Ideal asset sizes for on-site experiences

The purpose of this document is to describe the ideal sizes for video and photo assets for use with on-site experiences.

To achieve the best display results, assets should be created with the minimum sizes under consideration:

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* Continue reading for an explanation about variable photo sizes.

Based on the above dimensions, video and photo assets are resized and transcoded automatically by the platform. The platform creates multiple different versions of the asset, allowing the on-site experiences to decide which size asset is the best fit for the display. For example, if you are viewing an on-site experience from a small laptop or mobile device, one-size larger than the display area is selected and the asset is scaled down by the web browser. This avoids “scale-up” issues that may cause the content to not be viewed in the optimal manner.

Asset handling logic

Videos are handled in a consistent manner. A video is scaled down to 1920 pixels width, if the original width of the video exceeded that number.

For example, a landscape video that was recorded at 4K resolution (3840 x 2160), will be scaled down to fit within a 1920 x 1080 and various smaller resolutions also created for smaller viewport laptops, tablets and mobile devices. A portrait video similarly will be scaled down to fit within those same dimensions.

Photos are handled in a slightly different manner. A photo is scaled down to 1920 pixels width, if the original width of the video exceeds that number (this part is similar to how videos are handled). What is different is that the photo is allowed to have a variable height, provided that the original aspect ratio of the uploaded photo is maintained.

For example, a portrait photo that was taken with a resolution of 3024 x 4032 will be scaled down to 1920 x 2560. Various other smaller renditions are also created and displayed based upon the device the user is consuming the content on and the available viewport space.

Device considerations

Most modern devices capture video and photo content at or above our minimum ideal dimensions, so immediately the source content that is being captured on the device, has the best chance of being optimal. During the creative process, guidance should be provided to creators to be careful not to export lower resolution copies of content. Most editing apps are good about this and give you a choice about how you would like the content saved to the device. If you are “downloading” a copy of the content from a social media platform, be careful and check the dimensions of the content that is being downloaded, in many cases, it could be smaller than the ideal dimensions, which will still work fine and generally look very good – but may not be “ideal”.

Final thoughts

Since video and photo assets come in a large variety of shapes and sizes, the platform does its best to generate the right mix of assets based on the source asset provided. If you upload a low resolution video or photo, there isn’t anything that can be done to improve the quality, but simply show the best version of the content that was provided, given the user’s device and viewport size.

For any further questions, please contact your customer success account manager (support@creatable.io ) and they will be happy to answer any additional questions.