Do my pixels have to match the screen i want to play my video on?

[jalala53810301]

a client asked me for a video that should be played as a presentation on a screen that is 3 meters wide and 3 meters high, do i need to render the video in dimensions that match the exact screen size? if not what settings should i render with for the video to be able to be played on the 3X3 meter screen (without being pixelated)

[Warren Heaton · Accepted solution]

You want to work at a Composition aspect ratio that matches the screen aspect ratio that your rendered files will play on.  For a 3-meter by 3-meter screen, you would work in an After Effects Composition with a 1:1 (1:00) Aspect Ratio; however, you'll work at pixels not meters.

Composition Settings for a 1080-by-1080 Comp with 1:1 (1.00) Aspect Ratio

Ask the client what the "frame size" should be for display hardware.  There should be a specification sheet that indicates exactly what the native resolution of the display is.  It could be as low as 480-by-480, 1080-by-1080 or as high as 2160-by-2160.

You'll also want to know what frame rate is supported as well as what file format should be delivered.  For example, the LED screens at 1515 Broadway in New York accept 30fps H264 MP4 with a maximum bitrate of 32 Mbps.

[jalala53810301]

hey Warren! thanks for the clarification, i totally get what you meant by the 1:1 aspect ratio, since the video will be played on a 3X3 meter screen (square). But what i dont get is what amount of pixels should i have as width and height for the video to be able to play on a 3X3 screen without the video being pixelated?

[Warren Heaton]

The physical size of the screen is secondary to the pixel count or the LED count. 

Think of it like a 32-inch 4K TV or an 85-inch 4K TV.  We'd work with the exact same native frame size in pixels (3840-by-2160  for each even thought one is 32 inches diagaonally and the other is 85 inches diagonally.  Both TVs likeky support lower frame sizes like 1920-by-1080 and 1280-by-720, but 3840-by-2160 is going to look best.

So you want to know the native resolution or native frame size of the 3-meter by 3-meter screen.