POV.HD User Manual
Tips and Guidelines
40
Noise Filtering also increases the amount of footage that can be stored on a given SDHC card, because, by
eliminated random spots of color, it makes it possible to achieve a high level of compression without
reducing video quality.
Sharpener
The Sharpener enhances clarity by selectively increasing contrast along the edges of objects in the frame.
The Sharpener is either on or off. The default is ON.
Sharpening is most appropriate in lighting conditions that create a flat look to the frame because of lower
than normal contrast. Gray overcast skies, deep shade, or indoors with indirect lighting can create this
kind of situation.
Sharpening does not affect video compression, so the video file size will be roughly the same with
sharpening turned on or turned off.
Sharpening should be turned off if you intend to edit the video on a computer after shooting because the
adjustments made to the images by the sharpening process may interact poorly with other effects applied
in later editing.
Image Quality
When captured video is saved to the SDHC card, the video data is compressed in order to significantly
reduce the required amount of space on the card. The more that digital video is compressed the more
likely it is that on playback a viewer may notice some loss of fine detail, general sharpness, or other
effects.
Whether or not higher compression produces any noticeable effects depends upon on number of factors:
what is being shot, lighting conditions, rapidity of movement, and other things. In addition, compression
effects are much less likely to be noticed if the video is played back in a smaller format. If you play back
your video in a window on a personal computer or downsize it for uploading to YouTube or some other
sharing site, higher compression is much less of a consideration than if your target is play back on a large,
full resolution HD television screen.
Higher compression is really only a consideration if you are shooting video that may overrun the capacity
of your SDHC card.
The best way to determine what is for you the best tradeoff between file sizes and picture quality is to try
it and see. Record some video at the default High setting and then some similar video using Medium. This
testing will give the most reliable results if you do it under conditions that are like the conditions where
you do most of your shooting.
The Very High setting is intended primarily for use by video professionals. Most personal computers may
have difficulty playing back 16 Mbits/sec video. For most ordinary uses, 12 Mbits/sec will provide
excellent HD video has a lower chance of creating playback difficulties.
