estimated to be as long as 100 years.  The DVD has other benefits too:

• Random access - you can instantly skip to parts of the DVD, no more lengthy fast-forwarding and rewinding.
• Small size - you can store more than 10 times the number of DVDs in the same space as VHS tapes.

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Q3 [updated 12/14/09]: What are NTSC and PAL?

A3: Unfortunately, there are two world-wide standards for Standard Definition video.

Typically video made for one standard will not play on the other. Although, there's a better chance of getting an NTSC source to play on a PAL device than vice-versa.

For High Definition footage the resolutions are the same between PAL and NTSC, but frames per second (fps) still differ.  PAL HD frame rate is typically 50i/25p, and NTSC is 60i/30p (see Q9 below to learn more about the i's and p's in frame rates).

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Q4 [updated 6/1/08]: What are the various resolutions of digital video?

A4:

(see Q9 below to learn more about the i's and p's in the above table)

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Q5: [updated 5/7/08]: What are the differences between duplication and replication?

A5:  Duplication of CDs and DVDs involves burning the discs with a laser.   This is the process you use with your computer at home.  Replication of CDs and DVDs involves a stamping process where a glass master is made from the data and all copies are stamped or pressed from that master.  When you purchase a Hollywood movie, or buy a CD from a nationally known artist there's a 99% chance that those discs were replicated, not duplicated.

Because of the overhead in equipment costs and creation of the glass master, replication is usually reserved for runs of 1000 or more copies.   Replicated discs are also, typically, more compatible across different players (although players have become much better at reading duplicated discs as time goes on).   If you can justify 1000 or more copies then replication is the way to go. Replication will get you a highly compatible product at a lower per-unit cost.   If there's no way you need 1000 copies, go with duplication.

At Fort Collins Video we do in-house duplication and printing of CDs and DVDs.  We use professional media and burn at slower speeds to ensure state-of-the-art compatibility.  We have several partners to call on if a client needs replication.

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Q6: [updated 5/17/08]:  How do I place video on my website?

A6:  I won't get too detailed here, but I will try and give you enough information to help you talk to your web designers about the options. 

The two major decisions you need to make about video on your site are:  which format(s) to use and the viewing experience your site visitor has.

Formats

There are really only three major formats being used today for video on websites.  They are Windows Media, QuickTime, and Flash.   A fourth format, Real Media (.rm, .ram, .ra), has really, in my opinion, lost this battle and would be a poor choice for your site.

Windows Media (.wmv) is the native video format for computers running the Windows operating system.  You'd be hard pressed to find a Windows machine that does not have the Windows Media Player installed. People on Apple Mac computers can download free software (http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv.htm) that will allow their machines to play Windows Media files.

QuickTime (.mov) is the native video format for computers running the Mac operating system.  You'd be hard pressed to find a Mac that does not have QuickTime installed. People on Windows computers can download free software (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/) that will allow their machines to play QuickTime files.   Because QuickTime movies have been popular for quite a while, most Windows machines probably have the QuickTime player already installed.

Flash (.flv, .swf) is a format originally created by the Macromedia company that is now owned by Adobe.  To play Flash movies  Mac and Windows machines must download and install the Flash Player (http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/ ).   That said, most machines today come with Flash pre-installed. Unlike Windows Media and QuickTime files that can play separately from a browser in their own players, Flash really only plays in a browser frame.  It is designed for web animation and web video.  Flash has been around for so long now, and its use on websites is so pervasive, that many people claim it has the highest level of use across Mac and Windows machines.

So, how do you decide which format to use?   Many site designers don't decide, they give the visitor the option of several hyperlinks each pointing to a file in a different format.   Other designers have a favorite format and will default to that.  There are several factors to consider and none, in my opinion, are strong enough to make one format a clear winner.  The good news is that there also isn't a clear loser among these three formats.

Once you've selected a format (or formats) you'll need to decide on the size and quality of the video.  Each format allows you to scale the video and select compression options.  The more compressed the video is the smaller the resulting file will be and the faster it will download and play.  However, the more compression you use the lower the quality of the resulting video will be.   This is a good time to experiment.  Watch several files with different sizes and compression and see what you think a good tradeoff is.

Visitor Experience

There are two basic ways you can present video on your site - hyperlinked and embedded.

Hyperlinked video is accessed from a link on your site and will play in whatever the default player is for that type of video (most likely the QuickTime player for QuickTime and Windows Media Player for Windows Media) on the site visitor's machine.  This method is used most often for higher resolution clips that would have a hard time being placed on a web page.  Hyperlinking is the simplest method to implement from a web programming standpoint.  This page on our site has hyperlinked video with multiple format choices:  DoItYourself.

Embedded video will play right in your web page.  You can place it on a page just like an image.  You can also determine behaviors like auto starting the video as soon as the page is loaded, if the video has control buttons (rewind, play, etc.).  Flash is always embedded.  Windows Media and QuickTime can be embedded or hyperlinked.  Embedding video takes more web programming expertise to set-up and ensure the video will behave well in all the various browsers (Firefox, IE, Safari, etc.). This page on our site has embedded Flash video:   Featured Client Video. 

