Computer screen vs TV screen

tjapak wrote on 5/12/2007, 7:09 PM

When I created my 1st video on the computer, the output looked great. I selected the default NTSC setting since I was going to create a DVD to run on a standard screen. But after I ran the DVD on my TV (and another), the sides were chopped off where I had put in some text. The credits were also chopped off on the sides. There was no chopping at all on the computer and I was in the safe area. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? I went back to reduce the font sizes but there has to be a better way!

Comments

Tim L wrote on 5/12/2007, 11:02 PM

(Edit: OOPS: I just re-read your post and see that you apparently understand about the safe area, but I'll leave my post intact here, in the hopes that it might be useful to somebody else)

On regular CRT (tube) televisions, a fair amount of the picture is lost all the way around in what is called overscan. What actually is visible on the TV is something less than the full 720x480 size of the DV image -- maybe 5% less than the full image. It's always been like this, and broadcasters take it into account for their programming.

When editing on a computer, however, the preview shows the entire 720x480 pixels. On newer LCD and digital bigscreen TV's, the overscan area is sometimes selectable -- you can sometimes program for no overscan (see the full picture), or program for 1%, 2%, etc.

To avoid problems when rendering for a TV/DVD output, you need to make sure you keep everything important in the project within the "safe area". Look in the preview window. There is a button that looks like a grid. Click it on and off to enable a dotted line overlay. This is called the "safe area". Keep everything within the smaller dotted line in order to assure it is visible on all TV's. It's tough to do -- you need to be very disciplined about it -- but its the only way to assure things aren't chopped off (titles, digital photos, etc.)

Some camcorders help in this regard: what you see in the viewfinder or flip-out LCD screen is usually adjusted somewhat to accomodate overscan on a TV. Look through the viewfinder and record something, then upload the tape to the PC. You may find that items you thought were offscreen when you recorded are actually barely included at the edges of the full frame 720x480 DV. However, if you hooked the camcorder directly to the TV to play the tape, those items might not be visible, as they fall in the overscan area.

Tim L

tjapak wrote on 5/13/2007, 11:41 AM

Thanks Tim! I actually was looking at the safe area on the input text screen rather than the preview screen. Turns out that reducing the font size and shrinking the sides on either side for the scrolling credits did the trick.

Chienworks wrote on 5/13/2007, 6:03 PM

"Safe area" is variable. Every TV has a different amount of the edges that's hidden. Your TV must cut off quite a bit more than usual.

jeff lackey wrote on 5/15/2007, 6:15 PM

While you can work around it in VMS, the one feature that keeps me using Magix' Movie Edit Pro is a very nice feature that allows you to set the percentage overscan for your TV, individually for the sides and the top/bottom, in the program. They even provide a template to play on your TV to see the precise percentage (on my main TV, it's about 8% on the sides and about 5% top/bottom.) You set that in "options", then you can import and edit your videos without worrying about it, and simply click on one button that will adjust your movie to fit within that area. It is MUCH easier that trying to manually crop a movie, etc.

If Vegas Movie Studio had a similar simple one-touch adjust option like that, it would be my primary editing program (I own Vegas Movie Studio, but I'm so spoiled by that feature I stay with MEP 11.)