Video Format

Chalker

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This may not be boaty enough. If it should be on a different forum, mods please move it.

Off sailing for a few years and Santa bought me a Gopro to get some good video. I want to be able to view the recordings on a PC, including loading to Utube and a website, and on a TV.
I do not understand which of these formats should I use. Any suggestions?

I'd like to be able to use the Ultra Wide, Medium and Narrow FOVs, I understand that these are digital framing rather than optical effects. But PAL 24 or 25 fps?
I doubt if I need the highest Vido Resolution but I assume that I can convert to lower rates, true? And how processor intensive would this be?

Help please!!


Video Screen
Resolution NTSC fps PAL fps ProtuneTM Field of View (FOV) Resolution
1080p 30fps. 25fps. Yes. Ultra Wide, 1920x1080 16:9
Medium,
Narrow

1080p 24fps 24fps Yes Ultra Wide, 1920x1080 16:9
Medium,
Narrow

960p 48fps 50fps Yes Ultra Wide. 1280x960 4:3

960p 30fps. 25fps Yes Ultra Wide. 1280x960 4:3

720p 60fps 50fps Yes Ultra Wide. 1280x720 16:9

720p 30fps. 25fps Yes Ultra Wide. 1280x720 16:9

WVGA 120fps. 120fps Yes Ultra Wide. 800x480 16:9
 
From those options, Use either 1080p 25fps, or 720p 50fps. These are the most 'portable' video formats in the list.

From what you are saying, the FOV can be adjusted digitally on the camera.

I'd recommend that you record at 1080p, and ultra wide - thus using the maximum number of sensor pixels. You can always 'digitally zoom' afterwards - but you wouldn't be able to do the opposite ie digitally unzoom). This also has the effect of minimising the visual affects of camera shake.
 
Careful with a really wide angle of view. Someone posted a vid the other day from a GoPro with monumental vignetting (dark corners).
Have you done some test filming?

Do you really need the higher resolutions? Not for Youtube and Websites. How big is your telly?

Is the widest setting at 720p better with regard to vignetting than the same angle of view at 1080p?
 
I have been playing around with similar settings on my camera and also based on advice from Dylan et al.

The key settings for me were:

1. Use PROGRESSIVE video (ie. 1080p or 720p). Do not use INTERLACED video (ie. 1080i) as you get interlacing interference on PCs and Youtube. Your camera appears to only offer "p" so thats fine.

As the other posters mentioned I would go for 720p 50fps or 720p 60fps, I use 720p 60fps now after a mistakenly using 1080i last summer. My videos are here - http://www.sportsboat.org.uk/index.php/my-videos and the funny jitter you can see in some shots is the interlacing effect.

I have no 720p material published but a lot of test shots from a moving car over the last few weeks have shown an improvement in the picture.

For my camera I also found that turning off "Image Stabilization" was a good thing as that also created strange effects when filming moving objects.

Martin
 
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