Hi All! Question about specs for rendering for an SVGA projector. It 

Hi All! Question about specs for rendering for an SVGA projector. It’s an epson VS250. Given this info, what are your thoughts on render size (and codec)? Is there a premiere preset that would work well for this? The footage is 1920×1080, and I want to make sure nothing gets cut off. Im also assuming I should deliver SD and not HD, which makes me very happy, given it’s a 45 min video. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank yoU! 🙂

Hanafi Haffidz: since you know that its 800×600, max out your width as 800 and choose the appropriate height based on your original aspect ratio. 16:9 would be 800×450. just start off from a youtube h.264 preset and change the resolution. id say bitrate of about 2-3Mbps should be sufficient. I assume that youre playing from a laptop right? You can go SD but id only go that route if you need to playback from DVD. as SD is even lower resolution than that, and its interlaced.

Larry Chadwick: Those specs are for the resolution of the projected image, not the resolution of whats feeding it.Looks like it has an HDMI input, and can take an HD signal.If you fed it a 1920×1080 video, it would letter box it (or it may have adjustments to scale it to fit the height, but the sides would be cut off)Or you can edit in a 1920×1440 sequence, which is 4×3 ratio, matching the 800×600 ratio. This would result in a full frame image (similar to the above example of cutting off the sides) but editing in this format gives you the freedom of adjusting the framing of each shot, rather then the projector (if it can) scaling the entire video up.(see below pics)As for export, even if you edit in a 1920×1440 sequence (or 1920×1080) you could export a matching sized file (I would start with a youtube or vimeo preset)OrExport a 800×600 file, again using a youtube or vimeo preset.Either way the image framing would be the same, but starting with a higher quality export is the way I would go.whats the plan for feeding the video? Off of a laptop/computer?

Hanafi Haffidz: hey Larry Chadwick, if OP were to connect laptop via HDMI to the projector, wouldnt the OS detect the available projector resolutions, and then OP can choose the native resolution of 800×600?

Larry Chadwick: possibly. It may/probably auto detect it.. and if the desktop/laptop is set to mirror with quicktime or vlc running at fullscreen the desktop would be downscaled to match.I checked the specs, it says it has a Maximum Resolution of…See more

Hanafi Haffidz: i see, thanks buddy

Larry Chadwick: 1920×1080 footage letterboxed in a 4×3 frame (1920×1440, matching 800×600 ratio.

Larry Chadwick: 1920×1080 footage scaled to fit a 4×3 frame (1920×1440 sequence, matching 800×600 ratio)

Hanafi Haffidz: actually, on the other hand, whats wrong with just playing back a regular 1080p mp4, if indeed youre running off a laptop anyways? just use VLC and go fullscreen, and let the device handle the scaling?

Larry Chadwick: very true.. but it would do a straight center cut, editing in the 4×3 format allows freedom to adjust shots individually. In the event the video needs to live somewhere else, staying in a 1920×1080 (or 1920×1440) will allow it to be adjusted quickly.

Jennifer Howd: Larry Chadwick and Hanafi Haffidz – Thank you both for your replies. And I appreciate your patience, as Im new to this – and the technical side of editing is definitely something Im still trying to wrap my head around… So, I edited this video using a sequence that was created by dragging the 1920×1080 footage into the sequence. Is there something I can do to help ensure the sides dont get cut off? Im not sure how to resize to the 4×3. The video will be running from a laptop.

Hanafi Haffidz: Larrys suggestions are more in-depth, but im assuming you probably dont need that. All you have is a normal 1920×1080 video, and you want it played on the projector nicely, without anything getting cut off, am I right? If so, you can go ahead and ju…See more

Jennifer Howd: Hanafi Haffidz – your assumption is 100% correct. And I appreciate your simplifying this. 🙂 Do you recommend I render the file as H.264 with a Match Source – High bitrate (or a different preset, ie YouTube 1080 )? Im assuming I dont need to mess…See more

Hanafi Haffidz: Since its a 45minute clip, the high bitrate preset is probably going to give you too huge a file to give to the client.Start with the Youtube 1080p preset. Go down to video bitrate settings, try target bitrate somewhere in the region of 2Mbps to 12M…See more

Jennifer Howd: Hanafi Haffidz Got it! And is H.264 recommended in this case? Also, out of curiosity, how big do you think would be too big of a file to give to the client in this case for streaming from his laptop? If its between 5 and 6 gigs without adjusting the bitrate, do you think that will work? Or should I definitely stay under 4gb?

Hanafi Haffidz: Jennifer Howd yeah nowadays for most client delivery i personally just use h.264 as its a widely playable format, computers/phones/web/smart tvs. if its a proper ad and its to company that understands media id give prores for a proper master copy, …See more

Hanafi Haffidz: also if its a project where the resolution/image quality is really not the biggest priority, you can use youtube 720p. and you can do 25-50% the bitrate you need as compared to 1080p.

Jennifer Howd: Hanafi Haffidz Roger that! Thank you SO SO much. Youve been beyond helpful, and Im incredibly grateful. 🙌🙌

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