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Need help with 16×9
I’m trying to figure this whole 16×9 thing out from acquisition to delivery and am not sure I’m entirely clear on all of it. Could someone provide suggestions or perhaps recommend a good book on the subject? Here’s our situation:
We are shooting 16×9 with the new Sony HDV Z1 cameras. I want to downconvert that signal for editing as a 16×9 DV file in Final Cut Pro. Once edited, I want to be able to transfer it to DVD using DVD Studio Pro and have the 16×9 image fill up a 16×9 TV or be letterboxed on a 4×3 TV.
Am I correct in thinking that we should set the downconversion option on the Sony HDV deck to “squeeze” for transfer to FCP, then edit in FCP in 16×9? What do I have to choose in FCP to recognize the incoming signal as 16×9? When I go to DVD, is there anything special I have to do to properly encode the signal with Compressor as 16×9? Finally, once in DVD Studio Pro is there a 16×9 flag I have to set or will it automatically recognize it as a 16×9 file. Last – is there a flag set on the burned DVD to let players know if it 16×9 and should play full screen on a plasma or lcd display and letterboxed on a 4×3 display?
Sorry for all the questions but I’ve been through all my books and have done a web search and am just not finding a straight answer to the above questions.
Thanks!
Don Hertz
Cornerstone Multimedia -
3 Replies
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The easiest thing you can do is a simple search of this forum. All the answers have been given already.
(Ok, one answer- editing a 16:9 sequence (set in FCP as a 16:9 sequence), and authoring in DVDSP as a 16:9 file, will cause DVD players to automatically generate a letterbox when shown on a 4:3 TV, assuming settings are correct).
Ed -
I can’t advise you on what the transfer settings on your HDV Sony should be ’cause I don’t own one. What I can tell you though, is that you need to have the camera send the SD downconvert video to your Mac instead of the HD. Consult your owners manual for the right way to do that.
Open the log and capture window in FCP and make sure the ‘anamorphic’ box is checked, then your 16:9 footage will be captured properly. Then in sequence settings make sure the timeline is also set to anamorphic DV NTSC 48.
In Compressor choose the DV NTSC anamorphic preset for you MPEG2 encode.
In DVDSP highlight the track and select ‘anamorphic’ in the properties tab.
That’s about it for my quick and dirty workflow description.
– Don
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Thanks for that nice concise answer Don. We’ll run through the whole process today to test it all out.
Don Hertz
Cornerstone Multimedia
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