Do We Need 4k Content For Video Marketing?
4K is one of the latest tech buzzwords in consumer electronics. TV marketing now stresses to customers 4K resolution with new models. So how does 4K content pertain to our Orlando video production company and clients?As a business you see and hear the talk about 4K video content and wonder “Do we need 4K content?” That’s why we came up with the idea of writing a blog post that will explain to you why we do not think you need 4K content for video marketing.
What is 4K?
4K, also known as UHD or Ultra HD, refers to a resolution with 4,000 lines horizontally, offering four times the pixels of 1080p. Commonly at 3840 x 2160 (2160p), it’s used in TVs, monitors, smartphones, and tablets. Major streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, and Vudu offer 4K content, and it’s also available on Ultra HD Blu-ray with players like the Sony UBP-X800. Despite being technically complex, over 60% of Americans don’t fully understand 4K. However, its benefits for business video marketing are substantial.
Do You Need It? Here are some challenges.
You can’t tell the difference
This might be the most important reason when you’re debating the “do we need 4K content for video marketing” question. To be blunt with you. Most people really can’t tell the difference between 1080p and 4K video content. This might seem weird, but many still cannot distinguish the difference between 480p and 1080p. With 4K TV’s the screen needs to be larger and you need to be closer to it to even notice the difference. Here’s a simplified example: If you’re showing a promo video to new employees on a 40-inch TV, it’s likely not capable of displaying 4K content. Even if it can, unless viewed very closely, the benefits of 4K won’t be noticeable. A 1080p HD video would suffice.
Compatibility Issues
Here’s another example. So you have your employees watch training videos online. Whether they watch the video on YouTube, Vimeo, or your website, this is the thing with 4K content. Most computer monitors right now are not 4K resolution. So watching that 4K video content is not going to be beneficial and it could play choppy depending on the strength of the computer. Also, you have to think about internet speeds. Will the internet speeds be fast enough to stream that 4K video content? With 1080p videos, you don’t have to worry about these potential complications.
Video Production Process
4K video files are notoriously large due to factors like FPS, bitrate, codec, and compression. For instance, 29 minutes of 4K video from a past corporate event totaled 19.8GB, whereas the same content in 1080p format was only 8.42GB. This stark contrast means you can have twice as much 1080p footage compared to 4K for the same file size. Handling 4K content requires additional equipment such as larger memory cards, compatible monitors, and ample storage solutions. Moreover, editing 4K videos significantly extends post-production timelines and costs due to the higher resolution and larger file sizes. Production companies charging hourly rates for video editing will especially see costs escalate with 4K projects. While opting for 1080p won’t halve production expenses, it significantly reduces editing time, thereby streamlining workflows and potentially lowering overall costs.
Note: Some video production companies charge extra to shoot 4K content. We do not think that is an ethical business practice for video production services, but that’s another blog post for another day. With our video production crew rates, 4k resolution will never be subject to additional charges.
Storage and transferring
Contact a video production company requesting RAW footage shot in 4K resolution may result in a wait of several days for file uploads to Dropbox or Google Drive, depending on production logistics and transfer methods. You could also end up buying more hard drives to contain the files. 4K video files are too large and they slow down productivity when transferring files. With 4K files, you’re losing precious drive storage.
Digital Distribution
For 4K content, a 2 min promo video we created for the CxEnergy 2017 Conference was optimized for YouTube exported to 562 MB’s (megabytes). That same promotional video exported to 1080p was 227 MB’s. Now imagine if we provided videography for a corporate event of yours and you wanted the final product to be a testimonial video, recap video, and speeches as separate files. Depending on the length of the speaker sessions, those files could excess 3 GB’s (gigabytes). Distributing these files to multiple people can be challenging due to potential issues with file size, which may prevent some recipients from watching or downloading them.
Overview
Currently, 4K resolution is a trending tech term. For companies needing conference video production, shooting speaker sessions in 4K isn’t necessary. Most viewers will watch on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, or your site, where they won’t notice if it’s 720p, 1080p, or 4K. 720p or 1080p is adequate for 30-60 minute sessions. Does our Orlando video production company require 4K? Yes and no. 4K benefits projects like aerial footage, interviews, TV, sports, docs, and film, offering significant editing advantages. Yet, for video content marketing, 4K isn’t worth the hassle. Consider your audience. Do you need 4K for a social media groundbreaking ceremony video? No. So, do you need 4K for video marketing? No. 1080p is fine and will remain so.