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Q7: [updated 1/23/09]:  Can video shot for a DVD or Blu-ray also be used on a website?

A7: The simple answer is - yes.   With today's software and hardware tools, video originally created for use on a disc can be easily reformatted to work on a website.  In almost all cases the resolution will be reduced and some compression added to make the video more "web friendly".

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Q8: [updated 10/15/08]: Can you take video off an existing DVD, edit it, and use it elsewhere?

A8:  Video (not menus) can be extracted from an existing DVD, as long as the DVD is not copy protected (like store bought movie DVDs are).  Once the video is in an editable file on a computer, it can be used in a new project. It can be difficult for some video editing software to work with the compressed DVD video, forcing you to find a way to convert it to another format (like .avi) first.   If you plan to create another DVD, the re-compression going onto the new DVD will cause some quality loss.

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Q9: [updated 6/13/08]: What do the letters i and p mean in video formats?

A9: When reading video format specifications (720p, 1080i, etc.) the p stands for "progressive" and the i stands for "interlaced".

Interlaced video was created for the original broadcast television technology.  It allowed smooth video playback with lower speed electronics.   Most video you see today is 30 frames-per-second (fps).  In interlaced video a complete frame is displayed in two sequential parts, or fields.  In the case of 480i video (the NTSC standard) each field contains half of the 480 lines split by even and odd numbered lines.  30fps interlaced video is sometimes referred to as 60i because a field is displayed every 60th of a second, but it takes two fields (one with the even-numbered lines and one with the odd-numbered lines) to build a compete frame.

Progressive video displays each frame in its entirety one after another.  It requires more electronic horsepower to display than interlaced video.

As a broad generalization today, interlaced video is used more for high speed action and progressive for everything else.

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Q10: [updated 1/3/09]: What is the difference between optical and electronic image stabilization?

A10:  Both of these processes are used to remove the small amounts of image shake that typically occur when you handhold a camcorder.  In general, optical image stabilization (OIS) manipulates the physical optics (a lens or prism usually) to accomplish this and electronic image stabilization analyzes the video signal.   Electronic image stabilization (EIS) creates a small buffer of pixels around the outside of the image and then moves the core image to compensate for shake.   This will slightly degrade the image because pixels are being "stolen" from the video and used for stabilization.   Optical stabilization gives a better result, but costs more and requires more physical space in the camcorder.

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Q11: [updated 12/6/09]: How much information can be stored on the various types of optical discs?

A11: There are three primary types of optical discs in use today: 

• Compact Disc (CD)
• Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)
• Blu-ray Disc (BD)

These discs can be used for multiple purposes, typically to store data as well as either audio or video.  For example, you can write your important data files to a CD as well as creating an audio CD that will play in a standard CD player.  The difference is the specific format of the data written to the disc.  The basic data capacities are independent of the disc's ability to be played in a CD player, DVD player, or BD player.  These discs also come in two primary physical sizes (12cm and 8cm).  Both DVDs and BDs can have multiple layers and DVDs can have multiple sides!  Getting confused?  Try these tables:

CD - primary uses are data and audio

DVD - primary uses are data, standard definition video, and audio

BD - primary uses are data, and high definition video

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Q12: [updated 12/6/09]: What are the different ways to deliver video over the internet?

A12: There are three basic ways to get video to a viewer from a server.

Downloading

When you download a file the entire file is saved on the viewer's computer.  This has some advantages (such as quicker access to different parts of the video) but has the big disadvantage of having to wait for the whole file to download before any of it can be viewed. If the file is quite small this may not be too much of an inconvenience, but for large videos it can lead to a poor user experience. The easiest way to provide downloadable video files is to use a simple hyperlink to the file. The viewer's computer determines what program to launch to view the video.

Streaming

With streaming video the end user can start watching almost as soon as it is clicked/activated. In effect, the file is sent to the user in a (more or less) constant stream, and the user watches as it arrives. The obvious advantage with this method is that little or no waiting is involved. Streaming video has additional advantages such as being able to broadcast live events.  The most common format used today for streaming video is Flash.  True streaming video requires special software on the server (for Flash it's the Adobe Media Server).

Progressive Downloading

There is a hybrid method known as progressive download. In this method the video is downloaded but begins playing as soon as a portion of the file has been received. This simulates streaming, but doesn't have all the advantages.  If you have a Windows Media video and are using Internet Explorer, the user gets the progressive download experience.

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Q13: [updated 5/18/09]: How can you control video file size and quality on the internet (compression)?

A13: You could write a book, or at least a long whitepaper, on this topic.  I'll give a summary that should give you a better handle on how to keep the sizes of your video files low while keeping the quality at an acceptable level.  If you aren't doing this yourself, this will help you communicate with the person that is doing it.  The "it" is called compression.

