Need Help?

If you are having a problem or need help with Vimeo, please use our Help Center.

  • Kieran Heilbron plus 7 months ago
    Not sure if this is possible or not, but I don't believe it is as of right now. I'd like to be able to upload 4:3 videos in HD quality. This works if I pillar box (black bars on either sides) them in the 1280x720 HD standard, but not if I render 4:3 in the same resolution (960x720).

    I ask because I shoot Super 8, which is 4:3, but is still very good quality, so looks better as an HD upload. I'm also going to be shooting some commercials in HD that I will be cropping to 4:3 in post (for effect), and I'd prefer to show full frame rather than pillar boxed.

    - Kieran
  •  
  • Kevin Anthony plus 7 months ago
    This is an oversimplification, but there are three standard sizes for HD: 1920x1080, (1080p or "True" HD); 1440X1080, also known as 1080i (I for Interlaced, so more suitable for TVs than for computer screens); and 1280x720 (720p). Vimeo uses 720p which is technically HD. 1080p would go beyond the edges of the average laptop screen, so not much point in going there.

    960x720 is not considered HD by any standard, so I would assume that the Vimeo conversion bots don't see it as HD. It's bigger than Standard Def to be sure, but I'd bet that it goes into the SD queue because it is not HD.

    I know that some people use iMovie, and iMovie likes to encourage users to bring 1080p in at 960x540. And then, once you bring it in at that size and edit, there is no way to redigitize the edit to bring in the original 1080p. For people who've made that mistake, I would support the concept of a 960x720/560 size on Vimeo, but otherwise I think pillar boxing is really the only way to go here; either that or zoom up the video a bit more and cut off the top and bottom. But then you're pushing your luck with sizing.

    You can also try the standard def size and make sure you're optimizing your output settings according to the help pages here.
  • David Mihal 7 months ago
    1440x1080 is not the same as 1080i. 1440x1080 is 1080 with a 1.333 pixel aspect ratio (the actual video is 1440x1080 but your computer/video camera streatches it to 1920x1080, you dont loose much quality and you save space). 1080i means it is interlaced, not progressive. Video can be one, the other or both. Most commonly is HDV which is 1440x1080i
  • Daniel Hayek staff 7 months ago
    960 x 720 is almost always an anamorphic 16:9 setting, so we automatically convert them to 16:9. You should try uploading a 640 x 480 video if you want it to be 4:3 ratio. Vimeo does not do 4:3 HD.
  •  
  • AdamPellinDeeve 7 months ago
    I understand what you're saying and I agree, it doesn't matter what all the standards are, it would just be nice to see film shot at 4:3 at a higher definition.

    If you can upload and display videos with a 640 pixel width but flexible pixel height, it would be nice to have maybe a fixed 720 pixel height with a flexible up to 1280 pixel width.
  • Kieran Heilbron plus 6 months ago
    Exactly, the video does not need to be 16x9 to be "HD".

    That's a great idea, that anything with a height of 720 pixels should be automatically HD resolution.

    I guess the 960x720 anamorphic aspect makes this tricky to do, since some videos would have to be stretched, and some not. Surely there must be some way to do this though.
  •  
  • Corndogs.ORG plus 6 months ago
    I agree. I would like this as well.

    I have noticed that there are many older videos
    (staff videos even) that are encoded as "HD" even
    though they are 4:3. If I turn on/off the HD switch there is a noticeable difference in quality.
    it's 640x480!
    vimeo.com/257994

    I am converting a bunch of old VHS footage that I want to archive. It is all 4:3. It seems silly to pillar the sides to enable HD encoding.
  • Kieran Heilbron plus 5 months ago
    Aha! Good find with that video. So it can be done...

    Vimeo, any chance of getting this option for users?
  • Michael Herzog plus 1 month ago
    The difference between HD and non-HD in the staff video is just the bitrate, you can check that by analyzing the embedded video. Both are 640x480.

    It's alright with me when Vimeo conforms to the standards of HDTV. At first, pillarboxing for 4:3 HD videos feels weird (I did that here vimeo.com/3724022 ) - and YT seems to take everything at least 720px in height as HD - but I'd also have to do pillarboxing when I want to produce a BluRay-disc. The HD age kind of forgot about 4:3.

    By the way - why HD-versions of VHS tapes? Unlike old 8mm-film, which can give nice results in HD, the resolution is just not on the medium.
  •  
  • Nilz 5 months ago
    Not to mention that there are videos like this one (longer than it is wide):

    vimeo.com/3945096

    Just because those are the HD standards for TV doesn't mean that we should be restricted to that on the internet.

    HD for all shapes and sizes would really be appreciated.
  • Daniel Hayek staff 5 months ago
    It's an interesting idea but automated a process to distinguish between 16:9, 4:3, and anamorphic videos is fairly complicated. I'm aware that this is available via other sites but we have yet to find a mechanism for this that yields reliable results.
  • Nilz 5 months ago
    well does it have to be automated in all cases? Can't there be some advanced options for users to put in specific parameters for such videos so the encoder knows what they are? I am just throwing it out there, i don't know the technicalities of these things, and also realize that keeping things simple for users is important.
  •  
  • mikehedge 1 month ago
    hey sox!!! awesome about the auto encode of the anamorphic 960x720 stuff. neat....

    the thumbnails for these special ones that auto convert to 16x9 are not converting right. the thumbnail appears squished still.

    vimeo.com/7084142

    Mike
  •  
This conversation is missing your voice. Take five seconds to join Vimeo or log in.

Forum Rules

  1. Be nice: Even if you disagree with someone, you need to keep your tone civil and reasonable.
  2. Keep on topic: Please keep discussions relevant to each topic and avoid multiple topic posts.
  3. Don't Spam: Show restraint with your posting frequency. We're all doing cool stuff on Vimeo, but if we post about it too much, it can be distracting.
  4. Respect the Staff: The entire Community Staff were users once, just like you. We try very hard to answer everyone's questions, so please be cool.
  5. Still have questions? Watch this tutorial.

Advertisement