4K stock footage versus HD – what is selling more?

In this time of improved television technology HD (high definition) footage is still the best seller. In our country, if you buy 4K television, not even one TV provider has 4K channel. How could they have, even true HD channels are rare. Bummer.

Making 4K stock video footage is our naive thinking it would be the next big thing. Like it was from old DV to HD ready (720p), later it was FullHD (1080p). The jump wasn’t fast either. And the use of 4K (2160p) will be even slower. Forget about 6K or 8K which already possible with few cameras. This are strictly for payed project where they use it for big jumbo television few meters big. Even 4K would be just OK, unless people would be standing a meter away from such big screen. In related topic; can you even notice theaters screening HD movies? Sure not, because they aren’t so bad on big screen and 30 meters away.

We are shooting 4K stock footage for about a year and half (making it 1/3 of portfolio), but the sales are very rare. So rare that we would even have a problem making a statistics chart. It surely didn’t pay out debt for the expensive equipment making 4K stock video footage. Neither the camera and faster computer. Downscalled HD stock footage sales are saving our ass. 4K stock video just isn’t yet using its potential, not just for 4K broadcasting, but for editing when making HD projects too.

Even if 4K stock video isn’t ready to meet the audience, it is our future investment which will pay our debts in later years. Maybe in three or four years to come. In the mean time we will just write many benefits using 4K video footage for any kind of projects.

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  1. Pingback: How To Shoot Stock Footage With Canon 5D Mark III cDNG RAW

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