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Activity Forums VEGAS Pro letter box with 16:9 wide screen TV

  • letter box with 16:9 wide screen TV

    Posted by Dror on June 10, 2006 at 2:36 pm

    Hi all.

    Why do I see letter box when watching the final project with my 16:9. TV
    The video was taken with the fx1( 16:9 ), editing with Vegas 6.0 and DVD with DVD architect 3.0.

    All formats were 16:9 wide screen.
    I understand the letter box with 4:3 TV. But should I see it on the wide screen 16:9 TV as well

    Dror replied 19 years, 11 months ago 2 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • Dan Achatz

    June 10, 2006 at 4:47 pm

    When you build you DVD in DVDA, you have to go to properties and choose video project format: NTSC Widescreen. If you do this, then you DVD player will play it letter box on a 4:3 set and when setup properly, 16:9 on you 16:9 Set. If you don’t select Widescreen, it defaults to 4:3 letterbox.

    Also if you rendered the MPEG-2 Stream directly out of Vegas, you need to also select in the temp let DVDA-Widescreen. Also I’m still using Vegas 5, and if I render the MPEG out of Vegas, I have to remember to go to the Audio tab and click include audio, or it just encodes the video stream.

    If you have already done all this, then the problem is probably an issue with the setup on your DVD player.

    I hope one of these ideas help.

    Dan

  • Dror

    June 10, 2006 at 6:22 pm

    So let me see if I understood . even if my footage is 16:9, Vegas project format is 16:9, I need to choose 4:3 in DVD architect in order of avoiding the letterbox.
    Now. By choosing the 4:3 in DVD architect, do I loose any image information?
    Is it still 16:9 footage when viewing with wide screen TV
    and what is the right way or shell I say what will be more appropriate for wedding videos,with letterbox or without?

    Thank you so much for your input.

  • Dan Achatz

    June 11, 2006 at 12:03 am

    If you set you project size in DVDA to NTSC Wide screen, and your footage is shot and edited in 16:9, then it will show 16:9 on 16:9 sets and 4:3 letter boxed on normal sets. Once again will have to verify that your DVD player is set correctly.

    You can check your aspect ration on the DVD by playing it back on your computer in Windows Media or whatever DVD player program you have loaded. If it shows up as 16:9 on your computer then it is 16:9.

    Will you loose anything making it 16:9? The answer to that is a complicated one. Because 16:9 in not the normal television signal, set manufacturers and equipment manufacturers came up with an electronic anamorphic conversion that records 16:9 images in on the 4:3 signal. That’s why some video tapes that were made for 16:9 sets look squished on 4:3 sets and everyone looks tall and skinny.

    Set manufactures un squish the image. In doing all this, it is true that you are losing some resolution. It’s not really enough to worry about. Could you see it if you recorded some test charts. The answer to that is yes.

    I make all my DVD wide screen. If my clients comment on it I only have to point out that their next TV set they have will be 16:9…

    Dan

  • Dror

    June 11, 2006 at 4:35 am

    Again,thank you so much

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