keeping anamorphic pix asp ratio when exporting to mp4

[Ben Holmes]

SImple – but often asked question…

1) Open mp4 in Quicktime Pro.
2) Click on ‘Window” on the menu bar.
3) Click on “Movie Properties” in the drop down.
4) Click on “Video Track” in the pop-up box.
5) Click on “Visual Settings”.
6) Uncheck the “Preserve Aspect Ratio” box.
7) Alter the size of the file to a 16:9 ratio. You can multiply the height by 16 and divide it by 9 to get the width. Example: 320×240 becomes 426×240 (or 427 f you like to round up).

Either increase the width or reducet the height via the same method (multiply by 9 and divide by 16 for the latter). Opinions vary on the better method – I always increase the width as I am usually playing these mp4’s full screen so they get scaled anyway.

Hope that helps!

Ben

[Videodjo]

thx. Couldn’t be more easy. Although I wonder why they’re ain’t no direct way to export a 16:9 mp4…

Thx again!

[Michael Alberts]

I’m confused. You said in your original post that you WANT to keep the original aspect ratio, which is anamorphic. That would result in a 4:3 QT which is what you got. But then you say you really want it to be 16×9, which is not it’s native aspect ratio. It’s a simple matter of “Export” out of FCP to keep it’s anamorphic 4:3 aspect in one click in FCP.

If you are trying to alter it’s native anamorphic mode and export the clip at 16:9 then that’s another matter. Simply export a refrence file out of FCP. Drop it into Compressor. Select your mp4 setting of choice, then select the Geometry tab. Choose “Constrain to display aspect: 16×9” and your done.

Michael Alberts
Ambidextrous Productions, Inc.