Last Updated on January 16, 2021 by Uscenes

Update mid 2015: We now only film in Ultra HD 4K. We have a new category of 4K videos and the early favorite is a 4K aquarium. We expect our 4K fireplace to do well soon as winter and Christmas approaches. We still offer Full HD versions, but the growing market for UHD TV screens encouraged us to raise the bar. We will soon be releasing Ultra HD screensavers too, for those with screens like on the recently announced 4K iMac computer.

Here at Uscenes we are dedicated to creating high quality videos. The footage currently on this website is all full HD. This means it looks great on all current SMART TVs and HDTVs.

Is 4K Really Necessary?

The next generation of televisions we are starting to see from manufacturers are being promoted as Ultra HD or 4K. This simply means the resolution is twice as wide.

In the image above you can see the differences, eventually we may even move up to 8K when we would use roll down screens the size of a wall. For now full HD is more than adequate for the size of TVs we use.

The SD in the image stands for Standard Definition. This is 720 x 480 pixels and was the resolution of our televisions up to around 10 years ago when HD started to become the new craze.  This is also the resolution for all DVDs. This is why we do not sell our videos on DVD, because the image would be poorer quality.

4K Vs Full HD 1080p

Most people currently have Full HD TVs which is 1080 x 1920. This is more than adequate for all our current screens. In fact many directors, cinematographers, videographers and other experts in the video and movie industry believe 4K is all sales hype. Many see it as as unnecessary step which manufacturers are using just to sell more television sets.

This recent CNET article makes a strong case against 4K, listing various reasons why we do not need it. The most obvious being shown in the below image which explains that we will not really benefit from 4K TVs unless they are 84 inches. Most of us sit close enough to our screens that we simply can’t tell the difference in resolution.

image credit Dennis Burger 

We will be filming our videos and screensavers in 4k

However, like I said earlier we are dedicated to top quality so we are not completely against 4K, Ultra HD. In fact we are going to be recording all future videos in 4K resolution.

After months of testing we have found time and time again that even the best full HD cameras cannot compare with the crispness and detail that a 4K camera can offer. We have been downscaling the 4K footage to 1080p to make these comparisons and the downscaled footage wins every time.

There are some 1080p cameras which can offer better “cinematic” footage, but we want detail. We want to make it look like your TV really is a fish tank, fireplace or window to a lovely scene from nature. Our emphasis is on replicating the scene as best as possible.

Filming in 4K and downscaling to 1080p is therefore our new specification for 2015. Next year we shall review how sales for 4K TVs have been going and if they are doing well we may begin offering 4K versions too. There is 4 times the amount of resolution in 4K video compared to Full HD, so files sizes will be larger, however a new video codec is on the way (h.265) which will mean smaller file sizes at some point next year.

So rest assured, you can trust Uscenes to provide you with the best quality relaxation videos and screensavers. If you wish to licence 4K footage for a commercial project, click here to enquire. Or we have a waiting room videos product now. But for home users downscaled 4k to 1080p Full HD is all you need for now.

We will probably be adding a single aquarium screensaver video soon in 4K, so stay tuned, but this may be the only one for quite some time. We just like the idea of having the first HD aquarium screensaver.