[S-Unreal-007] Media Standardization

In this article:

Overview

Within the intricate realm of game development, where a diverse array of professionals - from artists to programmers to game designers - collaborate to craft immersive experiences, media standardization emerges as a linchpin of smooth and optimized gaming. These standards encompass guidelines for aspects like sample rate ranges and formatting. By adhering to consistent media standards, development teams can ensure that audio and video assets are efficiently processed, enhancing performance, reducing compatibility issues, and simplifying integration. These standards also promote a shared language among creators, facilitating the creation and sharing of media assets that resonate with the game's vision. In the ever-evolving landscape of game development, media standardization empowers teams to deliver captivating and technically efficient games, ensuring both creators and players embark on an engaging and immersive journey.

Scope

This standardization cover the Unreal Style Guideline about how to work in Unreal. This standard applies to all person in in team that work using Unreal Engine.

Technical Director and Art Director was the parties whose in charge in these guidelines. While all of the team member should follow these guidelines, they can ask about the guidelines to the directors or can propose some new guidelines here and there.

Media Standardization

This section will focus on Media assets such as audio and video, and their internals.

[S-Unreal-007.1] Audio Sample Rate Should Between 22050Hz - 44100Hz

Audio sample rates outside the typical range of 22,050 Hz to 44,100 Hz can lead to various issues depending on the context in which they are used. The sample rate of an audio file determines the number of samples taken per second to represent the audio waveform. Here are some potential issues associated with using audio sample rates outside the standard range:

Quality Loss: Lower sample rates (e.g., 8,000 Hz) can result in a significant loss of audio quality, particularly for music and high-frequency sounds. The audio may sound distorted, lack clarity, and lose fidelity.
Aliasing: Using a sample rate lower than the Nyquist rate (half of the desired audio frequency range) can lead to aliasing. Aliasing is an undesirable effect where high-frequency components of the audio signal are incorrectly interpreted as lower-frequency components, resulting in distortion.
Incompatibility: Some audio equipment and software may not support sample rates outside the typical range. This can lead to compatibility issues when playing or processing the audio.
Large File Sizes: Higher sample rates result in larger audio files. If you use a very high sample rate unnecessarily, it can lead to large file sizes, which may not be practical for storage or transmission.
Processing Overhead: High sample rates require more computational resources for processing, which can be a concern in resource-constrained environments such as mobile devices or real-time audio processing applications.
Interpolation/Resampling: If you need to convert audio with a non-standard sample rate to a more common rate (e.g., 44,100 Hz), you may encounter issues related to interpolation and resampling, which can introduce artifacts and affect audio quality.
Synchronization: In multimedia applications where audio needs to be synchronized with video or other events, using a non-standard sample rate can complicate synchronization and lead to audio/video desynchronization issues.
Standards and Compatibility: Many audio and video standards, such as those used in broadcasting and streaming, are based on common sample rates like 44,100 Hz or 48,000 Hz. Using non-standard sample rates may not conform to these standards, affecting compatibility and quality in those contexts.

In most cases, it is recommended to use standard sample rates like 22,050 Hz, 44,100 Hz, or 48,000 Hz for audio recording, production, and distribution, as they are widely supported and provide good audio quality. If there are specific reasons to use a non-standard sample rate, it's essential to be aware of the potential issues and ensure that the chosen sample rate aligns with the requirements of your project and the capabilities of the equipment and software you are using.