Basic Newbie Q's Concerning Pixel Ratio and Resolution

Connick wrote on 9/3/2002, 4:07 PM
I've been recording all my footage with my DV cam in 16:9 format and has been captured in Vegas @ 720x480.

I'm looking to render the finished product for a few mediums (Web, SVCD, DVD, VHS) but I'm running into a few problems. I've consulted the manual but only come up with more questions...

1) When should "Display Square Pixels" be used?
2) When adding generated media should it's dimensions be 720x480? I've had it spilling over the video in some instances...and sometimes the media doesn't fit the frame properly in the preview window.
3) When rendering to MPEG2 for DVD should I use the default 4:3 ratio or 16:9? (my footage is shot 16:9)
4) Should I always be using NTSC DV Widescreen template if footage is shot 16:9?

Sorry for the newbie Q's, appreciate any help...

Connick

Comments

Connick wrote on 9/3/2002, 4:20 PM
Ok I've found the option to set the generated media in DV Widescreen ratio so now it matches my video input... :)
SonyDennis wrote on 9/4/2002, 11:58 PM
1) When should "Display Square Pixels" be used?

When you want to see the true frame aspect ratio in the video preview window. For 16:9 mode, I'd recommend it. For 4:3, it's a faster and cleaner image with it off, but the preview is a little wider than it will be on your TV.

SonyDennis wrote on 9/4/2002, 11:59 PM
2) When adding generated media should it's dimensions be 720x480? I've had it spilling over the video in some instances...and sometimes the media doesn't fit the frame properly in the preview window.

Yes, leave it 720x480. Change it's pixel aspect ratio (media properties) to make it 4:3 (0.9091) or 16:9 (1.212). Generated media gets the project settings when it's first created, but you can change it later.

SonyDennis wrote on 9/5/2002, 12:02 AM
3) When rendering to MPEG2 for DVD should I use the default 4:3 ratio or 16:9? (my footage is shot 16:9)

Use 4:3 if you want a letterboxed image all the time, regardless of TV (although widescreen sets always have a zoom mode to blow these up fullscreen, you're getting 720x360 pixels on a big TV, not so good).

Use 16:9 to create an anamorphic DVD that can be played letterboxed on 4:3 sets, or fullscreen on widescreen sets (with all 720x480 pixels, much better than zooming a letterboxed image). The letterboxing of anamorphic for 4:3 output is done by any DVD player, it's part of the spec.

SonyDennis wrote on 9/5/2002, 12:05 AM
4) Should I always be using NTSC DV Widescreen template if footage is shot 16:9?

Yes. Also, make sure you media is set to widescreen. This will be automatic if the camera did it, but if you used an anamorphic adapter, you'll have to do it manually.

Sorry about the multiple posts, something is wrong with my browser on this machine, it won't submit some of my longer posts <g>.

///d@
timothyspriggs wrote on 9/5/2002, 7:32 AM
I am shooting in 4:3 mode, and intend to crop the image to match the Panavision aspect ratio (like the aspect ratio in Star Wars and other big budget releases).

This project is intended for Internet/CD release ONLY. So I crop the image and get it like I want, but when I render, it is letterboxed. How do I crop the render to any aspect ratio I want -- like outputing a jpeg in photoshop?

HERE'S WHAT I WANT:

_____________________________________
|=============================|
|=============================|
|=============================|
|=============================|
|=============================|
|=============================|
|_____________________________________|

AND HERE'S WHAT I GET:

_____________________________________
|#############################|
|#############################|
|=============================|
|=============================|
|=============================|
|=============================|
|=============================|
|=============================|
|_____________________________________|
|#############################|
|#############################|


Help?

P.S. It's really hard to do ASCII art with this forum!!!
Tyler.Durden wrote on 9/5/2002, 8:16 AM
Hi Timothy,

I haven't done it but some thoughts:

All your settings will probably be custom, so you might need to calculate the dimensions of your project and output.

You might try setting your project settings for an aspect ratio of somthing around 1.85:1... You'll then crop your events or tracks to fill the frame.

You might then need to render to a custom template with the same dimensions as the project... and you'll probably need to fuss about with the field interpolation, etc. to get it lookin good.

Good question, try some stuff and let us know...

HTH, MPH
John_Cline wrote on 9/5/2002, 8:46 AM
Timothy, keep in mind that the DV format only supports 720x480 NTSC (or 720x576 if you're working in the PAL format.) In other words, you can't export at any other resolution.

John
SonyDennis wrote on 9/5/2002, 12:56 PM
Right, since DV is a fixed pixel count and limited to two pixel aspect choices, neither of which are the one you want, you can't render to DV.

Since you're rendering for internet/CD anyway, pick a streaming format such as WMV. Create a custom template such that the width is N times the height, where N is your desired frame aspect ratio (such as 2.35). Start with a template that has about the same number of pixels (width x height) so the other settings (bitrate, etc) will be good. In other words, modify a 320x240 WMV template to 420x180 for widescreen streaming.

Set your project to the same frame size and frame rate and the streaming output so what you edit is what you render.

Some formats might require that width and height are multiples of 8 or 16, it makes them work better.

///d@