Aspect ratio troubles

ToddWayne_AZ

ToddWayne_AZ

Active member
Panic time for me. I feel like I've done this a hundred times and suddenly I can't fix the problem! The short version:

...HVX200 footage (720/24 and some 60fps) edited in FCP 6.0, export using the 720p24 setting in Compressor. Makes a gorgeous looking quicktime file that I then drag into iDVD choosing the 16:9 aspect ratio when promted. But when I preview it, the file is squished into a 4:3 aspect ratio. Burned a few just to be sure and it's not just the review...they're squished when I play the dvd too.

Any ideas to get it to encode and play at the proper aspect ratio? Thanks.

UPDATE:

I exported the sequence using the Quicktime Movie option instead of Compressor. In the settings options I chose DVCPRO HD 50 720p/24. It quickly created a QT file of the same size as my previous attempts through Compressor. The resolution looked identical too. I imported it into iDVD, burned a disk, and it plays perfectly, displaying the movie in the correct aspect ratio. Not sure what, if any, difference there is between the 720p/24 setting in QT and Compressor, but only the QT exported file worked in iDVD.
 
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Sounds like there was some flag somewhere in Compressor that was missed. You might want to snag the Apple Pro Training Series: Compressor Quick Guide (or whatever its called). Its like $20 and lots around here have found it quite handy to have.

If you have FCP 6 why not just use DVDSP? If you're just making a screener DVD its not that bad to setup. If you want to get into all the custom menu abilities, then it might be a little more invovled (but going that far is often not necessary).

cheers.
 
VaricamLife,

I tried DVDSP first and after burning through about 5 disks and 3 hours or so I gave up and went to iDVD which I'm more familiar with. I don't have a clue what the problem was...the disks seemed to burn fine, and they seemed to encode good, but they simply wouldn't play on either of the dvd players I've got in the house. I was under a time crunch so just went with what I knew. That's my next project - figuring what went wrong in DVDSP.

Thanks for mentioning the Compressor Quick Guide, I'm definitely gonna find it and start reading .
 
Todd,

Apple has a whole series of Apple Pro Training Series, including one for DVDSP. I went through about half the book and was able to do anything I wanted with the program including adding subtitles, putting in Easter Eggs, multiple tracks, menus and "stories". It really isn't that difficult a program. As a matter of fact, I was never able to create a satisfactory disc with iDVD, but I can put together a nice looking DVD with DVDSP within a few minutes.

Apple Pro Training Series: DVDSP4

The whole series...

For a very reasonable price, you'll find you can work your way through the books and become quite proficient in a short time.
 
Blaine,

Great tip...I just ordered one.

One of my serious flaws with any new software is that I just jump in and start "turnin knobs" thinking I'll go back and read the manual later. When I finally do go back and do my homework, I invariably find I would have been hours ahead to crack the books first.

Thanks again.
 
Ummm.... I'm having this trouble too. After many successful DVD's made using FCS, I'm just now trying to make my first DVD out of FCS2 and I'm having trouble. If I take a SD Anamorphic sequence out to Compressor it tries to make it 4:3, even though the inspector does show the right Pixel Aspect ratio. I override it to 16:9 and process it, but it's no good... I go through all the settings, no go. I export my sequence as a QT file, (using all defaults) and bring that into compressor and voila, I can now encode it for DVDSP with the same results I used to get before. Can someone out there tell me what I'm doing wrong here?

**Update**

I have discovered that when I send a sequence (DV Anamorphic) out of FCP into Compressor, the file shows "Display bounds" of 640x480 and a Pixel aspect ratio that is not anamorphic. This is in the inspector under A/V attributes. If I export that same sequence to a quicktime file using the sequence settings and bring that into Compressor, the display bounds are 853x480 and the pixel aspect ratio shows 16:9 like I want it to. Any insight??
 
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