Just What Exactly is 4K?

As you may or may not know, 4K is the latest in video production resolutions with a resolution of 4096x2160 pixels. It has become the forthcoming standard resolution for future corporate video production. With 12.6 million pixels, it is over 4x the current standard 1920x1080 HD video resolution. There are numerous benefits to this quite frankly stunningly detailed video production resolution, but how does it apply to corporate video production? Keep reading for reasons why you should or even shouldn’t think about 4K for your next corporate video project.

4K gives you enormous flexibility in post production

The first big advantage is quite obviously, resolution. As a video producer, 4K gives you enormous flexibility in post production to crop shots whilst still maintaining ultra-high definition video - something which has previously been impossible to do without leading to lower resolutions. This is great news for video production companies, of which many have been joining the 4K bandwagon, using 4K for all types of corporate video applications.

The below video is an example of a promotional video shot in 4K

However, many people aren’t ready for the 4K bandwagon, despite such fantastic prices for 4K capable equipment; there are still some major downfalls to using 4K on a regular basis. The biggest has to be inefficient video codecs - for those who don’t understand, video codecs are things which allow video to be compressed to reduce file sizes. Inefficient 4K codecs result in very large file sizes, causing all sorts of issues. The main issue is the price of storage capacity, and with huge file sizes, storage which holds a reasonable amount of footage is very expensive. This can lead to you investing hundreds on suitable storage options, or more if you’re planning on shooting RAW 4K!

 Inefficient 4K codecs result in very large file sizes, causing all sorts of issues.

The second downfall is the lack of computing power. For 90% of people, editing 4K natively simply isn’t possible, so currently, video producers are resorting to using proxies. What exactly are proxies you may ask...? Well, proxies simply take the original file and compress it down to a lower resolution for editing purposes only. Once you have edited your compressed version of the file, you then reconnect your edited footage with the source footage, and because of the same time code and video settings, you are able to render your video editing into the original 4K footage - ta-da! However, by no means is this a quick process: having to use two separate programs can be a huge pain. BUT the results are stunning and in many cases are more than worth all that hard work.

The biggest flaw, however, is something that you may not have even considered: it’s the plain and simple fact that no one can watch 4K, let alone notice the difference at standard TV viewing distances. As a consumer, it is typically unlikely that you are able to tell the difference between 4K and say 1080p HD, rendering the need for 4K only in the largest displays. As consumers in the UK, only 50% of us actually have access to HD viewing which has been around since 2004, a whopping 10 years ago. Although as with all new technologies, 4K will undoubtedly filter down to the masses in years to come, for now, recording something in 4K for consumer targeted viewing seems a little bonkers.

However with 4K displays becoming more and more affordable, prosumers and people using the internet in an office environment are much more likely to be watching 4K in the forthcoming future. So perhaps business video production may well be worth using 4K for, especially with its large resolution making it versatile for use on big screens in conferences and other business orientated events for corporate video viewing.

We can definitely see the advantage of offering 4k capability, giving potential customers more confidence in you and your video production services.

So, is 4K worth it for corporate video production? That’s up to you. For more expensive projects, we can definitely see the advantage of offering 4k capability, giving potential customers more confidence in you and your video production services. This is, of course, if you are willing to work around the bottlenecks. If you do decide to go for it, then I’m sure you will be greatly rewarded with some beautiful looking video production, giving your clients that ‘wow’ factor.

Thinking of going 4K for your videography? Check out our ‘Affordable 4K Monitors’ for our top 3 UHD displays.