I am shooting standard def native 16:9, exporting a quick time ref. file from the Adrenaline to Sorenson Squeeze to transcode to an MPEG file for DVD playback with 16:9 pixel aspect ratio with "letter box or pillar" checked on the Large File DVD setting. It plays perfectly fine on a 4:3 standard television showing the letterbox. When I play the dvd through a wide screen television with an aspect ratio of 16:9 it stretches it sideways but looks fine when I change the ratio back to 4:3 on the wide screen television. Essentially, it's doing the complete opposite of what I've compressed it to do.

I'm using the Avid DVD program to create the final DVD.

Any suggestions from anyone would be great.

Thanks.

I've posted the way I avoid this elsewhere here (wish I remembered where!) to help avoid others' similar trial & error (and wasted disks!). Quick re-cap:

Select 'native' size in QTR (then it doesnt get messed with)

Essentially I think Sorenson just passes it through as a squashed up 4:3 frame - try to achieve this using 'native/raw' whatever it was called.  The Sorenson preview window doesnt affect aspect ratio of output file.

Using DVDit I ensure that the 16:9 tick box is checked on the imported movie and voila!

Re-cap: label it as 16:9 on the authoring only, keep everything else as a 'native' or passthrough mode.

Hope that helps.

D

Absolutely, you definitely don't want to letterbox it when you compress.

Yoiu want to create a 16:9 Full Height Anamorphic MPEG2 and author the DVD as 16:9 FHA.  This will then play correctly (Full Screen) on a widescreen TV, and the DVD player will letterbox it for display on a 4:3 TV (assuming the DVD player / TV are set up correctly).

regards

Brian

Sorry, duplicate post - forum's acting strangely today

regards

Brian

hey Brian-

Just wanted to say that I love your little signature graphics- and "this is post"! Hilarious! Think I'll click on the "beer"!

How has this button been omitted from "The New Thinking"?

Avid just can't help how out of touch it remains with it's software's effect on the human being- and how badly Avid inspires the need for this button.

New tech tip: new project>click "beer">Ctrl+C>Ctrl+V>Ctrl+V>Ctrl+V>Ctrl+V>Ctrl+V>Ctrl+V

the antidote to Avid, you're all welcome...

bsuttie:

Absolutely, you definitely don't want to letterbox it when you compress.

Yoiu want to create a 16:9 Full Height Anamorphic MPEG2 and author the DVD as 16:9 FHA.  This will then play correctly (Full Screen) on a widescreen TV, and the DVD player will letterbox it for display on a 4:3 TV (assuming the DVD player / TV are set up correctly).

Isnt that the rub - we all know what 'anamorphic' means but I dont think I have seen that in any TV related menus in Sorenson or DVDit or Avid.  Using proper industry terminology would SO help avoid confusion.  I think most of us put 'FHA' on most broadcast VT clocks even though it's bleeding abvious its squashed up!

D

Just wanted to say that I love your little signature graphics- and "this is post"! Hilarious! Think I'll click on the "beer"!

How has this button been omitted from "The New Thinking"?

Thanks Evan, Avid will probably pick up on the idea soon . . .

bsuttie:

Thanks Evan, Avid will probably pick up on the idea soon . . .

not until they get pummeled with three years of "FCP has a better "beer button" and FCP's "beer button" works in PAL 720p25!

 At the risk of looking like a complete idiot only to keep other idiots from making the same mistake, the only variable I didn't check was the setting on my external dvd player!! It was set on 4:3 not 16:9. I tried every combination imagineable from sending the QTref. out differently, which seems to make little difference, to setting different filters and cropping in Sorenson. Oh well, you live and learn.

It takes a big person to admit such things. Well done for solving your problem and the courage to post an unexpected cause to help others avoid a similar situation.