Video

Technical Specifications

File Requirements

Video

Broadcast standard: NTSC
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Size: HD (1920 x 1080 pixels)
Codec: H264
Format: .mp4

Frame rates should match source material. For example:

  • Content shot in 24fps should be encoded and uploaded at 24fps.
  • Content shot in 720p60, should be uploaded at 720p60
  • Content at 1080i 60, should be deinterlaced, going from 60 interlaced fields per second to 30 progressive frames per second before uploading.

Progressive scan (no interlacing)
Variable bitrate, multi-pass encoding
Upload time varies. For fastest upload, please keep videos under 500MB each.

Audio

48000 Hz
Stereo
CBR
24-bit depth, AAC codec

File Naming Convention

  • yyyymmdd_keyword (4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day_keyword)
  • No more than 25 characters, all lowercase
  • No spaces or unusual characters (use only abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789) e.g., dean_light.mp4

Note: All videos should be encoded for streaming.

Using Video on HBS Websites

There are two ways to watch video on HBS websites: in a player embedded in the page, and in a lightbox, or modal window, that hovers above the page.

Examples
Embedded: http://www.hbs.edu/mba/academics/
Modal: http://www.hbs.edu/mba/ (click video thumbnail)

On recently redesigned websites both players have a minimum width of 564 pixels. On all other websites, the embedded video player is 480 x 270 px and the player in the modal window is 640 x 360 px.

All video files for external websites should adhere to the file size requirements at the top of the page. Videos will be automatically re-sized to fit the player.

For more on web design specifications please see our web style guide.

Video thumbnails
A video thumbnail is the image displayed in the video player when the video is not playing. YouTube automatically selects a thumbnail image for each video. If you would like to customize your video thumbnail, please indicate this in your YouTube request form and provide Marketing & Communications with an image.
Image dimensions: 1280 x 720 px
Accepted formats: JPG, GIF & PNG
Maximum file size: 2 MB