The Reasons for 3 Versions
There are three versions of video that ExposureRoom creates, in this order:
- Low
For "low" bandwidth, and/or older computers. This is the first size you will see minutes after uploading your video.
- Medium
For viewers whose bandwidth does not accommodate "high" bandwidth. This is also the default size when one goes to the page to view the asset.
- HD
High Definition. This version can be played on new machines with high bandwidth in real time.
ExposureRoom specializes in HD Video. If you upload a true HD video, you can rest assured that we will transcode your video to be the best quality you will see on the internet today.
Many viewers, however, do not have the bandwidth or the hardware required to play HD video. So we produce two other sizes to accommodate these viewers. In this way, your video achieves a wider audience than it would if we just produced the one HD version.
For viewers who have a newer computer but do not have high bandwidth, they can still view the HD version. To do this, one can click "play", and then "pause", wait for the video to buffer completely, and then "play" once again after it has downloaded completely.
Perceived Quality
The perceived quality is the same for all versions. In order to achieve the same perceived quality, we reduce the dimensions of the video, allowing people with older machines or lower bandwidth to watch. Viewers don't see any change in quality between the various versions. The medium version, our default, will play on older machines without stutter, and still be the best quality on the internet.
Width Thresholds
There are three "thresholds" as they pertain to the Width of your video:
- 336 pixels in width
- 640 pixels in width
- 1280 pixels in width
Let's discuss what these three thresholds means, starting with the largest number.
1280: Any video that has a width of 1280 or above will have an HD version created. In addition, any video with a width greater than the previous threshold, that is, greater than "640" pixels, will have an HD version produced. It may not be "true" HD quality, for which you need a video with a width of 1280 or larger.
640: Any video with a width greater than 336 pixels will have a medium-sized video produced. If the video's width is not as wide as 640 pixels, the "medium" version will not be 640 but will be the actual width of the video.
336: You will ALWAYS have a small video produced, regardless of width of the original.