SD and HD Basics

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SD and HD Basics

To lay a foundation for other topics in the Knowledge Zone, this first series of articles here in the section SD and HD Basics covers the fundamentals as it relates to any video format, whether analog or digital, standard definition (SD) or high definition (HD). This is a good primer for those unfamiliar with some of these basic concepts.

In this first section, we'll explore the following:

• Interlace and Progressive Scanning: How a video image is "drawn"
• Compression Fundamentals: Overview on digital compression- types, differences and impact on quality
• Bit Rates: Understanding how to read the "speed" of a video format or storage medium
• Pulldown: the 3:2 pulldown for how to convert from 24 frames to 30 and other pulldown variations.
• Offline and Online Editing: The traditional workflow for video editing
• Native Editing: The new way of working with many of today's digital formats in post production
• Aspect Ratio: Common aspect ratios for film and video (SD and HD), and how these formats are displayed