Web Design in a Nutshell

Basic Digital Video Concepts

The following is a list of aspects of digital video that can be manipulated with standard video-editing software. It is important to be familiar with these terms so you can create video optimized for web delivery.

Movie Length

It’s a simple principle—limiting the length of your video clip will limit its file size. Videos longer than a minute or two may create prohibitive download times. If you must serve longer videos, consider one of the streaming video solutions.

Frame Size

Obviously, the size of the frame will have an impact on the size of the file. “Full-screen” video is 640×480 pixels. The amount of data required to deliver that size image would be prohibitive for most web applications. The most common frame size for web video is 160×120 pixels. Some producers will go as small as 120×90 pixels. It is not recommended that you use a frame size larger than 320×240 with current technology. Actual size limits depend mostly on CPU power and bandwidth of your Internet link.

Frame Rate

The frame rate is measured in number of frames per second (fps). Standard TV-quality video uses a frame rate of 30 frames per second to create the effect of smooth movement. For the Web, a frame rate of 15 or even 10 fps is more appropriate, and is still capable of producing fairly smooth video playback. For “talking head” and other low-motion subjects, even lower frame rates may be useful. Commercial Internet broadcasts are routinely done at 0.5, 0.25, or even 0.05 frames per ...