16X9 / widescreen

studioLord wrote on 12/9/2008, 4:35 PM
I am working on a project DVD for a ministry in Ghana. They have asked for a 16X9 version and I didn't find that listed in the preferences. I chose widescreen and still got black edges on both sides of the screen. The content didn't fill it up as expected.
Anyone out there have any input on this one?
I really appreciate all the help thus far with learning Vegas Platinum.
Thanks
John

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 12/9/2008, 5:28 PM
What's the source material? If it's not widescreen, did you crop it to fit the output format?

Also note that widescreen SD is just slightly wider than 16x9, though usually not enough to worry most people.
studioLord wrote on 12/9/2008, 6:54 PM
The source material is various vid clips and stills and text boxes.
I'm not certain I understand
"crop it to fit the output format"....
Could you give me a verble example of actually cropping something?

I played with the settings and changed it to 720X486X32 I also clicked the button on the preview screen to "simulate device aspect ratio"... but it looked wierd so I put it back.

The 720X486X32 looks closer to what I think is 16:9.... I hit save. I'm hoping the render will come out with the look. The pictures fit better on the screen. They filled up the screen... if that tells you anything.

I just need more info and time on the program....

Thanks for your input,
John
Chienworks wrote on 12/10/2008, 3:47 AM
Well, what is important to know is if your source files are widescreen format. If not, then they'll need some adjusting before the fit in a widescreen project.

Change the settings to DV widescreen 720x480. This is the proper format for making a widescreen DV. Set simulate device aspect ratio on and leave it.

Right-mouse-button click on one of the clips or stills on the timeline. From the menu that pops up choose Pan/Crop. The Pan/Crop window appears showing the image with a dashed cropping frame. Right-mouse-button click inside the frame and choose 'match output aspect'. This will crop the image to fit the widescreen output.
Sonata wrote on 12/10/2008, 5:28 AM
Also, if you do have a 4:3 source, make sure you are CROPPING it to fill 16:9 and not simply stretching it to fill the space, or you will have a distored image (one of my strongest pet peeves is when people take 4:3 material and stretch it to fill their 16:9 TVs. It drives me totally bonkers and I seem to be in the minority!!!).