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anamorphic capture and playback older FCP system?
I have an older final cut system with an Aurora Igniter card, but I want to record and playback anamorphic 16:9 DVDs. It doesn’t seem to be working. I have never worked in anamorphic 16:9 video before.
I have checked the anamorphic 16:9 box on both the sequence and the capture preset, and selected them before creating a new sequence and b4 capturing. WHile the small image on the G4 computer screen seems slightly stretched, the capture and playback of an anamorphic DVD out of my NTSC Igniter card to a wide screen monitor is not happening. It always comes out on playback (and apparently after capture) with big black bars at the top and bottom. And resulting in a 4:3 playback aspect ratio on my HD screen, with black bars at the top, bottom, left and right. What am I doing wrong. Is the Aurora Igniter card unable to translate or handle anamorphic video signals? Software is FCP3.
thx
~ John
“Life is good, as long as it doesn’t take up too much of my time.”
-anonymous gamer
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5 Replies
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I don’t think there is such a thing as an anamorphic DVD… Best you can do is capture it as 4:3, leaving a letterbox.
Jerry
Apple Certified Trainer, Producer, Writer, Director Editor, Gun for Hire and other things. I ski. My Blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/Jerry-Hofmann
Current DVD:
https://store.creativecow.net/p/81/jerry_hofmanns_final_cut_system_setup8-Core 3.0 Intel Mac Pro, Dual 2 gig G5, AJA Kona SD, AJA Kona 2, Huge Systems Array UL3D, AJA Io HD, 17″ MBP, Matrox MXO2 with MAX – Cinema Displays I have a 22″ that I paid 4k for still working. G4 with Kona SD card, and SCSI card.
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hmmmm. Thanks for your response, Jerry. Please read the following from Wikipedia. I use and rent anamorphic DVD’s all the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamorphic_DVD#DVD_Video
An anamorphic DVD plays on an HD screen with no letterboxing (except maybe black bars at the TOP and BOTTOM), honoring the true aspect ratio of the film, whether is be Cinemascope, vistavision, 70mm, super 16, etc, 1:85, 2:35 aspect ratios.
~John
“Life is good, as long as it doesn’t take up too much of my time.”
-anonymous gamer
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I stand corrected!
If you capture them as anamorphic DV?, if they’re still a little off with the aspect ratio, you could just correct that in the end…?
Jerry
Apple Certified Trainer, Producer, Writer, Director Editor, Gun for Hire and other things. I ski. My Blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/Jerry-Hofmann
Current DVD:
https://store.creativecow.net/p/81/jerry_hofmanns_final_cut_system_setup8-Core 3.0 Intel Mac Pro, Dual 2 gig G5, AJA Kona SD, AJA Kona 2, Huge Systems Array UL3D, AJA Io HD, 17″ MBP, Matrox MXO2 with MAX – Cinema Displays I have a 22″ that I paid 4k for still working. G4 with Kona SD card, and SCSI card.
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I think I’ve identified a source of my problem. The DVD player I am using (from the year 2004, a pioneer unit) to play back anamorphic DVDs into FCP via S video cable — the DVD player itself is NOT playing back anamorphic DVDs properly. It always outputs in a lower rez, letterboxed format. Argh! Meanwhile my blue ray player always outputs to the monitor in anamorphic DVD, but it has no S video output that I can use to test into my Igniter card with FCP…For obvious reasons — namely copy and clone protection. Nevertheless, this all seems to imply that in order to even test-record an anamorphic DVD into FCP, I must buy yet ANOTHER DVD player of a later vintage.
I’m not interested in copying commercial DVDs! I just want to test FCP and make ready for an anamorphic project I have been asked to do.
~ John
“Life is good, as long as it doesn’t take up too much of my time.”
-anonymous gamer
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OK, here’s the blow by blow, folks. I found another DVD player (samsung)lying around the house of somewhat later vintage, and as I connect it to my Igniter card via S video input, BEHOLD there is no imposed letterboxing. Hallelujah. FCP seems to be capturing the 4:3 squeezed frame correctly and then displaying it in Final Cut Pro’s canvas unsqueezed. yay!
On playback to my HD monitor from FCP, I have to specify “480i standard” as the playback format. (not 480i narrow) My bluray player and the HDMI interface normally set all the aspect ratios automatically, so I never have to worry about that. An anamorphic bit tells the monitor what to do.
But with an S video cable coming out of my Igniter video card to the HD monitor, the HD monitor has no way to sense that the image needs to be unsqueezed, thus the HD monitor has to be set manually. Although in theory i suppose an anamorphic setting could be transmitted in the vertical blanking interval. I should be so lucky.
Now my next task is to bring this this anamorphic test through to DVD studio pro to author an anamorphic DVD. Sorry, this is new territory to me, folks. Probably not to most of you.
~ J
“Life is good, as long as it doesn’t take up too much of my time.”
-anonymous gamer
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