[Oregondanne]

Thanks a lot! I’ll try it out asap.

[Oregondanne]

Hi Edward,

Yes, that’s what it seems like after a closer inspection. Yes, my drive is FAT32 formatted. Is there a way to change the formatting without losing content, or do I have to sacrifice and start from scratch with NTFS?

Thanks a lot for your help!

/ Daniel

[Oregondanne]

Hi again Terje,

Seems like the problems don’t want to leave me alone… Thanks to your help, the AVI files play perfectly in widescreen on my computer. I then use a program called ConvertXtoDVD to be able to burn it, and it seems like the aspect ratio is kept during processing (there is a preview window always visible).

But, after burning it to DVD (using either ConvertXtoDVD itself or Nero) it still does not play in widescreen neither on the tv nor on players like VLC (which it did as an AVI file). Any idea of what went wrong?

Sorry to bother you with all these questions, but it seems like you know your stuff pretty well! =)

[Oregondanne]

The drop in quality is, luckily, only evident in the preview window (it looks very blurry). After re-rendering the project (in Widescreen DV), it looked much better! It seems like this should solve my problem, so thanks a lot!

The only other issue I have with the rendering process is that Vegas cuts off my project after rendering 16 minutes of film, requiring me to render twice/create two AVI files (it automatically creates two AVI files to complete the rendering, but since it’s hard to piece them together afterwards I’ve decided to divide the project in two and have the break at a black interval).

Do you know if there is a setting that enables longer AVI files? Since my film is 20 minutes long, it feels somewhat annoying that it cuts off just when the credits start to roll… (the size of the project/file seems to matter less than the length, as it cut after 16 minutes even before I added sound effects and music)

[Oregondanne]

Thanks again! I double-checked my settings and noticed that the template was set to NTSC-DV (not widescreen), although I am quite sure I set it to widescreen when I started the project…

Anyway, I changed the template/pixel aspect ratio to NTSC Widescreen, and what emerged was something that seemed like a substantial drop in quality (of the video as viewed in the preview window); it looked somewhat blurry and not as sharp as when the templete isn’t set to widescreen. Would that be because it should have been set correctly to begin with, not to alter afterwards? I guess I will try to render a portion of it and see if it still looks bad.

Thanks for your help and I apologize for my abysmal level of knowledge in these matters….

[Oregondanne]

“This is because when you render it to DV, Vegas (correctly) crops the picture and adds the frame around it to avoid “squishing” the image.”

This sounds very interesting! I guess this is the answer to my problem, then? That Vegas always creates a “black frame”?

“Just curious, how do you watch an AVI on your TV?”

I didn’t. =) Just left out a few steps in my original message. A more technically oriented friend of mine converted it with a program and then burned it to DVD using Nero. But the bottom line is that the black frame remained throughout.

I’ve had previous experience working in Final Cut, and after converting to Quicktime and burning to DVD with, let’s say, DVD Studio Pro, the project automatically fits on a widescreen tv without having to press the zoom button. Hence my confusion…

But thanks a lot for your insights!

[Oregondanne]

Dear Douglas,

Thanks for your reply!

My player as well as TV support/is widescreen, and like I wrote in my original message the widescreen is intact; the problem is not squeezing or letterboxing but black frames on all sides of the scren. I.e. the project is somewhat shrunk down, so I need to press the zoom button on the TV to view it in full.

“Project settings to wide?
Render settings to wide?”

Project settings are to wide, but also having render settings to wide seemed to mess it up (and at least made it look like 4:3, the same way two minuses in mathematics create a plus). So I did not set render settings to wide, but still ended up with a smaller widescreen format (not squeezed or letterboxed).

“pillarboxes too (vertical black lines on right/left?”

Yes, that’s what I meant with a black “frame” around it (that is, both vertical and horizantal lines).

Any ideas?

[Oregondanne]

Gary,

I used some kind of converter program and then Nero to burn it to DVD. But the black frame I’m talking about remains the same throughout.