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

[Dylan Reeve]

FHA might just be one of those weird BBC terms that seem to make their way into the industry outside the UK. Although that’s what we always tag our programs with on the ID Board – “Aspect: 16:9FHA”

[Katie Van]

Hello,

I’ve been eavesdropping on this conversation as I try to make sure my DVDs play properly for my director.

(so a 16:9 DVD on a 4:3 TV will be letterboxed for output by the DVD player).

Does that mean 16:9 anamorphic? I want to export a sequence for DVD Studio Pro to create a DVD that will play right on whatever TV/DVD player combination my director might come across.

Is my best bet to export 16:9 from an anamorphic sequenece? (Our footage is 16:9 HD.) I’m still learning DVD Studio Pro and haven’t seen this very clearly explained yet.

Thanks for any help

[Katie Van]

Hello,

I’ve been eavesdropping on this conversation as I try to make sure my DVDs play properly for my director.

(so a 16:9 DVD on a 4:3 TV will be letterboxed for output by the DVD player).

Does that mean 16:9 anamorphic? I want to export a sequence for DVD Studio Pro to create a DVD that will play right on whatever TV/DVD player combination my director might come across.

Is my best bet to export 16:9 from an anamorphic sequenece? (Our footage is 16:9 HD.) I’m still learning DVD Studio Pro and haven’t seen this very clearly explained yet.

Thanks for any help

[Zack Hill]

A little bit different than what I was talking about, but here is my two cents.
Are you using DVDSP to burn your DVD? If so, this is what I do:
Out of your FCP timeline, say I am editing an HDV 1080i sequence, I use compressor to compress for SD DVD, 90 minutes best quality. then, when I bring it in to DVD SP, I make a new track and add the M2V file from Compressor to the track. Then in the attributes of the track, you can set it to play either 4:3, 16:9. pan scan, 16 by 9 letterbox, or 16:9 pan scan and letter box. I tend to use 16 by 9 letter box, so that if its on a standard tv, it will letterbox, and if its on a wide screen, it stretches to fit.

Hope that helps!
zack

“Hello,

I’ve been eavesdropping on this conversation as I try to make sure my DVDs play properly for my director.

(so a 16:9 DVD on a 4:3 TV will be letterboxed for output by the DVD player).

Does that mean 16:9 anamorphic? I want to export a sequence for DVD Studio Pro to create a DVD that will play right on whatever TV/DVD player combination my director might come across.

Is my best bet to export 16:9 from an anamorphic sequenece? (Our footage is 16:9 HD.) I’m still learning DVD Studio Pro and haven’t seen this very clearly explained yet.

Thanks for any help”

[David Roth weiss]

[Katrina Mann] “Is my best bet to export 16:9 from an anamorphic sequenece? (Our footage is 16:9 HD.) I’m still learning DVD Studio Pro and haven’t seen this very clearly explained yet.”

Always export using Quicktime Export — current settings, which simply creates a file that exactly matches what is on timeline in the same resolution and format. In your case 16:9 HD anamorphic.

Import that file into Compressor, select the Best DVD preset that suits the length of your video, and check to make sure the Aspect Ratio is set to 16:9 under the Encoder tab in the Inspector. It will encode an MPEG2 properly so that you can create a DVD that will display 16×9 on a widescreen monitor and letterboxed on a 4×3 monitor.

Got it?

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

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY

[Katie Van]

Thank you so much! I swear I’ll still spend the weekend reading the DVDSP manual as promised to myself. But knowing this extremely helpful and encouraging.

Katrina

[Katie Van]

Yes, it’s different – I’ll be referring to the Printing to Video portion of this post next month. Thank you for your help on this part, I really appreciate it.

Katrina

[David Roth weiss]

[zack hill] “Then in the attributes of the track, you can set it to play either 4:3, 16:9. pan scan, 16 by 9 letterbox, or 16:9 pan scan and letter box. I tend to use 16 by 9 letter box, so that if its on a standard tv, it will letterbox, and if its on a wide screen, it stretches to fit.”

Zack,

For the record, you should change your method to the method I described, for good reason. The proper way the DVD spec works is to “set the 16×9 flag” when encoding MPEG2 (in Compressor in this case), then DVDSP or any other authoring software will automatically create a widescreen DVD that displays properly on widescreen or 4×3 TVs.

Using the method you describe, if a person should accidently encode a letterboxed MPEG2 in Compressor, and then they set DVDSP to create a 16×9 DVD, they will get a distorted stretched image on a widescreen TV.

Your method may work sometimes, but not all he time. The method I described works all the time.

Hope this helps…

David

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

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.

[Katie Van]

Hi David,

Thanks for your help. Is this also the best process for sequences that have mixed frame sizes and aspect ratios? And frame rates in fact. Most of our footage is 1920x1080i, 23.98, but we have a smattering of 30 fps 4:3 archival.

Should I still export a Qicktime movie with Current settings? And do I need to check Anamorphic in the browser column of this sequence?

Thank you

[David Roth weiss]

Hey Katrina,

Give it a shot, but you’re probably going to encounter many issues with interlacing that you may not have seen until now. How have you been monitoring?

I’m heading to sleep now BTW, so I’ll check back in the a.m.

David

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

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.