Print to Video Question: Not 16×9 on my external monitor?

[David Roth weiss]

[zack hill] “when I print to video, it comes up squeezed into a 4 by 3 format.”

I’m trying to help, but your post is pretty difficult to follow… What does “comes up” mean? Comes up where? That’s not really a video term.

(Now that I’ve reread your original post and see your subject header again I get your post a bit better and realize I did answer correctly below.) A better way to state what you siad would have been, “after printing to tape, the tape displays 4×3 squeezed on my TV or monitor when monitored directly from my VCR.”)

Anamorphic video when recorded to tape is in fact squeeezed to 4×3 and everything is tall and skinny until it is unsqueeezed. So, if you’re monitoring on a 4×3 SD TV right off the tape and your monitor has no switch for 16×9, what d’ya think its gonna look like??? 4×3 squeeezed.

David Roth Weiss
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[Dylan Reeve]

That’s what 16:9FHA (Full Height Anamorphic) footage looks like on a 4:3 display – tall and skinny. On a 16:9 device (projector, widescreen TV, etc) it will look nice and wide. Some DV decks and cameras will actually convert the playback to suit a 4:3 display by letterboxing it, but that’s not common, and would be a menu option somewhere.

Don’t worry, you’ve done it right. Be sure to clearly label the tape as being 16:9 Anamorphic to make sure it’s handled properly.

[Zack Hill]

Sir David, sorry for my cryptic post. my 7th month old was on my lap, and this is due this afternoon.
So, to help achieve an answer to my problem, when I submit this tape to the festival, whom I assume with take this copy and put it on a master tape, will it unsqueeze? Or do I have to change my settings to get it to print in 16:9 format?
Thanks,
zack hill

[Zack Hill]

Hey, thanks for your Post, that is what I wanted to hear! Sorry if the message was cryptic, and I should have read your post before I responded to Sir David’s post.
Thanks!
zack hill

[David Roth weiss]

[Dylan Reeve] “Be sure to clearly label the tape as being 16:9 Anamorphic to make sure it’s handled properly.”

Dylan is absolutely right on this one, which I thought about a while later. Consider going a step farther and calling to make certain the head programmer puts a big red note to the projectionist reminding them that your project is anamorphic, because Murphy’s law of bad projection states, “whatever can be projected improperly, will be projected improperly.”

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY

[Zack Hill]

Thanks so much for your help guys!
I appreciate it.
Zack Hill

[Robert Ober]

[Dylan Reeve] “On a 16:9 device (projector, widescreen TV, etc) it will look nice and wide.”

Really? Wouldn’t that be assuming a playback device that understands anamorphic like DVD players do? What he probably will get on playback is 4:3 squeezed inside of a 16:9 frame, right? Do most DV decks understand anamorphic? Maybe later I will try my DSR-11 as a test.

Robert:-)

[Dylan Reeve]

Most 16:9 devices will just put whatever pixels they see on the screen, so an anamorphic image will look right, but a 4:3 image will look short and fat.

DVD players step in the middle of this process by reading the format flag on the DVD and looking at the TV aspect setting you’ve provided, and doing whatever is necessary to make the format look right (so a 16:9 DVD on a 4:3 TV will be letterboxed for output by the DVD player).

[Rafael Amador]

The “squeezing” can be done by the playback machine (DVD) or by the monitor. In both cases the result is the same. Old DVD players can’t do 16×9. You need to change the aspect in the TV set.
VTR’s do not understand of Anamorphic. There is not difference at all between a 4×3 or 16×9 SD video signal. Is just to different ways to do the vertical scanning of your screen. Is like writing a text in a paper letting more or less space between the lines.

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[Kevin Monahan]

I learned something too. FHA is a term I am not familiar with. Dylan must be an engineering “type”. PROPS! 🙂

Kevin Monahan
http://www.fcpworld.com
Author – Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro