Facebook Video Formats and Quality Explained

Facebook video quality options, explained

When you download a Facebook video, you usually get a choice between HD and SD. If you have ever wondered what that actually means, or why some videos only have one option, this post covers everything you need to know.

HD vs SD: what is the difference?

SD stands for Standard Definition. On Facebook, this is typically 360p or 480p. The video looks fine on a phone screen, but if you play it on a laptop or TV you will notice it is a bit fuzzy. File sizes are small, usually a few megabytes for a short clip.

HD stands for High Definition. This is usually 720p or 1080p. The picture is sharper, colors look better, and it holds up well on bigger screens. The tradeoff is that the file is larger. A one-minute 1080p video might be 20 to 50 MB depending on how it was encoded.

Some videos on Facebook are uploaded in even higher quality, but Facebook compresses everything that gets uploaded to its platform. So even if someone recorded in 4K, the best you will get when downloading is usually 1080p.

What do the resolution numbers mean?

You will see numbers like 360p, 480p, 720p, and 1080p. The number refers to how many horizontal lines of pixels the video has.

• 360p: 640 x 360 pixels. Low quality. Good enough for a small phone screen if you are just trying to see what is happening in the video.
• 480p: 854 x 480 pixels. Decent for phone viewing. This was the standard for DVDs, for some context.
• 720p: 1280 x 720 pixels. This is where "HD" starts. Looks good on phones, tablets, and smaller laptop screens.
• 1080p: 1920 x 1080 pixels. Full HD. This is what you want if you plan to watch on a larger screen or if you care about picture quality.

Higher numbers mean more pixels, which means a sharper picture and a bigger file.

Why are some videos only available in SD?

A few reasons. The person who uploaded the video might have recorded it in low quality to begin with. You cannot get HD out of a video that was filmed in 480p. That information simply is not there.

Another reason is Facebook's own processing. When a video is first uploaded, Facebook sometimes takes a while to make the HD version available. If the video was posted very recently, you might only see SD at first. Try again in an hour or two and HD might show up.

Older videos on Facebook are also more likely to only have SD versions. Video quality standards have gone up over the years, and stuff uploaded in 2015 was often low resolution by today's standards.

When to pick HD

Go with HD when:

• You want to watch the video on a laptop, TV, or tablet
• You are saving it for a presentation or project where quality matters
• Storage space is not an issue on your device
• You are on Wi-Fi or a fast connection so the bigger download does not take forever

When SD is perfectly fine

SD works well when:

• You are just saving a video to watch on your phone later
• The video itself is not visually detailed, like someone talking to camera
• You are low on storage and need to keep files small
• Your internet connection is slow and you do not want to wait for a big download

How file sizes compare

Here is a rough idea of what to expect for a one-minute video:

• 360p: around 3 to 5 MB
• 480p: around 5 to 10 MB
• 720p: around 10 to 25 MB
• 1080p: around 20 to 50 MB

These numbers vary a lot depending on the content. A video with lots of movement and detail (like a sports clip) will be bigger than a static talking-head video at the same resolution. Facebook's compression also plays a role, so two videos at the same resolution can end up being quite different in file size.

What format are the downloaded videos in?

Facebook videos are served as MP4 files. When you download with a Facebook video downloader like FSaver, you get an MP4 file. This is the most widely supported video format out there. It plays on basically every phone, computer, and media player without needing any special software.

You do not need to convert the file after downloading. Just open it and it will play.

Tips for getting the best quality

If a video seems blurry after downloading, here are a few things to check. First, make sure you actually selected HD when downloading. It is easy to grab the SD version by accident. Second, check if the original video was uploaded in HD. Not every video on Facebook is high quality. Third, try opening the video in a dedicated media player instead of your browser. Some browsers do not display video at full quality.

For more on the download process itself, check out our step-by-step download guide. And if you want to save videos for watching on the go, our post on offline viewing has some useful tips.