System Requirements
Our Streaming HD Movies will play on any system capable of supporting full HD (1920x1080p) playback without dropping frames. A fast (6-10Mbps constant throughput rate) Internet connection is required for playing HD streaming content without pausing.
All streaming movies are provided in Full-HD 1920x1080p resolution, encoded at approx. 5-6Mbps, as well as a lower bandwidth/resolution version of approx. 2Mbps at 768x432 resolution. (Select movies also offer a 1080p 9Mbps version.) A fast Internet connection capable of supporting at least 6Mbps is required for playback without pausing. A computer with at least a dual-core CPU, and video card with hardware acceleration for HD video, is required for optimum playback of the HD videos with no pausing or dropped frames. Refunds will not be given in the event videos do not play properly because they are being played on a system or Internet connection that does not meet or exceed these published minimum system requirements.
Tips for the best streaming HD playback:
1. Close all bandwidth-hogging applications like YouTube, Skype, Viber, torrent,
FTP downloading, etc. This makes a significant difference in the quality of
streaming playback.
2. CPU load and speed matter. Chrome can use a large amount of CPU resources
during full-HD playback. We have found that our streaming HD content plays the
best using the latest model Intel processors, with at least 2 cores, and at
least 3GHz clock speed (for example, the Intel Core i7-6700K). If you see stuttering/pausing
during playback, but your connection has plenty of bandwidth, then that's an
indication your CPU is inadequate for playback of streaming HD content.
Multi-platform instant HD streaming:
√ Clips play on any connected device (Windows, Mac, Android) that supports
Chrome with Google Widevine technology - see a list of all platforms that
support Google Modular Widevine
√ Firefox 47 and above also supports playback of our content, but for the best
results use Google Chrome
√ Our streaming movies also use PlayReady, which is compatible with Roku,
Google TV, and Amazon Fire TV set top boxes, as well as on select Smart TVs
√ Our site uses the same proven HD streaming technology as media giants like
Netflix, Amazon, and HBO
Streaming Movies are playable on Windows, Mac, and Android
It's the most significant upgrade we've made to our Member's Area since the site
began: the new H.264 streaming movies finally let non-PC users watch Candid-HD.com
digital content! The new movies are encoded using Google Widevine technology, for
cross-platform playback. Now, you can view movies on your Windows PC, Mac, or
Android device and watch in great H.264 full-HD quality.
Ultra-HQ HD 1080p: The Latest Advance in Image Quality
Candid-HD.com continues to be the leader in quality, with 50Mbps pro-grade video acquisition
We are proud to be the innovators in high-quality HD naturist
movies, bringing our customers the first all-HD 1080p naturist
documentary films back in 2007. That was followed by Candid-HD.com's
introduction of the world's first Full-HD 3D naturist movies in
2010. Now, we are proud to introduce the latest innovation in image
quality: Ultra-HQ HD 1080p naturist movies, shot on
professional-grade cameras and lenses at ultra-high capture rates of
up to 50Mbps. The improvement in image quality over our already
great-looking HDV sourced material is noticeable, whether on Blu-Ray
or downloadable HD clips.
Download a FREE Ultra-HQ 1080p Sample Clip from our sample gallery -
click here
When Candid-HD.com began in 2007, providing all-HD, only-HD content
was something of an innovation. Today, HD-resolution camcorders and
cameras have become ubiquitous and inexpensive, and almost every
content producer claims to have the 'crystal-clear' image of HD,
even if that HD resolution came from a $199 camcorder. There is,
however, much more to providing a good, professional-grade image
than just HD resolution. Choice of lenses, the camera's dynamic
range (range of gradations from black to white), the recording codec
chosen, and bitrate, are but a few of the factors that contribute to
overall image quality. Not to mention proper camera operation,
angle, steadiness, depth of field, and lighting are all very
important. We at Candid-HD.com spend many weeks and months testing
the latest equipment, cameras, and lenses, to see if they meet our
quality criteria. In many cases, we have sold or replaced cameras
that do not meet our standards after rigorous testing.
It's from this exhaustive testing of cameras, lenses, and
accessories that we have come up with an equipment portfolio that
provides the best possible image quality in every situation. For
example, due to cultural sensitivity for our naturist families,
there are instances where a full-on 'broadcast-type' setup of large
pro camera, 3-4 large lights, boom microphones, camera cranes, etc.
would not be appropriate. In some cases, it takes weeks or even
months of talks with naturist families before a level of trust is
built up to where they feel comfortable allowing our cameras to
document their naturist lifestyle. In this situation, a smaller,
less obtrusive camera setup is appropriate. While in other cases, a
big, multi-camera professional setup is appropriate for the shoot.
