Aspect Ratio help

thebrain900 wrote on 7/10/2008, 3:30 PM
In the project preferances window I need help understanding some things??

For the Templeates they have NTSC DV 720 X 480 and NTSC Standard 720 X 486

NTSC Standard is 6 pixels higher I get this and that is why they call it NCST Standard because it is closser to a 4:3 Ratio.

But then we come to the Aspet Ratio list it has NTSC DV and Square and NTSC DV Widescreen.

Ok so here we go if I know I will be making a video for a Standard CRT TV set I will pick Templeate NTSC Standard 720 X 486 I think am I right on this???

But for the right Aspect Ratio I pick I thinkj Square???

Please explain in your own words if you can what goes with what and why thank you?

Comments

Eugenia wrote on 7/10/2008, 3:34 PM
If your DV camera shoots in 4:3 use the standard DV NTSC template in the project properties. If your DV camera shoots widescreen, use the widescreen NTSC DV template. There's nothing more you need to know about this.

If you really want to understand pixel aspect ratios though, read here: http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2007/10/30/understanding-pixel-aspect-ratios/
thebrain900 wrote on 7/10/2008, 7:15 PM
Ok thanks for the help I now know that because I will be capturing video as 4:3 and my project will be sean on a CRT TV that is 4:3 I will use the NTSC Standard.

Now what should I set the Aspect Ratio to NTSC DV or Square?

Eugenia wrote on 7/10/2008, 7:24 PM
If you shot with an NTSC DV camera in 4:3, then you simply use the equivalent project properties template as I said. You don't mess around with the aspect ratio yourself. There's a template for that.
thebrain900 wrote on 7/12/2008, 4:10 PM
Ok just 2. More things that I need help with?

I am going to stick with the Standard NTSC 720 x 486 and not the NTSC DV 720 x 480.

But when I picked the Standard NTSC 720 x 486 the Aspect Ratio in the dropdown list stayed at NTSC DV.

Because that says NTSC DV does that not meen it goes with the NTSC DV 720 x 480??

And I gess I should tell you how I am capturing my video clips.
I have a standard VCR and it is going to an ADVC 100 Analog to Digital connverter box.

All it does is turn the VCRs Anlog signal into a Digital Signal and then it outputs it as a Firewire witch I plug into my computers Firewire port.

Because Movie Studio can only Capture from Firewire.

And I have my ADVC 100 Analog to Digital connverter box. JUPERS set to NTSC 4:3 and not PAL.

My Q/A is when I capture a vidoe in Movie studio it captures it as an AVI 720 x 480.

How can I get Movie Studio to capture the video as 720 x 486?
Chienworks wrote on 7/12/2008, 9:44 PM
If you're capturing through the Canopus converter then you'll get DV, which is 720x480. Leave it at that, set your project properties to that, and render that way. Don't mess with it.

Why do you want 720x486? DV is 480 so just use 480 and be done with it.

Chances are you'll never need to touch the aspect ratio settings for any reason. Vegas already knows what's best and already takes care of it for you, so don't mess.
thebrain900 wrote on 7/13/2008, 9:59 AM
Well ok here it goes??

I capture video clips to be watched on a CRT TV so that is why I thought my projects templeate had to be set to NTSC Standard 720 x 86.

And then I thought well if everything I capture is DV NTSC 720 x 480 then that is 2. diferant resolotions.

And if it captures at DV 720 x 480 and I have my Project set to Standard NTSC 720 x 486 will I be able to put it to a CRT TV?
MSmart wrote on 7/13/2008, 10:43 AM
Change the project properties to NTSC DV. You can do that without causing a problem. Make your project match the captured video.
owlsroost wrote on 7/13/2008, 11:57 AM
Well ok here it goes??

thebrain900 - Three people have patiently explained that all you need to do is select the 'DV NTSC (720 x 480)' template in Vegas and then it will all work out correctly .

You don't (yet) understand this stuff well enough to make the right choice yourself, so save yourself a lot of grief later on in the project by taking their advice now - isn't that why you asked the original question ?

Tony

P.S. 720 x 480 and 720 x 486 will both produce video of the correct aspect 4:3 ratio on a TV, but mixing the two will cause Vegas to do a lot of unnecessary, quality reducing, time-consuming scaling at the rendering/Make Movie stage to convert between the two frame sizes.

The difference between the two settings is just 3 picture lines at the top and bottom of the frame, which you'll never see anyway on a TV due to the overscanning that all TVs have i.e. they don't display the outer 5%-10% of the frame - see [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overscan#Overscan_in_Television] - towards the bottom of that article is also an explanation of '480 vs 486'
Chienworks wrote on 7/13/2008, 1:02 PM
"Well ok here it goes??"

"I capture video clips to be watched on a CRT TV so that is why I thought my projects templeate had to be set to NTSC Standard 720 x 486."

But you're not capturing from the TV. You're capturing from the canopus converter, which is NTSC DV at 720x480.

"And then I thought well if everything I capture is DV NTSC 720 x 480 then that is 2. diferant resolotions."

No, because you won't be working with NTSC Standard at all. You'll only be working with DV.

"And if it captures at DV 720 x 480 and I have my Project set to Standard NTSC 720 x 486 will I be able to put it to a CRT TV?"

If you do that, Vegas will have to rescale and resample every frame. This will be time consuming and degrade the image quality. It is a Bad Thing to do. Besides, you probably don't have any hardware at your disposal that will correctly get NTSC standard back to your TV. If you burn a DVD it will be DV at 720x480. If you print back to tape it will be DV at 720x480. If you play it back through the Canopus converter it will be DV at 720x480. Not only is 720x486 a bad choice for this situation, it won't even work! Vegas won't let you print 720x486 back out to tape or to the converter. It will only work with 720x480 since that's the DV standard.

So, from beginning to end ... set your project properties to NTSC DV 720x480 and do everything at that setting. It will work. Trust us.