What is Video Quality?
In simple terms, video quality is the characteristic of a video that determines how clear, crisp, and detailed the video transmitted to the viewer is. A video of higher quality provides more information, better clarity, and a smoother viewing experience without distortion or artifacts.
Factors Affecting Video Quality
There are 3 primary factors that affect the quality of a video:
- Video resolution: A video resolution is measured by the number of pixels that are contained in the standard aspect ratio. A higher number of pixels denotes a higher resolution and better video quality. Conversely, a lower pixel rate denotes a low-resolution video.
- Frame rate: Frame rate refers to how quickly the frames in a video are cycled. In other words, it is defined as the number of stills displayed on the screen in one second.
- Video bitrate: The number of bits or units of data that are transferred or processed per unit of time is called bitrate. Higher bitrate in video content leads to better quality videos.
Different Video Resolutions and Video Quality
- 720p: This is the lowest resolution that can be considered high definition. It works better for smaller screen devices and provides decent video quality at lower bandwidths.
- 1080p: This resolution is considered full HD. With a pixel rate of 1920*1080, it is considered the industry standard for high-definition videos. This is also the best definition used for smartphone web content.
- 2K: The Quad High Definition or QHD has a pixel rate of 2048*1080 and is great for larger displays. It provides more room for edits without compromising video quality.
- 4K: It is commonly known as Ultra High Definition, 4K has a pixel rate of 3840*2160. This resolution is great for theatrical viewing, with great graphics and intense coloring. Although 2K and 4K look similar to the viewer, 4K allows video editors to zoom in and make better edits without compromising quality.
- 8K: With a pixel rate of 7680*4320, 8K is an extremely high-definition video. Filmmakers do not commonly use this resolution. 8K resolution is used in green screens or rotoscoping and reframing.
Note: Video resolution can be increased or decreased to match the requirements and file size. However, you can not increase the video resolution once the video is shot. Depending on the video processing system used, some level of video degradation is bound to occur.