Resolution on 2k HD

[Jay A. Kelley]

As a guy who is SUPPOSED to be a teacher on the RED line of cameras, I feel a little stupid asking this question.. But then, I gotta learn too, right?

I shot a project all day today in 2K HD mode. And was AMAZED (and a little disappointed) to see the resolution of all my files at 1920x1080.

Checked the camera again.. Yup.. 2K HD....

What did I miss?

Have to be honest, I did not think the EPIC even SHOT 1080p.. Until I saw 45 1080p clips staring me in the face. :scared:

Ouch.. Gonna love this answer.. Lay it on me guys..

Jay

 

[Phil Holland]

Hello Jay,

The Red camera format structure works like this:
5K (and all formats like 4K, 3K, etc) = 1.9:1 Aspect Ratio. However, once Dragon is released we'll have a 6K format that's actually 1.94:1, however 5K resolution and aspect ratio won't change. Although you can specify custom resolutions in a future firmware update.

The HD designation refers to the 16x9/1.78:1 aspect ratio used on modern televisions and displays. There currently are two widely accepted broadcast standards based on this aspect ratio, 1920x1080 (1080p) and now that UHD broadcast standards have been finalized 3840x2160 (2160p).

WS designates "wide screen" and on Red cameras that means a 2.37:1 aspect ratio. This particular ratio is sort of a the middle spot between 2.35:1 and 2.40:1, also some like to use 2.39:1. All are essentially in the "wheel house" here. There is an odd variation of aspect ratio at 1K, which you can see in the graphic below.

ANA is the squeezed mode utilized for anamorphic lenses.

Here is the old Red Format Key I made which explains many of the resolutions, formats, and aspect ratios. Feel free to use it as reference for your classes.

Red Format Key
This is a key to the different Red capture formats. It contains the format name, max fps, resolution, and aspect ratio. I've included both Epic and Scarlet information on the same key; hopefully useful to those using Epic and Scarlet in A/B cam situations.

- Download 2k Version - Download 5k Version

 

[Trent Lillehaugen]

As a guy who is SUPPOSED to be a teacher on the RED line of cameras, I feel a little stupid asking this question.. But then, I gotta learn too, right?

I shot a project all day today in 2K HD mode. And was AMAZED (and a little disappointed) to see the resolution of all my files at 1920x1080.

Checked the camera again.. Yup.. 2K HD....

What did I miss?

Have to be honest, I did not think the EPIC even SHOT 1080p.. Until I saw 45 1080p clips staring me in the face. :scared:

Ouch.. Gonna love this answer.. Lay it on me guys..

Jay

If you don't like 1080p, please don't look at the 1K formats

Here's a tip if you want to see what the resolution of a particular format is (without looking at the nice table on page 81 of the Ops Guide):
- Go to the Frame Guide dialog (Settings->Display->Guides).
- Set your frame guide to Full Mode.
- Look at the bottom left of the dialog, it will show the dimensions of the guide (which is Full mode is the same as the format).

If you do this for all the 'HD' formats you'll notice they have the same height as their full resolution counterpart. This ensures that they are smaller than their full resolution counterparts as well. That is, '2K' is the largest '2K xxx' format, all the other '2K xxx' formats are bound by the '2k' format.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Jay - Phil's explanation is, of course, impeccable and uber-complete. The short version is that the HD designation was the giveaway. Just as 4K HD is actually not 4K but 3840 x 1920, 2K HD is the same as 1080P, 1920 wide.

 

[Clark Dunbar]

Jay - on the REDOne - when you shot 2K (16x9) you got 2048x1152 - that particular pixel count isn't in the Epic presets....

 

[Jay A. Kelley]

Go to reduser... Ask question.. Get wonderful people with great answers.... Pretty simple.

Thank you all so much,

Jay

 

[Jason Comparetto]

This was just as challenging for me to get used to on the Red One. I found myself having to memorize all the pixel resolutions so I could communicate them to other people on set. There's a part of me that just wants it to say the resolution in the menu rather than ambiguous abbreviations like "2K HD". The camera knows that its "1920 x 1080", why not just say that? And if the camera really wants to force "2K HD", it can compromise with a vertical menu that lists "1920 x 1080 aka 2K HD". That way there's absolutely no confusion.

Actually better yet, why not just post the "Red Format Key 2012" inside the user menu, and we just click on the one we want?

 

[Jay A. Kelley]

That is a wonderful idea Jason...
Jay