render 16:9 but clip 4:3 when import back

otliensian wrote on 8/21/2011, 12:02 PM
Hello everyone

I am being driven crazy by the following:

Source footage is 16:9.
Project properties, rendering templates etc all set to 16:9 (PAL DV Widescreen).
I render using these settings, saving as an avi and using a picvideo codec.

Then

when I import the rendered clip back into the project it displays as 4:3 (in project media, timeline, everything) and I have to right click properties to change it back to 16:9.

Also, if I, for example, stick the rendered avi file into a DVD Architect compilation, despite me having clearly rendered the avi as 16:9 it stubbornly continues to show as 4:3.

Any suggestions would be most welcome! Thanks.

Comments

Steve Grisetti wrote on 8/21/2011, 2:33 PM
"I render using these settings, saving as an avi and using a picvideo codec"

Why not output with a DV codec? (If you're using version 11, the Render As screen will even indicate which output codecs and formats match the project specs.)

It's more likely to produce a video that's compatible with a DV project set up for 16:9.
Former user wrote on 8/21/2011, 3:59 PM
Not all video formats recognize the aspect ratio flag. DV does, but Picvideo may not.

Dave T2
musicvid10 wrote on 8/21/2011, 5:54 PM
To expand a bit on what Dave said, DV is one of the few classic AVI codecs that respects PAR flags. Based on my experience with other MJPEG codecs, I assume PicVideo does not.
otliensian wrote on 8/23/2011, 4:33 AM
Thanks all for your replies. Hey presto, I used the PAL DV output, and it stayed firmly as 16:9!

I must admit to not being an expert on the codec side of things. I only started using picvideo because a few years ago I was using VJamm software, had real trouble creating clips that didn't crash, and someone suggested picvideo, which worked perfectly for that.

Would it be cheeky for me to ask, as a final thing, what advantages, if any, picvideo has, and what actually is the best codec to use for rendering. I'm a musician really, but over the past few years have got more into film editing as it is a very handy adjunct to my music composition project work with young people. I've recently invested in Sony Vegas Pro as well. The main point of my film editing is to create short films, 'pop videos' etc to use in conjunction with live music or theatre performance, and to create dvds of projects.

Probably a silly question as there will be any number of answers! Anyway, thanks for all the help.
Steve Grisetti wrote on 8/23/2011, 7:32 AM
A number of codecs are considered "delivery formats." These produce a highly-compressed file that plays well but generally doesn't make for good editing source footage. Divx is a prime example of that. It makes a nice, clean, compact file -- but you don't really want to use it as source footage for a video project.

The ideal format for editing standard definition video on your PC is the DV-AVI. Most video editing programs work with it natively. That means that, unless you add effects to it, it even flows right through the program unchanged. You get virtually the same video data out as you put in!

For high definition video, the ideal format for outputting, if you plan to use it in another project, is the HDV 1440x1080 format. HDV projects work work most efficiently with this type of video.

Likewise, there are ideal formats for outputting your videos if you plan to create DVDs or BluRay discs from them. These formats make the most efficient workflows and demand minimal, if any, recompression when you burn them to disc.

Lots more information in my books, available on Amazon, if you're interested.
otliensian wrote on 8/25/2011, 3:49 AM
Thank you very much Steve. I will check out your books!
musicvid10 wrote on 8/25/2011, 4:05 AM
If you are rendering for DVD, the native video format is MPEG-2.
There are many forum posts as well as this knowledgebase article:
https://www.custcenter.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/84/kw/dvd%20recompress/session/L3RpbWUvMTMxNDI2MjgxMy9zaWQvd19uOGdwQ2s%3D

MJPEG is an older form of intraframe JPEG compression, as its name implies. It is still used in medical research and can produce very high quality, but at less efficient compression than modern interframe codecs. It is not a very good delivery (playback) format. Of the commercial MJPEG codecs available, PicVideo is often considered the best, not necessarily by everyone.