Widescreen DVD Question

sjlocke wrote on 10/2/2004, 1:12 PM
Hey there,

So I am working on a 16:9 widescreen DVD project.

All of my imagery is 854x480 (16x9). All media has a setting of 1.0 for pixel aspect ratio.

My project was set to have a pixel aspect ratio of NTSC Widescreen which is a pixel aspect of 1.212.... The image took up the entire preview vertically, and almost all horizontally. There is a small black stripe on the sides, for some reason. This is my problem, especially when doing a l->r push wipe or anything like that.

I tried changing the pixel aspect ratio of the project to 1.0, but that puts letterboxing around the image.

What am I doing wrong here - what settings do I need to make my 854x480 imagery fill up the preview window of 720x480 (and so looked horiz. squished) for 16:9 enhanced viewing later of the full image? Am I missing something basic?

Thanks!

sj

Comments

erratic wrote on 10/2/2004, 4:00 PM
NTSC DV (or DVD) Widescreen 720x480 is actually a little wider than 16:9, so 854x480 won't fill the screen, 873x480 will. Vegas handles the aspect ratio correctly: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/archive/index.php/t-106604.html

You can switch off 'maintain aspect ratio' but I think you'd have to do it for every image. I'm not aware of a global setting.

PAL users should read this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/branding/picturesize.shtml
sjlocke wrote on 10/2/2004, 5:23 PM
Well, I already have all my different animations and slides rendered at 854x480. So you think I should just uncheck the aspect ratio? Will that mess anything else up?

Rats.
sjlocke wrote on 10/2/2004, 5:29 PM
Hey,

Well, that worked, but I don't want all my imagery stretched horizontally. Won't I lose resolution in the end?
erratic wrote on 10/2/2004, 5:37 PM
If you change the PAR of your 854x480 media to 1.022 the images will also fill the screen, like when you switch off 'maintain aspect ratio'. I'm not sure which of the two options is better. I've rarely used stills, so I don't know if these changes will mess anything else up. More experienced Vegas users will have to answer that question, or you'll have to find out for yourself by trying it.

Of course both options will stretch your imagery horizontally (slightly wrong aspect ratio). It's either that or accept small black bars left and right. Next time make sure your images are 873x480.
erratic wrote on 10/2/2004, 6:00 PM
By the way, I just realized that 704x480 is also DVD compliant, so if you change the project properties to 704x480 the video will be cropped and there will be no black bars. In that case there's no need to change the pixel aspect ratio of your 854x480 media. Maintain Aspect Ratio can also remain switched on. If you render to DVD MPEG-2 you also have to change the resolution to 704x480 in the MainConcept MPEG-2 encoder's custom settings, of course. Try it.

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html
Allowable picture resolutions are:
sjlocke wrote on 10/2/2004, 7:23 PM
That sounds like a great option. I will try that out.

I thought I had everything figured out as far as resolution, etc... before I started this. Re-rendedered and outputting stuff would take days.

If HD is 854x720 (16:9), where did this NTSC widescreen thing come from?
sjlocke wrote on 10/2/2004, 8:11 PM
So what I am going to try is the NTSC Widescreen DV template and then change the width to 704 in the video properties. I will do the same in the mpeg rendering option, and then figure out what to do in Architect.
sjlocke wrote on 10/4/2004, 7:11 PM
ANother question. On this, would I want to do interlaced, or progressive renders? What's the difference, considering all my stuff is photoshop or 3d animation?
erratic wrote on 10/6/2004, 5:36 AM
I rarely use stills and I have never used 3D animation. All I know is that for stills the Reduce Interlace Flicker switch should be used. I'm surprised none of the experts has answered your question by now. If you still don't get an answer soon, then maybe you should post your question again, but this time start a new topic.
sjlocke wrote on 10/6/2004, 6:25 AM
Thanks. I will make sure that that is on.

I am interested in the best quality compression to go into Architect. I am using the best mpeg-2 options. Would like to go with uncompressed .avi, but that is insanely huge, even for just the 15 minute show. Is there nothing in between.

The 704 thing seems to have worked out. Now I am dealing with why the 5.1 isn't coming across.
erratic wrote on 10/6/2004, 10:18 AM
Stay with MPEG-2 output from Vegas. If you render as AVI, then DVD Architect will have to convert the video to MPEG-2 anyway.

With 5.1 I assume you mean Dolby Digital (AC3) Surround. I have never used that either. You should repost your questions by starting a new topic. New topics generally attract more attention than old ones.