Offline Resolution

An 'offline' resolution is one that is lower than the original material. Most edit systems can digitise at an offline resolution and compresses the video and sometimes the audio so that it takes up less disc space. The picture quality is usually sufice to make edit decisions, and when the production is considered to be 'finished', only the original footage that actually goes into the production can be 're-digitised' automatically at the best picture and sound resolution (an 'online'). This is all dependant on the edit system having recorded the 'timecode' that is with the original footage.