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DVX100BP – Letterbox vs. Squeeze
Just wanted some outside opinions on what would be best to work with for video footage that would better stand the test of time, and would also be more useful for compositing purposes in After Effects.
I know the DVX doesn’t have a native 16:9 sensor, so the choice between letterbox and squeeze doesn’t seem like it would be that big of a difference.
If I go with letterbox, I would probably crop off the black bars for online distribution anyway, and end up with a 640×360 widescreen video file.
With squeeze, I can set the After Effects file to 852×480 (or whatever that resolution is) and theoretically have a higher resolution file. Will it really retain the same quality as the lower-res video file though, since it’s the same data just being stretched more?
Thanks.
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2 Replies
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Make a huge difference- never, ever use Letterbox. All that does is superimpose black bars on a 4:3 image- you are covering up part of your frame. And getting an image that’s almost useless in post. If you don’t want a square 4:3 frame, you want Squeeze. That gives you the closest to 16:9 native you can get with the DVX100.
Noah
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By compositing, I mean just whatever I’ll be doing in After Effects, like masking things out, rotoscoping, titles, etc… I’m a student with easy access to DVX100 cameras, so I’m mostly just experimenting around with different things.
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