Chapter 2 ■ an IntroduCtIon to Content CreatIon: 2d new MedIa asset FundaMentals
There is also an open source solution called EditShare LightWorks 14, which is scheduled to natively
support output to open source codecs (by 2018). For now, I will have to use Squeeze Pro 11 for this book,
until codec support for JavaFX (and HTML5 and Android) is added to EditShare LightWorks 14 sometime
during 2018. When optimizing for (setting compression settings for) digital video data file size, there are
a large number of variables that directly affect the digital video data footprint. I’ll cover these in the order
in which they affect a video file size, from the most impact to the least impact, so that you know which
parameters to tweak to obtain the result you’re looking for.
As with digital image compression, the resolution, or number of pixels, in each frame of video is the
optimal place to start the optimization process. If your user is using 1024x640 or 1280x720 smartphones,
e-readers, or tablets, then you don’t need to use true HD, 1920 by 1080 resolution, to get good visual results
for your digital video assets. With today’s super-fine density (small dot pitch) displays, you could scale a 1280
video up 33 percent, and it will look reasonably good. The exception to this might be HD or UHD (popularly
termed 4K iTV) games targeted at iTV sets; for these huge 65- to 96-inch screen scenarios, you would want to
use industry-standard true HD at 1920x1080 resolution.
The next level of optimization would come in the number of frames used for each second of video
(or FPS), assuming the actual number of seconds in the digital video itself can’t be shortened. This is
known as the frame rate, and instead of setting the video standard 30 FPS frame rate, seen at the top left
of Figure 2-6, set to 1:1, or one frame compressed for each source frame, consider using the film standard
frame rate of 24 FPS or even a multimedia standard frame rate of 20 FPS. You might even be able to use a
15 FPS frame rate, which is half of the video standard 30 FPS, which would equate to a 1:2 setting for the
Frame Rate field shown in Figure 2-6, depending upon the amount of (and speed of ) movement within
the content. Note that 15 FPS is half as much data as 30 FPS (a 100 percent reduction in data encoded).
Figure 2-6. Digital video compression Presets dialog for the Sorenson Squeeze Pro digital video compression
utility