High-Definition (HD) Video Formats Comparison - Is The Internet Ready for HD? Part-1

We have all heard about Adobe's new version of the Flash 9 Player which includes support for HD quality video including hardware acceleration.

While this is great news for video online, it is interesting to examine whether or not we are really ready for HD.

This post will answer the question of "Is the Web ready for HD video?" There are three technical obstacles we need to overcome before we can see HD in a browser. They are: size, bandwidth, client software/hardware, and TV connectivity.

Before we get into the the technical details and the problem we face on the web, let's look what HD will mean for the quality.

Let's compare the main formats currently used:

• YouTube
• BrightCove
• TV
• DVD
• 720p HD
• Full HD (or True HD)

The example used for this video is from Pixar's Ratatouille. It is a pure digital production and as a result it offers much higher clarity and sharpness than most HD motion pictures.

All the movies are compared when playing full screen using a HD capable monitor.

YouTube

BrightCove

TV

DVD

720p HD

Full HD

As you can see, HD quality video is really stunning. The differrence between Full HD and YouTube is no less than dramatic. Why should we accept watching pixilated low-quality "garbage" when we can get HD?

Just take a look of these side-by-side comparisons:

There is no question that HD quality video is coming. A quality of that level is going push itself on to the market. The only question is - who is going make it available first, and when will people actually able to see it.

But, the Web isn't really ready for HD. You see there are three obstacles we need to overcome before we can see HD in a browser. They are: Size, Bandwidth, and client software/hardware.

Just a note: When I say HD, I always mean Full HD. There two sizes of HD Video. Full HD which is technically referred to as 1080i/p and "crap" HD which is half the quality called 720p. I don't want low-quality HD - that is useless.

Let me give you all another example that shows the difference in pixel quality when you compare DVD, 720p HD and Full HD.

There is no question that HD quality video is coming. A quality of that level is going push itself on to the market. The only question is - who is going make it available first, and when will people actually able to see it.

But, the Web isn't really ready for HD. You see there are three obstacles we need to overcome before we can see HD in a browser. They are: Size, Bandwidth, and client software/hardware.

Just a note: When we say HD, we always mean Full HD. There two sizes of HD Video. Full HD which is technically referred to as 1080i/p and "crap" HD which is half the quality called 720p. We don't want low-quality HD - that is useless.

Read Part 2 - Challenges for High-Definition on the Web - Is the Internet Ready for HD?

This great post was written by Thomas Baekdal from Baekdal.com, one of the coolest blogs Ive seen.
The original post can be found here