4:3 Anamorphic into iMovie 08 16:9 without cropping?

Help! I'm importing 16:9 video from a Panasonic Hard Disk Recorder into iMovie 08 via the S-Video input on a Canopus ADVC300. The picture arrives in 4:3 Anamorphic ratio (according to Canopus) but when I use iMovie to convert this back to 16:9 it crops the top and bottom of the picture. I've tried both 'Fit In Frame' and 'Crop' in Project Properties but neither give me the original 16:9 picture. What am I doing wrong?
Also, when importing 4:3 VHS tape I'm getting a rogue horizontal 'line' near the bottom of the picture which does not appear on the original tape. I've tried two Canopus converters and the same thing happens on both. Is there a problem or can I just crop this out?
Many thanks

The picture arrives in 4:3 Anamorphic ratio (according to Canopus) but when I use iMovie to convert this back to 16:9 it crops the top and bottom of the picture.
The first question is what you mean by, "The picture arrives in 4:3 Anamorphic ratio." Whether the source content was 4:3 or 16:9 in aspect ration, it should have been mapped to a 720x576 data matrix for PAL. The real question here is what is the "square" pixel equivalent of the encoded matrix -- is it 1024x576 (16:9) or 768x576 (4:3). If you open the captured file in the QT Player and check the "Inspector" window, you should be able to tell for sure. If the format line indicates the video is "DV, 720x576 (1024x576), Milions", both the "Normal Size" and "Current Size" read "1024x576", and the player display looks 16:9, then everything should be normal up to this point.
Now the question becomes, "What do you mean by use iMovie to convert this back to 16:9?" No "conversion" should be necessary. If the project is set to "16:9" (and not 3:2 or 4:3), then the preview window should be 16:9 (and not a "square" like 4:3 preview window). If it is, then the project is set for the proper aspect ratio.
Now we come to the question of "fit" versus "crop" mode. In the "fit" mode, your 16:9 clip (if it is properly flagged and tagged as a 16:9/1024x576 video) will just "fit" the preview display area. However, in the "crop" mode, the size and position of the "green frame box" will determine how much of your 1024x576 viewing are is actually displayed in the preview window. Thus, if the " frame box" is not set to the full size of your viewing area, top/bottom and left/right areas will be "cropped" from the preview window and what you see will depend on where within the "viewing area" this "green box" is actually positioned.
I've tried both 'Fit In Frame' and 'Crop' in Project Properties but neither give me the original 16:9 picture.
Unfortunately, we now reach a point where at least one of your original assertions must be false -- either the original file is not really 16:9 (or it is not properly tagged as such) or both "fit" and "crop" views cannot preview exactly the same. So it is back to my original questions regarding the "Inspector" values and how the file actually looks in the QT Player. Without this information, a specific cause of your problem cannot be determined.
Also, when importing 4:3 VHS tape I'm getting a rogue horizontal 'line' near the bottom of the picture which does not appear on the original tape.
This may or may not be a problem. It is normal that some of the horizontal lines are not displayed -- especially on an older analog TV when viewing VHS tapes -- just as the entire width of the analog screen overscan is not normally displayed. With digital TVs, more of the recorded display area is usually seen and may include what you describe. I do a lot of conversions of older TV shows from the 40's and 50's and frequently "trim out" such "blemishes" with or without rescaling the picture to its full dimensions in my work flow. This option is available in iMovie '08 by simply using that "crop" option mentioned above.

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