Widescreen 704x480 vs 720x480?

Sidecar wrote on 7/18/2004, 3:58 PM

Goal is to convert a 4:3 show to 16:9 to play on a widescreen monitor at a museum.

Vegas only allows a single NTSC DV widescreen format to be selected--720x480.

Using Vegas's pan/crop ability to convert the 4:3 source to 16:9, I generated an MPEG-2 for DVDA without issue.

Now to DVDA and select a widescreen template. But there are two: "NTSC Widescreen (704x480)" and "NTSC Widescreen (720x480)".

Nowhere in the help or Spot's book does it mention which one to use or why there are two formats.

What is the 704x480 for? Should I use the 720x480?

Comments

bStro wrote on 7/18/2004, 4:09 PM

Your video is 720x480, so use 720x480 for your project setting. 704x480 is just another possible resolution, though it's not used often.

Rob

Sidecar wrote on 7/18/2004, 4:59 PM

Thanks.
Looking around the forum I found that apparently 704x480 is the Hollywood DVD standard aspect ratio. No reason why.

bStro wrote on 7/18/2004, 7:44 PM

News to me. Any commercial DVD I've gotten footage off of was 720x480.

Rob

JSWTS wrote on 7/19/2004, 5:33 AM

The 704x480 frame size is called 'broadcast D1'. The "Hollywood" standard might be what is used for broadcasting of material, but not movies (for dvd). The 8 pixels on either side aren't supposed to carry important information, and to save bandwidth the 720 is decreased to 704. Hollywood movie (dvd disc) standards are 720 x 480. The two frame sizes are within the dvd spec, you just see more stuff made with 720 than 704.

Jim

bStro wrote on 7/19/2004, 6:43 AM

Thanks for that. I looked around and found many mentions of the 704x480 resolution, but nothing that explained its use. Interesting...

Rob