March 7th, 2007 by edit1media

March 7, 2007

Below is a funny article about how the production / videography world is turning marketing on it’s head. It seems that everyone wants to use the term “High Definition” now! Ummm, since when is fabric or tree bark high definition? Give me a break!

So this leads me to talk a bit about why would someone want their wedding or event filmed in High Definition? (Besides the fact that everyone wants to use this trendy term!) Hopefully this is an easy read that will explain it in simple terms without all the techno-jargon.

Last Christmas, as Chris and I were doing some shopping for our family, we saw tons of LCD & Plasma HDTV’s being purchased everywhere we went! Prices dropped drastically and people just knew they had to have the latest thing! Unfortunately many people were disappointed when they hooked up their newest gizmo to cable and saw that their favorite TV channel looked worse than it did on their old Standard Definition set. What gives???

Here’s the deal. In order for the video on your HD screen to look good, it needs to have been filmed in High Definition. And then it also needs to be broadcast (or played back) in HD. Many people do not have HD Cable channels because they never needed them before. They just assumed that you buy the new set, hook it up, and blammo — you have beautiful images. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. To watch cable in High Definition, you need to subscribe to HD channels.

If you want your wedding or event video to look as good on that nice new BIG widescreen, you need to have it filmed in High Definition. If you were wondering, you cannot have it filmed in Standard Definition and then somehow change it later. And run in the other direction from someone who claims that can be done.

Once your wedding is filmed in High Definition, you will need a way to play it. Unfortunately your current DVD player cannot play high definition content. Right now there are two standards (can you say Beta vs. VHS all over again?). HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Your videographer has to provide you with either an HD-DVD or a Blu-Ray Disk. This will require the purchase of either an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player based on which disk format your wedding was created with.

Now, this is obviously getting a bit expensive! First of all, you are paying for your videographer’s services. Then you pay for an upgrade to High Definition. Then you bought an HD set. NOW you also have to buy a HDDVD or Blu-Ray player???

So why would you go through all of this expense and craziness?

For just a moment, let’s go back to why you are hiring a videographer in the first place. You are capturing one of the most incredible days of your lives. And one that you will be able to share with generations to come. Not to mention all the details and moments that you will miss during the day. OK, so honestly there are 100 reasons you made the right choice to hire the best quality videographer for your wedding day.

If you will never ever purchase an HD widescreen TV, then don’t worry about getting your video upgraded to HD. But the truth is that brides & grooms today are on the cusp of this technological craze and would be remiss NOT to have their wedding filmed in HD. At the very least, see if your videographer can film & edit in HD now and just deliver in SD for your regular DVD player. Then sometime in the future when the standards are worked out, ask for a new version from him/her in that format. THAT is do-able and it won’t be as expensive upfront.

But also keep in mind that just like you can have the greatest TV in the world and still get crummy quality (or a crummy show), you can also look for a videographer who offers a cheap HD upgrade and still have a shakey, icky video. So don’t get distracted by the buzz words, and remember to keep your eye on the big picture…overall shooting ability, editing skill, ability to capture emotion, etc.

Now, on to that silly HD-hype article….

wedding video hd technology

Cinematography, High Definition, wedding videographer, Weddings