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What is the most popular screen size?

What is the optimal size/quality of a video to play on a given TV screen size to avoid any visible pixelation/quality errors?

  • So the premise is this - Say, you have a 32" LCD/Plasma/LED TV and you have a 700 MB video file (say, a movie ripped from a DVD). Based on which parameters of the - - video file (resolution x by y, datarate z kbps, fps 23/24/25/30 fps) - TV (max resolution, say Full HD or HD ready, size in inches) and which formulae to calculate the expected quality, will you be able to decide if the video file is at the minimum optimal quality to not show any visible pixelation? The formulae should also allow you to calculate what is the optimal size/quality (using resolution, datarate, fps etc) of a video file to avoid pixelation for different sized TV screens. You might also want to account for a standard rate/kbps for the audio content (say 256 kbps, or any specific audio bitrate you choose), for sizing the video file. By pixelation, I refer to the definition found on Wikipedia - "..pixelation is caused by displaying a bitmap or a section of a bitmap at such a large size that individual pixels, small single-colored square display elements that comprise the bitmap, are visible."

  • Answer:

    Konstantinos's answer is right, but there are a few more nuances to be considered. If the television is a flat-screen, the video should be de-interlaced, otherwise you might get weird artifacts during fast motion. If the display is an older tube-style display, the video should be interlaced. Some displays allow for frame rates higher than 30 fps, but most people (not all) find that higher fps looks strange and unnatural (go watch The Hobbit and decide for yourself). Make sure that the aspect ratio of the video matches the display (if the display is widescreen, non-widescreen video will have to be letterboxed so it doesn't stretch out weird). If the video will be scrubbed through (or played backward), try to avoid a codec that uses temporal encoding, such as h.264, as it can get weird artifacts when scrubbing or playing backward. Lastly (this is more of a content issue than an encoding issue), if you know that the video is shot wide (ie people/things are small in the frame), it will look much better on a bigger display than on a tiny screen.

Aladdin Steiman-Cameron at Quora Visit the source

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There is no such magic formula for the simple reason that quality depends on the content .  In other words, for two movie scenes, everything else being equal,(say, resolution and codec), one scene may need a higher bit rate to be coded than another.  In general, the resolution of the content should be equal or larger than the resolution of the TV (It is easier to downscale than upscale). For the same resolution TV, the size of the TV simply defines the optimum distance to watch the movie (e.g., two picture heights).

Konstantinos Konstantinides

A major advantage to modern 1080p high-def televisions is that you no longer see individual pixels on most displays, no matter where you’re sitting. However, on all but the very latest Ultra HD TVs it’s possible that you’ll see some pixelation or video noise if you sit very close to the screen. If you like to get “up close and personal” with your favorite TV or movie characters on a regular basis, stick with 55-inches or smaller unless you’re getting an Ultra HD model. Here's the chart https://www.dtv-installations.com/blog/what-size-tv-do-i-need-best-home-theater-experience Just because you’re watching something on an HDTV, that doesn’t mean it’s really HD. Some high definition signals aren’t as good as others, and some movies you watch on an HDTV aren’t HD at all https://www.dtv-installations.com/blog/when-hd-tv-isn%E2%80%99t-really-hd-quick-solutions

John Lysy

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