If you're using video from a DVD/VHS converted file, you should be using the VOB, not the IFO file as your video source in your Movie Studio project.

Also, check to ensure that your Movie Studio Video Project Properties are set up for PAL 720x576.

If you've done that, you should be able to output a 640x480 mp4 and your video should fill the video frame.

720x576 is non-square TV-style PAL video. (720x480 is the NTSC TV version.) 640x480 is just the square pixels equivalent. It's exactly the same size (4:3) frame -- and, in fact, if you're going to play your video on a computer or post it online to a site like Youtube, you want it to be 640x480 rather than 720x576.

The important thing is that you've got your project set up properly so that it receives your 720x576 video as 720x576 and then outputs as 4:3 mp4.

How could I find this out? These are old VHS tapes that I would have taken with a big shoulder held video camera about 25 years ago. I presume it would have been 4:3 back in those days?

I can render it as a 640x480 mp4 but I wondered if I would end up losing some of the image since it was a different size and ratio to the original file. Presumably if I play a 640x480 file at full screen it won't look as clear as if I play a 720x576 one? If so, that's why I wanted to keep the original size and ratio.

I tried using the VOB files but there were here or four of these depending on the recording and I simply joined them together in Vegas but there was always a noticeable 'join' in the audio track. When I used the IFO file that seemed to 'control' these VOBs all the VOB data was there and all was joined seamlessly in both the audio and video tracks.

I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do with the files yet. At the moment I just wanted to create some clips that would be of the highest quality for a small file size, because of the storage issue. It's family history I wanted to preserve. I intend to create DVDs using selected edited mp4 files with menus etc. using Sony Vegas DVD Architect Studio that came with the Movie Studio software.

"you should be using the VOB, not the IFO file as your video source"

Using the IFO file is the preferred method. Vegas uses that IFO file to import all the necessary VOB files as one single event and avoids the gaps and missing data that you get when you use the VOB files individually.

Try 656x480 instead of 640x480. You can click the [Custom] button and change the frame size to any multiple of 8 or 16.

The problem is that TV is not really 4:3, it's slightly wider than that, being 654.54x480 or 691.2x576. "640x480" is a digital computer thing, not an analog TV thing. When you render to 640x480 Vegas shrinks the image a bit to make it fit horizontally, but this also makes it smaller vertically too leaving you with empty space above or below. Unfortunately you can't pick 654.54, but 656 is a lot closer than 640.

The other option is to open up Pan/Crop and deselect "maintain aspect ratio", and enable "stretch picture to fit screen" (or something like that). This will make Vegas fill the whole frame top to bottom with your video by stretching it out a little taller. Probably it won't be enough to notice the difference, but you won't end up with the empty space anymore.

Is an mp4 the best type of file to make? There is a Main Concept template on there that would create a 720x576 mpg file but how would the quality of that compare with an mp4?

>>>"I intend to create DVDs"<<<
See VMSP 11 online Help (F1) "Rendering Projects for Use in DVD Architect Studio".

Sorry, i missed the part that the intended output was DVD. If that's the case then the best format to render to is 720x576 PAL MPEG2. Use the template that says "DVD Architect". If you really want to get rid of the green line then use Pan/Crop to block out that part of the image. If you crop i would suggest you only crop top/bottom, and not the sides at all. Leave 'maintain image aspect' enabled. You don't want to shrink the image horizontally as then Vegas will resize the image and this cause a lot of interlacing issues.

"You don't want to shrink the image horizontally as then Vegas will resize the image and this cause a lot of interlacing issues."

I have tried making a 720x576 MPEG and then converting that into a 720x576 MP4 using Any Video Converter. It works but the software gets stuck at about 97% conversion even though the converted file is created and can be used. However, you mentioned interlacing problems - what would the symptoms of that be? Although the 720x576 MP4 has been created there are faint horizontal lines across the image when it plays like there used to be with old analogue TV sets.