HD videos - How Hi can you go?

[Ronald_Frump]

It seems like video producers are leaning more and more towards HD quality clips. A couple of years ago, 500 MB seemed like a huge file size for a 30 minute video, whereas nowadays 1.4 GB is not uncommon for a 20 minute clip. The question is, where will it all end? Today's computers can cope with the higher resolution stuff and modern internal memory and external hard drives provide relatively cheap, yet massive storage.

However, is it actually worth it all? At what point is there a noticeable difference in viewing quality and why continue trying to improve on today's industry standard? Will 2.0 GB be the norm in a year or two's time? The other anomaly that I've noticed, is that some videos of a moderate size....say 150 or 200 MB can seem just as good, if not better quality than a 500 MB clip of the same length. I'm sure some of you techs can explain that one......but in the meantime, we are faced with the same question:

Is   BIGGER   necessarily  better .....

....discuss....

[DR]

My preference is HD, 1920 x 1080, or 1280 x 720, at least. It just looks great on a big screen HD TV. Higher resolution is definitely worth it for big screens.

However, on a laptop for example, while higher resolution will still look better (sharper), it does not really matter that much.

Generally speaking, you want higher resolution for bigger screens, for the best viewing pleasure.

But that is not everything. Better or poorer picture can also be a result of the codec used and video compression rate.

Unfortunately, better picture comes with a price. Just like you noticed, Stewie, I think that the trend will be bigger and bigger files, and I'm okay with that. The good thing is that the external hard drives are getting bigger and bigger too, at more and more affordable prices.

[femfightwatcher]

I too have noticed the trend.  HD is much better even on my 19" monitor.  Makes me more selective about which vids I save, though.

The good thing is that the external hard drives are getting bigger and bigger too, at more and more affordable prices.

How reliable are they these days?  When I looked at them on Amazon a while back, all the reviews said they died in a matter of months. 

[Ronald_Frump]

How reliable are they these days?  When I looked at them on Amazon a while back, all the reviews said they died in a matter of months.

My 1 TB has been going strong for over 12 months, no issues.

[RBAP]

How reliable are they these days?  When I looked at them on Amazon a while back, all the reviews said they died in a matter of months.

My 1 TB has been going strong for over 12 months, no issues.

Western Digital is pretty reliable.