4K is not just creeping up on us, it's stepping in front of us and blowing one of those party hooters in our face and there is a demand for 4K footage out there. Not just mind blowing Red files that use an entire hard drive in 30 seconds but good quality 4K format in compressed form.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could upload this gorgeousness on Smugmug. Even better if we could sell it and put a premium price on it.

So a couple of questions I'd like to put out there to Smugmug Pros:

1. What shape of 4K should videos be produced at: 4096x2160 or 4096x2304 (16:9)?

2. What codec will work best for everyone - options:
Avid DNxHD - works on Mac and PC and the codec is free
Cineform - works on Mac and PC but costs $299 to get the codec
Photo JPEG - works on both again and is already on your machine but is a bit old in the tooth
H.264 - works on ya ya ya but is it a bit too compressed
ProRes - doesn't really work on PC but is quite popular with the Apple mob

So lid opened, can discarded and worms wriggling all over the place. Let's see some opinions.

Just tried to use H.264 as a codec and it can't go above 2000x2000px so that is no use for 4K!!!

Doing a shoot out between DNxHD, Photo JPEG and MJPEG A tonight on a 4K time lapse. Can't do ProRes as I am using a PC. Results soonish.

Originally Posted by Pukkascott ... 1. What shape of 4K should videos be produced at: 4096x2160 or 4096x2304 (16:9)? ...

That entirely depends upon your target application and/or audience.

Originally Posted by Pukkascott ... 2. What codec will work best for everyone - options: Avid DNxHD - works on Mac and PC and the codec is free Cineform - works on Mac and PC but costs $299 to get the codec Photo JPEG - works on both again and is already on your machine but is a bit old in the tooth H.264 - works on ya ya ya but is it a bit too compressed ProRes - doesn't really work on PC but is quite popular with the Apple mob ...

For distribution, be prepared to provide whatever format and wrapper your target customer or audience requires. If you cannot transcode the file, find a reputable service which can transcode the file.

Obviously, this means your production format should be as high a quality (ideally 16 bits and 4:4:4, all I-frame) and as little compression as you can manage, in order to be able to transcode at high quality.