About our products
Viewing Images and Video
Images - The majority of the images found on the EVL website are created from NOAA satellite data, primarily the GOES and POES spacecraft. Imagery is available in JPG or PNG format in a variety of medium and high resolution formats; however some images are available for very high resolution printing.
Animations and video - The EVL is constantly looking for the best way to deliver high quality digital video compatible with the major video playback architectures. We use the latest video industry standard, MPEG-4 with H.264 compression, for its compatibility in broadcast and DVD production and Flash for its universal support in internet browsers. Our video can be viewed in the latest Apple QuickTime, Windows Media, Real and MPEG-compatible players.
Video Format: The EVL uses two progressive scan digital formats that should meet the requirements of all users around the world:
Standard Definition: 720 x 480 pixels; square pixels; 30 fps
High Definition: 1920 x 1080 pixels; square pixels; 30 fps
Some older video may be served in HD-720p, NTSC or PAL formats. Videos with captioned text have the area of captioning outside the standard video pixel dimensions of 4:3 or 16:9.
Downloading video - Since internet connection speeds vary, we recommend downloading MPEG video files directly to your computer. To download, right-click (Mac: control-click) on the file link and save the file to your computer's hard drive. Flash movies are encoded to stream to your browser.
The production process
The NOAA EVL uses widely available commercial software for digital content creation, including the Adobe Creative Suite and Autodesk Maya. McIDAS, IDL-ENVI, and ArcInfo are used for data processing and visualization. Some hurricane images and video are created with the Boeing Corporation's legacy EDGE software which is currently unsupported.
The production staff
The EVL is the only full-time science and data visualization program within NOAA. Our staff is supported through NESDIS/STAR contracts with I.M. Systems Group, and through collaboration with other NOAA organizations and scientists.
Name: Al Powell
Title: Director, Center for Satellite Applications and Research
Background: Environmental Science and Meteorology
Name: Dan Pisut
Title: EVL Manager
Email: dan dot pisut @ noaa dot gov
Background: Environmental Science and Education
Name: Tim Loomis
Title: EVL Systems Architect and Animator
Email: tim dot loomis @ noaa dot gov
Background: Systems Design and Product Development
Name: Marc Pulliam
Title: EVL Graphic Designer
Email: marc dot pulliam @ noaa dot gov
Background: Graphic Design