pixelated text

[Dave Johnson]

Do you have pixel aspect ratio correction on?

And, by “‘wire, draft or best’ option set to ‘best'”, do you mean in the comp viewer window? If so, how about the layer’s draft vs. full switch in the timeline? It sets to full by default, but maybe you switched it accidentally while clicking around in the timeline.

[Dave Johnson]

[Dave LaRonde] “It’s one of those things about AE that you just have to take as an article of faith.”

Yep, unfortunately. Or, you could work the old way like I do … always work in square pixs and do the fit-to-comp thing with a rect pixs comp just before renders … that way, everything always looks right and I can forget that silly PAR correction button exists. ;~)

Now, if I could just find a way to make Photoshop stop forcing that stupid PAR correction thing on every time I open a file, I’d be in PAR heaven.

[Dave Forrest]

Thanks – it was the pixel aspect ratio toggle.

But – when that switch is off – is it showing me how the final result is actually going to look? Because if so, that’s no good – it looks terrible – the text is smoother, granted, but it’s also elongated!

My footage is DV NTSC Widescreen (1.20) 720 x 480. Even when I create a new composition with this footage (by dragging it over the new comp icon in the project panel) it displays it in the monitor with the PARC off and it’s all squashed up. To view it at its ‘normal size and shape’ (the way it displays in Premiere and on a TV screen) I have to switch PARC on – and the image looks terrible…?

I realise this whole PARC thing is a bit of a nightmare – the HELP section in AE trys to explain it but quite unsuccesfully. What I need to know is – which setting (PARC on or off) do I use to view exactly what the end result will be?

Thanks,

Dave.

[Dave Forrest]

Thanks guys,

I guess I was typing my last queeries just as you were answering them!

Ok – so, regardless of what the text looks like, come render time, it’s going to come out looking sweet and smooth and also be the right size and shape? If so, that’s great! No worries!

Thanks,

Dave.

[Joey Burnham]

Or, you can get an external monitor that will stretch your 4×3 anamorphic to fill the 16×9 monitor and not have to worry about it.
Works wonders.
Best,
Joey

[Dave Johnson]

[Dave Forrest] “Ok – so, regardless of what the text looks like, come render time, it’s going to come out looking sweet and smooth and also be the right size and shape?”

Yes … as long as you use the correct comp settings and render settings for what you want the output to be (from your descriptions, it sounds like you want rectangular pixs).

In my opinion, pixel aspect ratios aren’t a nightmare at all and the Adobe page below actually explains the subject quite well … true, it may be something best to learn from a person rather than a document, but you just have to understand the core principles behind the subject.

https://help.adobe.com/en_US/AfterEffects/9.0/WS3878526689cb91655866c1103906c6dea-7f3aa.html