This blog post was originally posted in February 2016 and has been updated.
Video was first recognized as a primary content marketing channel in 2016Â and has refused to slow down since. With one-third of online activity being spent watching video (according to WordStream), it's become more important than ever for marketing teams to understand trends in video consumption and deliver a high-quality video experience.
From time-lapse videos to growing collections of GOPRO videos, 4K (also known as Ultra HD) video production has become the norm for consumer markets and, in turn, has become the standard for marketing content.
An example of 4K video from The Daily Conversation
Below, we’ve compiled a list of 9 facts marketers should know about 4K.
9 Facts About 4K Video
1. While 1080p (high-definition) refers to pixel height, 4K refers to pixel width. Because of this, 4K video is sometimes referred to as 2160p (its pixel height).
2. 4K resolution is 4096x2160, which equals out to be an astounding 8,847,360 pixels! This means no matter how close you get to your screen, you won't be able to see the "grid-like" pixels you experience with full HD.
3. 4K doesn't just refer to resolution. This higher-definition viewing experience also added improvements to color replication (increased from 8-bit to 10 and 12-bit) and frame-rate speed (increased from 25 frames per second to 60).
4. Your viewing experience from 1080p and 4K is only noticed when you're 10 feet away from the screen or closer, depending on the size of your TV (this chart explains this in more depth).
5. 4K technology maintains color vibrancy across the entire screen, even from wide viewing angles, so picture quality will remain the same, no matter where you sit in the room.
6. While 4K and Ultra HD are used interchangeably, there's actually a slight pixel difference between the two! Ultra HD is 3840x2160, which is the resolution you're actually watching on streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime.
7. 4K is the same resolution used within typical cinemas. This means your 4K TV is showing a similar amount of pixels as the ultra-large screens you see in theatres.
8. 4K has recently made its way into the video gaming industry, with the release of the Playstation 4 Pro and the Xbox One X, allowing gamers to experience fan-favorites, like Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty and Final Fantasy, in Ultra HD.
9. 35 companies, including Sony, Samsung, Dolby and 20th Century Fox, formed a group called the UHD Alliance, to agree on which features should be included in upcoming generations of TV sets. This alliance allows video producers, like Disney, to produce movies that would be optimal for viewing on upcoming TV releases.
The Challenge with Managing and Sharing 4K Videos
As marketing departments are planning to introduce 4K video into their mix, they should also be aware of some of the challenges, mainly the sheer size of files being produced. A few minutes of 4K film can take up as much as 500 GBs, and teams need to have a system in place to store, manage and share these larger files.
Many marketing departments have turned to a digital asset management system (DAM) that support 4K video to help them address this challenge. To learn more about how 4K video can be managed in a DAM, be sure to check out this webpage.
Sources:
TechRadar
CarltonBale
Alphr
