anamorphic scaling

[Jeff Carpenter]

Is this DV?

There is no scaling. DV 4:3 is 720×480 and DV 16:9 is 720×480.

Of course, it scales it in the Final Cut viewer for your own viewing purposes, but that’s just an effect so you can get the proper view. The video itself is un-changed.

Meaning, you’re fine. Anamorphic is just a viewing mode you’re turning on or off. The video stays the same.

The 2 places where scaling comes into play:

1) If you make a 4:3 letterboxed video it will scale the video down to fit in the frame. This IS actually changing the pixels, but it’s shrinking it, not blowing it up, so there’s little to worry about here.

2) If you make an anamorphic DVD, the DVD player will either stretch it to fit a 16:9 tv or it will shrink it to fit a 4:3 TV. Either way, it’s the DVD player doing the work, so there’s nothing you can do to make it look any better or worse.

[Rafael Amador]

There is not Scaling but Distort.
You do it right. Check the Anamorphic box and edit in an Anamorphic sequence. no lose of quality at all. The same that you would have captured Anamorphic.
rafael

Mac OX 10.5.2-FC 6.02-QT 7.4.1
G5 2x2Gh 4GbRAM-BlackMagic Extreme
PMBP 17″Core2Duo 4GbRAM-AJA ioHD
JVC DTV-17″
SONY EX-1 . SONY PD170
..and always a big mess on top of the table.

[Sean Oneil]

If you check anamorphic and put it in an anamorphic sequence, then it does not alter anything or affect quality. If you check anamorphic and place it in a non-anamorphic sequence, then it automatically creates a letterbox by adjusting the “Distort” setting in the Motion tab.

Sean