Rendering/Format

OhMyGosh wrote on 7/16/2008, 10:06 AM
I don't mean to be dense or anything........but I just don't get it :/ I shoot and edit in HD 1440X1080X32 29.970. I want to keep this project for when and if I get a HD Widescreen TV someday. Until then, I want to burn as a NTSC (720X480, 29.970fps) DVD and have it fill the 4:3 screen. When ready to start rendering I change the project properties to those settings, but when I burn it, it is letterboxed and looks like widescreen. I have tried several settings and templates with no luck (or skill). What am I missing to make HD 1440 fit to SD 720?? If it wasn't such a large project I would experiment and see if I burnt it as is (HD), if it would play ok on my ntsc tv ok other than the letterboxing (in other words, do I need to convert from HD to SD to play on a SD tv, and if I don't convert, will it always letterbox?). I feel like I am close to understanding, but just seem to be missing some main concept......... Thanks. Cin

Comments

Former user wrote on 7/16/2008, 10:47 AM
Not sure if I understand exactly what you are looking for but,

HD 1440x1080 is a 16 x 9 aspect ratio. SD is 4 x 3. So when you render HD to SD, if you want to see all of the picture, it needs to be letterboxed. If you don't letterbox, you will either have an anamorphic screen (squeezed) or you will cut the sides off of the video.

Dave T2
Chienworks wrote on 7/16/2008, 11:08 AM
Changing the project properties alone won't help you. Vegas will fit the 16:9 material in the middle of the 4:3 frame. You'll have to pan/crop to tell Vegas to instead fit the 4:3 frame within the 16:9 material.
MSmart wrote on 7/16/2008, 4:28 PM
Why not leave the project properties alone and just press the zoom button on you DVD player remote. This will cause the letterbox bars on the top/bottom to disappear, you will loose some content on the left/right edges though.

While I don't have HD equipment yet, I shoot in 16:9 format and render as 16:9. Plays perfectly on my 16:9 TV but letterboxed on my 4:3, pressing zoom on the DVD player fills the screen. I don't mess with the project settings in VMS or DVDAS, keep it simple. Pressing zoom on the player is an easy alternative.
OhMyGosh wrote on 7/17/2008, 8:09 AM
Thank you for the reply Dave. The more I watch it, the more I get used to it. I can see a time when I don't notice (or care) about the letterboxing ;) I like your idea MSmart, and will give that a try later when I'm at home. Could be a neat trick :) Kelly, when you say to tell Vegas to pan/crop, you don't mean each clip I hope :O???? Two last questions, 1. if I render it in 1440 HD, will it play on my SD TV? Does anyone else have the problem of trying to play your DVD and your TV says 'incorrect disc' 3 or 4 times and then it finally recognizes it???? Thanks again for everyones help. Take care. Cin
Chienworks wrote on 7/17/2008, 10:13 AM
Cin, well, you could import the entire .veg file nested into a new project, then pan/crop the whole thing as a single event.
Chienworks wrote on 7/17/2008, 10:54 AM
Ugh!!!!!!!!!!! Work intruded and prevented proper brain functioning. Sorry, nesting is only in the pro version. :(

Hmmmmm. Maybe you would be sorta stuck. I suppose you could render 4:3 HD (1920x1408) into an intermediate codec like cineform, then load that new file into a 16:9 project and crop. That would only involve one single crop. It would be a huge intermediate file though.

Probably in the long run you're better off creating 16:9 HD projects to begin with, then converting these into DV when you want SD versions.
OhMyGosh wrote on 7/18/2008, 8:13 AM
'Probably in the long run you're better off creating 16:9 HD projects to begin with, then converting these into DV when you want SD versions'

Works for me :) Thanks Kelly. Cin