Problems authoring a 16:9 widescreen DVD

guitard wrote on 12/28/2005, 7:48 AM
Scenario: I shot some video with a Sony HC1 HDV cam. I then down-converted the HDV to DV using the camera and cloning the down-converted footage to mini-DV tape. Using Vegas Video v6, I captured the DV to my harddrive, did my edits, rendered an mpeg2, and authored a 16:9 widescreen NTSC DVD with DVD Architect v2.

Problem: When viewed on a widescreen television, the video looks proportionally corrrect, however, it doesn't fill the screen - there are black bars on the tops and sides; those on the top are slightly larger than those on the sides. I would guestimate the bars were about 4 inches on the top and bottom, and 3 inches on the sides when viewed on a 65 inch screen. I viewed the DVD on several widescreen televisions at an electronics store and got the same result.

I've made some screen captures of my settings (sorry... can't hotlink them in this forum). Any help figuring out what I'm doing wrong would be greatly appreciated.


This image shows the projects properties (file --> properties) in Vegas Video.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/885444/Vegasfile-properties.jpg


This image shows the video's properties when I right click on the video in the timeline in Vegas Video.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/885444/Vegasrightclicktrack.jpg


This image shows the rendering settings in Vegas Video.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/885444/Vegasrenderas.jpg


This image shows the advanced video tab settings in Vegas Video.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/885444/Vegasadvancedvideotab.jpg


This image shows the project's properties (file --> properties) in DVD Architect.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/885444/DVDAfile-properties.jpg


This image shows the optimize settings in DVD Architect.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/885444/DVDAoptimize.jpg

Comments

RBartlett wrote on 12/28/2005, 10:07 AM
All but the first panel make sense.
I guess 1280x720i (!/?) is something like where you are heading with the Sony HC1 when you start to use the next gen HD/DVB delivery option.

However I'd guess that your import preferences are resulting in a 720x480 tile being held centrally in a 1280x720p project window - which is then being scaled down when you activate your RenderAs settings.

Set your Vegas master project setting to the DV (NTSC) Widescreen template. The other assessment should be on either your preview monitor or with your preview window (optionally set to simulate target aspect ratio).

Perhaps you were thinking of using the DV as a proxy, but then I'd still doubt you'd select 1280x720i.

This is a good lesson in learning the order of events or the life of a pixel in Vegas. A Vegas project setting that isn't the same or an exact multiple of the target and/or the source format is going to have some unwanted effects - in your import preferences - this appears to have also resulted in a non-scaled import of 720x480 onto the 1280x720 project. Not very purposeful.

Hope this helps?
filmy wrote on 12/28/2005, 5:53 PM
This may be of some help - it is via Cineform support for Preparing files for DVD in PPro -

To create DVD's follow these steps:
donwidener wrote on 12/28/2005, 9:54 PM
When you placed the DV on the timeline, did you set it to render as a NTSC widescreen project? If you did, did you click the pan and crop icon on the end of the DV and then right click in the box and select "match output aspect ratio? This must be done to get the 16:9 screen right.

Don
PeterWright wrote on 12/29/2005, 12:38 AM
>"I then down-converted the HDV to DV using the camera and cloning the down-converted footage to mini-DV tape."

Not sure why you did this step this may be where you lost the original widescreen properties - I always capture straight from the HDV tape,
either:
i) as HDV then use intermediate or proxies to edit. Vegas project widescreen, render to widescreen, DVDA project widescreen ....
or
ii) as downconverted in camera to DV, then again keeping every setting, from Vegas project to render settings to DVDA project settings, to Widescreen