Too many video sizes!

[peestandingup]

I've been testing the new 1080p resolution. Looks great, but I'm starting to think that the list of sizes are getting kind of out of hand. WIth 1080p (FullHD) now in the mix, there are now a whopping 5 to choose from & I think the average visitor will probably end up getting confused on what they all mean.

Currently, Smugmug seems to be the only ones who offer a plethora of exact sizes like this that are exactly to scale (which brings up other issues in itself). Most video sharing sites that do HD offer an HD version & a non-HD version. Basically they both playback in the same "space" in your browser, but the HD version of course is much crisper with more resolution & detail packed into the space. When you really see the difference is at full screen though.

Everyone does this with their HD. Youtube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc. And I think Smugmug should consider trimming down that confusing size chart & going with a simpler player. I've talked about this before, but a lot of people didn't seem to get what I was saying. Hopefully its more apparent now. Thanks!

[Andy]

Pee,
Visitors only have to click the play button on the video and they get auto-served just the right size to view in their lightbox.

I'm not sure how to make that easier :)

Appreciate the feedback, always!

[peestandingup]

Pee,
Visitors only have to click the play button on the video and they get auto-served just the right size to view in their lightbox.

I'm not sure how to make that easier :)

Appreciate the feedback, always!
Thats true. The auto-size does do a decent job most of the time, but I think its far from a perfect solution because it determines it solely by what a visitor's screen resolution is.

A couple examples. I have a G4 12" PowerBook that has a screen res of 1024 x 768. So whenever I click on a Smugmug video, it always serves me up the "Mid-HD" version, which fits the screen but is just too intensive for my PowerBook's CPU to handle. So that means I have to click-down to the next size every single time.

Another one. I also have a 13" MacBook that has a screen res of 1280 x 800. The MacBook is quite capable of playing full HD videos just fine. But what does Smugmug serve me? The same "Mid-Def" video size. That means even though my computer is very capable of playing a higher res video, Smugmug doesnt seem to think so because my screen resolution isnt enough to pack in all 1280 x 720 of Smugmug's Hi-Def resolution with browser windows & all in place.

Which therein lies the main issue. Playing HD videos to scale is the root of the problem, especially with 1080p (who has a monitor with enough res to fit that all in?). Since Smugmug doesnt compact the size like it does with photos so they're presentable on the screen, its basically spewing video all over the browser window instead of compacting it to fit my screen like the other guys do. That would be like me uploading a 6 megapixel photo to Smugmug & you guys showed all 3008 x 2000 pixels on the screen. It doesnt make sense with photos so it shouldnt make sense with videos.

Thoughts??

[Andy]

Thoughts??

My thoughts are, the smart guys like you will figure it out just fine. The unknowing grandmas and anyone else, just clicks the play button and gets auto-size and is really, very happy :D