The Rundown
Topics: Content Design, Screens | 2 min read
If you are starting out designing content, or simply want to follow what designers and video technicians are telling you, two terms come up constantly: resolution and aspect ratio.
They sound similar and they are not. Resolution is how many pixels make up an image. Aspect ratio is the shape those pixels are arranged in.
Getting resolution wrong makes content look soft. Getting aspect ratio wrong makes it look stretched, or puts black bars down the sides, or crops the top and bottom off.
Here is what each one means, how they are written, and how to avoid the problems that come from mismatching them.
Resolution
What It Means
Resolution refers to the number of pixels making up the image on a screen - the number of dots forming the picture you see.
Higher resolution means more pixels, which means a sharper and more detailed image.
For video content that difference is significant. It is often what separates a blurry, unclear picture from a crisp and professional one.
HD, 4K and the Rest
Terms like HD and 4K are simply describing resolution.
A 4K image is just over 4,000 pixels wide - 4,096 to be exact. HD is generally accepted as 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Resolution is always written width first, then height.
Choosing One
Your production provider will normally suggest a resolution appropriate to the application and the technology available.
Higher is not automatically better. A 4K file playing on a screen that cannot display it gains you nothing but a larger file and a slower workflow.
Scaling
Content can usually be scaled to whatever screen size you are using.
But scaling only works cleanly when the shape is right. Get the aspect ratio wrong and scaling will stretch or warp the image rather than fit it.
Aspect Ratio
What It Means
Aspect ratio is the relationship between the width and the height of a screen.
It is written as two numbers separated by a colon - 16:9, 4:3. A 16:9 ratio means the screen is 16 units wide for every 9 units tall.
The Common Ones
Most modern televisions and screens are 16:9.
Older televisions and projectors were 4:3, and when 16:9 arrived it was marketed as widescreen.
Other standards are now common too, including ultrawide at 2:1 and IMAX at 1.33:1.
Why It Matters More Than Resolution
A screen can usually cope with content at the wrong resolution. It cannot cope gracefully with content of the wrong shape.
This is the mistake that gets noticed from the back of the room, because the logo is stretched or half the graphic is missing.
Event Screens Are Not Always Standard
Worth knowing: LED walls are built from modular panels, so an event screen is frequently a shape no consumer device uses.
Always ask for the exact pixel dimensions rather than assuming 16:9, and design to that.
Getting It Right
Pillarboxing
Play 4:3 content on a 16:9 screen and you get black bars down either side of the image.
That is pillarboxing. The content is intact, but a portion of your expensive screen is showing nothing.
Letterboxing
The reverse: 16:9 content on a 4:3 screen leaves black bars above and below, or - worse, depending on the settings - crops the top and bottom of the image entirely.
Cropping is the dangerous one, because it can silently remove a logo or a lower third without anyone noticing until the event is running.
How to Avoid Both
The simple answer is to match the screen's aspect ratio to the content you will be showing.
Where that is not possible, either adjust the content or the screen settings so the image displays correctly - and check it on the actual screen rather than on a laptop.
Ask Early
Get the exact resolution and aspect ratio from your production provider before content design starts, not after.
Reformatting a finished deck or a rendered video is far more work than building it to the right size to begin with.
Need Guidance?
For advice on screens and content for your event, get in touch with Premier Live on 0116 202 9953 or info@premier-ltd.com.
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