In any possible shooting situation, we have found the cameras,
lenses, and settings that will result in the best possible image
quality.
So what is 'Ultra-HQ 1080p'? Well, it's not really an actual
technical term, but rather something that we coined to describe the
latest advance in next-generation video quality. Anyone can
advertise HD-level resolution now, so we set out to research how to improve quality even further and continue to make our movies
stand out - and above - from the crowd. What are the advances?
First, by months of research, we have found the cameras and lenses
that we feel provide the absolute best quality currently available.
In addition, we've spent a great deal of time setting them up for
the best possible image under different lighting conditions.
Finally, our cameras use broadcast-quality recording codecs at
ultra-high bitrates of up to 50Mbps at 1920x1080p, depending on the
amount of movement in the source material. For comparison, most
low-cost consumer HD camcorders only allow for bitrates of between 9
and 17 Mbps. Note: the 50Mbps bitrate is the source acquisition
bitrate - our Member's Area clips are encoded from 5-9Mbps in 2-pass
VBR H.264 format.
Even at this relatively low bitrate, the HD quality is excellent.
However, these lower bitrates still cannot provide the clarity
of the source material - the closest thing to the source is watch
the film on Blu-Ray, which is encoded in H.264 at between 28 and
35Mbps.
The best quality - From source acquisition, to editing
and encoding, to delivery
Besides using the best possible equipment and methods for content
acquisition, we also spend a lot of time during editing and output
rendering, to make sure the image stays as clean as possible to
delivery. H264, 2-pass variable bitrate encoding is used wherever
possible to provide the best possible image quality. While this
method takes much longer than simply rendering to MPEG-2 (up to five
times as long), it provides the best final output quality for our
movies. As another example, when a movie is encoded to Blu-Ray disc,
we calculate the absolute maximum bitrate that can be used for that
movie's running time. Again, this is done to provide the best image
quality possible for our customers.
Mobile devices: tablets, smartphones and more
At Candid-HD.com, we also understand the movement many people are
making to tablets and mobile devices for their Internet experience
and leisure activities. They're small, convenient, easy to take with
you, and fun. While we feel desktop computers and notebooks, due to
their larger screen size, will remain to be the main way people
watch our streaming movies, our new Streaming HD Full movies allow customers
to view our content on their smartphones, Android tablets, and
mobile devices.
Looking toward the future
We are constantly seeking improvement to continue providing the
highest-quality HD naturist movies in the marketplace. One example
of this is encoding our Member's Area clips in the
highest-quality H.264 codec. From 2007-2014, our movie clips were encoded using WMV-HD, as it provided good image quality and
more importantly, content protection for our copyrighted films.
However, the VC1 codec of WMV has been surpassed by H.264 encoding,
which at low bitrates can provide an almost Blu-Ray level of
quality, especially when viewed in a windowed size. It's for this
reason that all our new Member's Area
streaming movies are encoded in the H.264 format (2-pass, VBR) for the best possible quality. We're also constantly looking into new technical
innovations that will provide the clearest, 'you-are-there' quality
for our customers. Whether that will be 4k video acquisition, or
another new technology, we promise to always stay ahead of the curve
to provide you with the best quality anywhere!
In General: why our HD Videos look great
Candid-HD.com Videos - Optimized for the Best Video Quality
We filmed, edited, and encoded our videos with one thing of paramount importance - QUALITY. The video image always took first priority; that is why the videos are offered at 1920x1080 resolution at the highest possible bitrate, lowering the resolution or bitrate caused a degradation in image quality. It might be cold and gray where you are now - but with our HD videos, you can feel like you're on the beach, all year long!
Sharp Still Frames and "Cinema-Quality" Slow Motion
Furthermore, our videos were OPTIMIZED for clear and smooth slow-motion and still frame playback. The videos were encoded using the best encoding software and hardware on the market, using progressive scan. Every frame is sharp and clear, with no interlace artifacts, jagged edges, or ghosting. The video looks great when it's playing and when it's paused.
Viewing Distance - Don't Sit Too Close!