In a perfect world all video on the internet would be full resolution and full quality.  Certainly someday this will be true.  In the meantime, there are limitations that must be dealt with given the current state of technology.   Today most people don't have unlimited storage space on their websites and most internet connections are not fast enough to move high quality video from a server to a viewer in real time.   We've all seen the issues - we wait for video to start playing, when the video starts sometimes it stops in the middle and we wait again, and the video we get is small and often fuzzy.   When video is posted on the web someone has made decisions on how to compress the video.  Compression makes the final files smaller so the viewer has less (or no) wait time.   The downside to compression is that it lowers the quality of the video and associated audio.  Sometimes the lowered quality is obvious, sometimes not so much.   Below is a list of typical attributes of a video file that can be adjusted to manipulate file sizes:

• Resolution - The size of a frame from a NTSC miniDV camcorder is 720x480.   Much of the video on the internet today is only displayed at 1/4-resolution (360x240).  Lower resolution = smaller file size.
• Frame rate - Most digital video is created at between 25 and 30 frames per second (fps).   The higher the fps the smoother the video will be.   It is very common for internet video to be 15 or even 10 fps.  The lower the fps the more "jerky" the video will be.  Lower fps = smaller file size.
• Bit rate -  The higher the video bit rate the better the video will look.   Most people have dealt with bit rate on their mp3 players.  As you lower the bit rate the more "fuzzy" the video will become. Slower bit rate = smaller file size.
• Audio - To lower file size you can also change the audio.  Moving from stereo to mono and/or lowering the audio bit rate reduces the size of the audio track and, therefore, the size of the video file.
• Codecs - Codec stands for compressor-decompressor. There are many computer algorithms that do video/audio compression.  They all use different methods to remove data from video files while still leaving behind a watchable video. Windows Media, Quicktime, Flash, and mp4 all use their own codecs.   There is no clear best or worst codec and much of the judgment is subjective.   Each codec has it's own look/degradation the more you compress.  All codecs will let you adjust the parameters described above.

Most web designers that deal with video have their favorite codec and its associated parameters.  If, after the video has been compressed, the quality is not acceptable or the download time is too long you are now educated enough to suggest some changes.   It really comes down to experimentation and what you find acceptable for your video on your website.  Many sites allow the viewer to select the quality they desire by posting multiple versions of a video compressed at different levels.

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Q14: [updated 9/01/09]: Why is the color of my video off (white balance)?

A14: White balance is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your video.  Proper camera white balance has to take into account the "color temperature" of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth (red) or coolness (blue) of white light.  Our eyes are very good at judging what is white under different light sources, however digital optical devices often have difficulty with performing an automatic white balance (AWB).  An incorrect WB can create unsightly blue, orange, or even green color casts, which are unrealistic.  Performing WB in traditional film videography requires attaching a different cast-removing filter for each lighting condition, whereas with digital this is no longer required.  Understanding digital white balance can help you avoid color casts created by your camera's AWB, thereby improving your videos under a wider range of lighting conditions.  Most modern video cameras have options to set the WB and override the AWB.  These options are typically:  sun, incandescent , fluorescent, and manual.  You may access these settings from a menu or buttons, depending on your particular device.  The surest way to get the WB correct is to set it manually.  This process involves placing a known white object filling the frame in the same area you'll be shooting.  Then telling the camera (again, via a menu or button push) to analyze that frame for WB.  If, after the shoot, you still see a color cast most video editing software can correct the color.  But it's best to get it right in the camera.

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Q15: [updated 11/10/09]: What is Green Screen and how does it work?

A15:  First, a more proper term for "Green Screen" is "Chroma Key".   That's because the color of the "screen" does not have to be green.  Blue is another color that is often used.  Fact is, any color can work.  Green and blue are the most common because human skin contains very little of these colors.  The purpose of Chroma Keying is to combine two images together by removing or "Keying out" a color from one image that allows the second image to show through.  When selecting the color of the screen the very important thing is to be sure no part of the image you want to keep contains that color.  The classic use of Chroma Keying is TV weather reports.   In this case the two images that are combined are a weather map and a meteorologist.  The meteorologist stands in front of a screen (blue typically).  Computers then remove the blue, leaving just the person, and combine that image with the weather map. Things that can make Chroma Key processing difficult are "poofy" hair, detailed see-through fabric (like lace), and shiny objects (because they reflect the key color from the screen).

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Q16: [updated 7/19/10]: What clothing is best for video?

A16:  There are just a few guidelines when it comes to what kind of clothing works best in a video.

• Try to avoid black and white.  These colors make correct exposure of the video more difficult.
• Avoid saturated red if the video will ever be shown on TV.
• If the video is using chroma key, do not wear a color even close to the chroma key color (usually lime green or blue).
• Wearing a button down shirt/blouse will make positioning a lavaliere microphone much easier.
• Avoid stripes, especially horizontal stripes - they will "jitter" if the video is interlaced.
• Avoid detailed patterns - they tend to jitter/swim.
• Try and get some contrast with the background - a tan shirt with a tan background is not a good idea.
• Don't wear accessories that can make noise by knocking into each other, or on a table, etc.

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