What Are We Trying to Compress? - A Practical Guide to Video and Audio Compression - page 42

3.8 Scoping the Problem

To be able to compare the various picture sizes and frame rates, the size of the data sets
we are operating on must be taken into consideration. Then the capacity planning for a
new compression workflow system can take place. The calculations are fairly simple,
although finding the initial values to use is not easy. Some helpful tables are provided in
the appendices.
Planning the capacity of a system to provide sufficient disk space for the projects
being developed on it is vital. If the cost of storage is the limiting factor, then the equation
is reversed. The decision then becomes how much video and at what picture size is going
to be stored in the available disk space.

3.9 Moving-Image Formats

Now that we understand the basic requirements of a compression system, we can look at
what kind of material is going to be processed. Film, TV, and computer data are all differ-
ent. The next few chapters look at each of them in detail and close with an examination of
audio, which is an important component of the viewing experience.