2 formats - 1 disk

Galeng wrote on 4/23/2007, 11:17 AM
Hi, I did a search on this topic, but wasn't able to find an answer. Hope someone can help.

Lately I have been creating more and more widescreen slideshow projects. I've been resizing my digital photos to fit widescreen, editing in Vegas and rendering to DVDA widescreen.

I have also rendered the same project using the original photos in a 4x3 format.

Is there a way to include both a widescreen version and a standard 4x3 version on a single DVD? The user can then choose from the opening menu which is appropriate for their TV size.

Do the project settings in DVDA determine the look of the output, even if one rendered file is widescreen and the other is 4x3?

So far, I haven't been able to do it as the project settings (widescreen) affect the 4x3 slideshow.

Thanks for your help!

Comments

johnmeyer wrote on 4/23/2007, 12:59 PM
Render (in Vegas) your 4:3 version. Render (in Vegas) your 16:9 version. Render your audio (in Vegas) once for both versions (assuming they are identical other than aspect ratio).

Then, drag the two MPEG-2 files into DVDA. Associate the same AC-3 audio file with both. Then, create an aspect ratio selection menu, and depending on which the user chooses, branch to the appropriate MPEG-2 file. This is exactly how it is done on "Hollywood" DVDs that offer both aspect ratios on the same side of the same disc.
Galeng wrote on 4/23/2007, 9:56 PM
John, Thanks for your response. I understand the process you describe. I'll give that a try. But, may make another post if I have more questions. Thaks again!
MPM wrote on 4/24/2007, 3:17 PM
*IF* you've already got your slide-shows done in DVDA, &/or find it easier in DVDA, can always take the video & audio tracks back out of the rendered DVD.

With some very minor editing of your rendered DVD, one option is to use Pan&Scan, which cuts off the sides of a 16:9 frame but preserves the aspect ratio or perspective of the center 4:3 portion. Commercially this is quite common with original 4:3 stills centered on a 16:9 background. It's less work and takes up less space on disc, but perhaps might not be as artistically satisfying as using separate videos.

If you use twin videos, adding a quick, start script can determine which version is shown or which menu page etc... In a nutshell you'd just check SPRM 14 to see if the player's preference was 4:3 or 16:9, then either link to your choice of menus, or set a variable (GPRM) that would be used throughout your project. Sounds far worse than it actually is to implement.