It is important to have the proper viewing distance, at least 2-3x the width of the screen, when viewing the videos. Don't think of it in terms of how close you sit to your monitor when working or typing text, think of it as watching an HDTV program, which you are. The optimal distance is from 2-3 times the screen width away from your screen. In the case of a 20" 16:9 LCD monitor, that would mean you should watch the video from 32" to 48" (.8m to 1.2m) away from the screen.
Comparison of resolution
Our HD Videos are in 1920x1080p, and provide 6x the resolution of a standard DVD! While this is great for your viewing experience, and provides breathtaking "you are there" clarity, it has 2 pitfalls: First, the file sizes are huge, and second, it means your computer must decode 6x the amount of information a DVD has, every second the video is playing back on your system. And this means a powerful computer system is required for satisfying, smooth HD playback. If your system plays DVDs properly it does NOT necessarily mean you will be able to play our HD Videos. Our videos weren't designed to play on the widest variety of computers out there, they were designed for the best video quality without any compromises, and that requires a powerful computer. See the comparison below to understand just how many more pixels HD has compared to standard DVD.
HDTV (full resolution): 1920x1080 pixel resolution: 2,073,600
pixels
HDTV (lower standard): 1280x720 pixel resolution: 921,600 pixels
DVD: 720x480 pixel resolution: 345,600 pixels
HDV Video vs. Next-Generation 'Ultra-HQ' HD 1080p
Most of our movies produced from 2007 through 2011 were shot on prosumer-
and professional-grade HDV video cameras. While not broadcast-grade,
these
cameras provide excellent image quality, and have been used in the
production of many reality TV shows as well as in electronic news
gathering. And their very good image quality can be seen from many
of our movies, which set the quality standard for naturist
documentary films.
The native resolution of all HDV format video cameras is
1440x1080, with a pixel aspect ratio of 1.33. This displays properly
on your TV as a 16:9 1920x1080 image. Our "Full HD" resolution
1920x1080 videos have been transferred from the native HDV 1440x1080
resolution with 1.33 pixel aspect ratio, to a 1920x1080 resolution
image with 1:1 pixel aspect ratio, for the best display on your
monitor. There is no degradation of the original image quality, and
you can watch our HD videos by connecting the output of your
computer's video card (DVI or HDMI) to your HDTV, with excellent
results.
The latest Candid-HD.com innovation in HD image quality is the use
of professional next-generation Ultra-HQ cameras and lenses,
shooting 1920x1080p at very high bitrates of up to 50Mbps. This
improvement in image capture technology makes a visible improvement
in the quality of our movies, especially when viewed on Blu-Ray
disc.
Music Credits
All music used in our video productions is public domain
royalty-free music, and was graciously provided by:
Peter John Ross - visit his site at
www.sonnyboo.com
Kevin MacLeod - visit his site at
incompetech.com.
Licensed under Creative
Commons Attribution 2.0.
DO NOT Re-scale the Video, if Possible
Re-scaling is what happens when you play back a video at any resolution other than its original (native) resolution. When a video is played back at a different resolution than its native resolution, your video card (or display) must re-scale, or interpolate, every pixel in the source image to match the resolution you are watching it at. This inevitably results in a degradation of video quality, whether the rescaling is upscaling (scaling to a resolution more than the source video) or downscaling (scaling to a smaller resolution than the source video).
Our HD videos are 1920x1080 resolution. This means that for the BEST
results and sharpest possible image, the video must be watched at
this same 1920x1080 resolution.
Calibrate Your Monitor for optimal video display
It's also very important to watch our HD Videos (or any video,
for that matter) on a properly calibrated display. Calibration
simply means adjusting your monitor's (and software player's) video
display settings to properly display the image, as the content
producer intended it to be seen. This involves setting proper
contrast levels, brightness, black level, color adjustments,
geometry, overscan, gamma, and other parameters. The best tools for
calibrating your display (they work for your HDTV and your computer
monitor) are:
Digital
Video Essentials
AVIA Test
Disc
SUMMARY: For the Best Video Quality, buy the Blu-Ray disc!
The downloadable video clips look great. But for the best video quality, there is no choice other than to watch our HD movies on Blu-Ray, using a 1920x1080 resolution HDTV or projector. If you still haven't made the jump to HDTV, it's time to upgrade that home theater now! Or, you could just wait a little longer and get a 4k TV and 4k disc player...
