HVX200:480i>FCP>DVDSP: proper settings for 16x9 compatibility and letterbox for 4x3

J

Jeff Oswald

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HVX200:480i>FCP>DVDSP: proper settings for 16x9 compatibility and letterbox for 4x3

I need some noob help. I just bought an HVX 200 and am still on the learning curve.

I'm delivering on DVD-5 using DVD Studio Pro. I have it set for 16x9 and letterbox for 4x3. Editing in Final Cut Pro.

Obviously I'm trying to make this as painless for my clients as possible and most of them should have 16x9 HDTVs. However I also want to make sure it displays letterboxed on 4x3 TVs.

I know DVD and TV settings can wonk this up, but I just want to make sure I hold up my part of the bargain.

Shooting in HD is out of the question for budget reasons, so I've chosen DVCpro50 480i.

So the question is which camera set-up makes full use of the HVX-200. Squeeze or Letterbox? I'm a little confused by that terminology.

Also I'll take tips on workflow beyond that if there's anything special I should do in FCP, Compressor and DVD Studio Pro.

Thanks in advance.
 
  1. Export 16:9/720x480 from FCP.
  2. Encode MPEG-2 in Compressor 16:9 NTSC (24p too)
  3. Load into DVDSP, select 16:9 Letterbox setting (this should be picked automatically by DVDSP).
  4. Burn
  5. Will display 16:9 on properly setup DVD players and TVs and will be automatically letterboxed by players set in 4:3 mode.

This is how all commercial 16:9 DVDs are made- 16:9 anamorphic video, the DVD player itself does the letterboxing. If you do any sort of letterboxing yourself in FCP or Compressor you've missed a step.

Noah
 
Thanks. I just ran a test along those lines and it all looked right. Although I used a QT export rather than compressor (DV50 NTSC anamorphic).

My main confusion was more with the camera setting (squeeze or letterbox) than the FCP and DVD SP settings. Had to get past the fact that in SD I have to go anamorphic even though the camera has 16x9 CCDs.

So I've concluded I use the squeeze setting. Am I right?

Thanks for the quick response.
 
Yes squeeze = anamorphic. But that said, you should be shooting full HD. Even though it's an SD finish it's simple to downconvert in FCP or Compressor or QT and the quality is much better than an SD master.

Noah
 
NoahK said:
  1. Export 16:9/720x480 from FCP.
  2. Encode MPEG-2 in Compressor 16:9 NTSC (24p too)
  3. Load into DVDSP, select 16:9 Letterbox setting (this should be picked automatically by DVDSP).
  4. Burn
  5. Will display 16:9 on properly setup DVD players and TVs and will be automatically letterboxed by players set in 4:3 mode.

This is how all commercial 16:9 DVDs are made- 16:9 anamorphic video, the DVD player itself does the letterboxing. If you do any sort of letterboxing yourself in FCP or Compressor you've missed a step.

Noah
Click to expand...

hi Noah, as a follow up to a pm i sent the other day, since you have 24p too in parenthesis in step two, and the original post was about 480i footage, are these steps applicable regardless if shooting in HD or SD, when an SD DVD is the distribution media? of course, the editing timeline has to match the shooting format, but for export purposes, these steps can be considered "standard" for SD DVD.
 
And as my own follow-up, I've been through the process now with a project and I'm really pleased with the results.

Thanks all.
 
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