Optimal frame dimensions for Flash video
Created
24 September 2007
Video codecs such as On2 VP6 and Sorenson Spark perform best when the frame width and height use multiples of 16. While you can use any width and height in your encoding settings, non-optimal dimensions can result in poor image quality and reduced frame rate. For the best image quality and playback, you should always use width and height dimensions that use a multiple of 16 (best), 8 (better), or 4 (good). In fact, I would recommend that you refrain from using 4 or 8 multiples unless absolutely necessary, unless you can verify with cross-platform tests that quality or playback haven't been compromised. Refer to the following tables to pick dimensions for your layout.
Note: Both the native encoding dimensions and the playback dimensions should be a multiple of 16. For example, if you encode your FLV file to use a frame dimension of 320 × 240, you should scale to a size such as 512 × 384.
| Best (16) | Better (8) | Good (4) |
|---|---|---|
| 640 × 480 | 608 × 456 | 624 × 468 |
| 576 × 432 | 544 × 408 | 592 × 444 |
| 512 × 384 | 480 × 360 | 560 × 420 |
| 448 × 336 | 416 × 312 | 528 × 396 |
| 384 × 288 | 352 × 264 | 496 × 372 |
| 320 × 240 | 288 × 216 | 464 × 348 |
| 256 × 192 | 224 × 168 | 432 × 324 |
| 192 × 144 | 160 × 120 | 400 × 300 |
| 128 × 96 | 368 × 276 | |
| 336 × 252 | ||
| 304 × 228 | ||
| 272 × 204 | ||
| 240 × 180 | ||
| 208 × 156 | ||
| 176 × 132 | ||
| 144 × 108 | ||
| 112 × 84 |
| Best (16) | Better (8) | Good (4) |
|---|---|---|
| 1280 × 720 | 1152 × 648 | 1216 × 684 |
| 1024 × 576 | 896 × 504 | 1088 × 612 |
| 768 × 432 | 640 × 360 | 960 × 540 |
| 512 × 288 | 384 × 216 | 832 × 468 |
| 256 × 144 | 128 × 72 | 704 × 396 |
| 576 × 324 | ||
| 448 × 252 | ||
| 320 × 180 | ||
| 192 × 108 |
These tables complement the Flash video bitrate calculator by Robert Reinhardt.
