TV Safe Area - Recommedation?

Jacobk wrote on 1/21/2009, 10:35 AM
I'm editing something for TV, and today i noticed how some of the picture was cut off, no matter how i tried setting up the TV and DVD player, i suspect it being because i didn't account for the Safe Area.

What would your recommendations be regarding the Safe Area, i only just learned about it today. I would still be able to move the text inside the Action Safe Area without to much trouble, would that be fine?

I don't see why this had to be an issue in the first place, and i simply don't know why the manufacturers didn't account for this on their part, i find it impractical that i need to account for hardware issues.

I've always found TVs and DVD Players to be poorly designed, mostly their GUIs when setting up the device. But also the limited support for some DVDs, which they for some reason refuse to play for no obvious reason. Not to mention that all the players I've seen, usually lags at some point doing re-play, if not fails entirely. Which i both find unacceptable.


Nevertheless i still want my video to work for people who don't have a PC. So would it be fine to just move the text into the Action Safe area? Or should i go as far as to move it within the Title Safe Area?

How is this generally done, i mean do we move the entire picture inside the SafeArea, or is it enough to just move the text? I assume that i need to account for this while filming, rather then in the editing process?

Also, would TV stations be able to fix this on their part? And if so, how would they go about fixing it?


The final question is, what is the preferred format for finished projects? I'm thinking about both making it on DVD, and a separate DATA-DVD with an MPEG2 encoded (.mpg) copy of the program. Would most stations be able to use that?

Comments

richard-courtney wrote on 1/21/2009, 11:18 AM
With HD you still need to plan SD viewers that have set their converters to crop
or a similar format. So part of your answer is to plan in filming.

Vegas in your preferences -> video tab has ACTION SAFE AREA and TITLE SAFE AREA.
Defaults are 10% and 20% which are pretty close. Personally I like to have safe
areas displayed on your EVF but some cameras don't have this function.

Your office supply store has transparency film that you can run through a copier
or laser printer. I'd make a few sized black outline boxes in your favorite paint
program and print. Then place them on your EVF and record a few test subjects.
Say the box size on the audio or some other means to identify your safe area.
(Flip up or remove the film when focusing!)

Then in Vegas place your titles over the video and see how it looks. Make a DVD
and play it on both analog and newer digital TV sets. Adjust the TV's picture size
for all modes. Crop, zoom, stretch, letterbox, etc.

Stations usually won't FIX just REJECT.

As far as station submission, you need to ask them individually.
Most take Digibeta. Some are now in the process of deciding file formats.
Here is an example to follow just for your info:
http://www.pbs.org/producers/TOS_2007_Submission_8_20_07.pdf

Some are taking what is called Transport Stream (MPEG TS). They will supply
you with information for stream ID numbers, etc. You'll need to obtain an
encoder to "wrap" the mpeg data.

John_Cline wrote on 1/21/2009, 11:32 AM
"I don't see why this had to be an issue in the first place, and i simply don't know why the manufacturers didn't account for this on their part, i find it impractical that i need to account for hardware issues."

Well, you need to read up on your TV history, it has been this way since day one. Personally, I don't find it the least bit impractical as I learned about it early on and have just operated within action safe and title safe for decades now. I don't even think about it.

"But also the limited support for some DVDs, which they for some reason refuse to play for no obvious reason. Not to mention that all the players I've seen, usually lags at some point doing re-play, if not fails entirely. Which i both find unacceptable."

I have has great luck with DVD players and if there is any lagging or failing going on, I would look into the media or the burn setting as the culprit.

"So would it be fine to just move the text into the Action Safe area? Or should i go as far as to move it within the Title Safe Area?"

No, you put your titles inside the Title Safe area, that's why it's called "Title Safe."

"How is this generally done, i mean do we move the entire picture inside the SafeArea, or is it enough to just move the text? I assume that i need to account for this while filming, rather then in the editing process?"

Yes, you must allow for the safe areas when you're shooting. If there's something all that important right at the edge of the frame, then you need to loosen up the shot a bit.

"Also, would TV stations be able to fix this on their part?"

Well, yes, they could fix it, but they shouldn't have to and they probably won't.

"The final question is, what is the preferred format for finished projects?"

Ask the television station what format they prefer. There is no universal answer.
Jacobk wrote on 1/21/2009, 12:42 PM
Wikipedia states that As of 2007, most television stations and networks will place information within the Action safe area, my question is what kind of information? Would it be fine to display peoples introductions in this area?

Do you know any other sites which has some behind-information about the safe areas? Because the information on Wikipedia Is very limited. I tried the helpfiles for vegas, but they also have very limited information about the Safe Areas.

The introductions will be easy to move, even into the "Title Safe Area" if needed. But i have some logos which the Producer wants in the beginning as well as the end of the movie, and these where made in TitleDeko, they sadly take up the entire frame, and it sure doesn't seam like he designed them with safe areas in mind.

I do most my own logo/Text work in Paint.NET, and i always keep the project files around. Maybe i should just recreate these logos in Paint.NET, because i hate to be delayed by something "needs" to be done in TitleDeko or whatever redicolous software.
John_Cline wrote on 1/21/2009, 12:49 PM
Modern televisions overscan to a lesser degree than older TVs, but even the new LCD and plasma TVs overscan. It's usually best to keep the titles within the safe title area anyway. If you're not concerned that the titles will be completely visible on each and every TV out there, then I suppose you could put titles within the safe action area. I won't do it, but you could if you wanted to.

Do the titles you got from the producer has a background image? Otherwise, you could just reduce their size to fit within safe title.
richard-courtney wrote on 1/21/2009, 2:24 PM
All sets have some overscan simply because of the physical case the display
is mounted in. Some have a "black mask" painted on the inside of the plastic or
glass.

As John indicated, reduce the image.
Unless the background is moving I'd scan / import it and fix it now.
If it is static, your task is much easier in your paint program. Make the color
a mask and generate an alpha. Save it as a file format that supports alpha channels
such as .tga and import into Vegas.