Anamorphic 16:9 in FCE squeezes to 4:3 in iDVD '09 - Apple's solution...

A Movie imported and edited with FCE from a Anamorphic 16:9 DV Camera cannot be imported into IDVD '09 without squeezing the image into 4:3. Apple's work around is to export the file from FCE as a 854x480 instead of the native 720x480. This seems to work so far except my question is... does changing the aspect ratio before exporting like this degrade video quality of the final DVD?
Any help would greatly be appreciated.

And here's the best part ...
Don't have QT pro, and the snow leopard quicktime can't seem to do the resizing either. So I was going to just do the resizing under "export using quicktime" where just checking the "16x9" option makes it work correctly.
The only problem is I can't export chapter markers that way! So iDVD can either have correct aspect ratio or chapter markers, not both!
I'm pretty sure the timeline is set to anamorphic...

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Anamorphic 16:9 Squeezes to 4:3 - Apple's solution...

A Movie imported and edited with FCE from a Anamorphic 16:9 DV Camera cannot be imported into IDVD '09 without squeezing the image into 4:3. Apple's work around is to export the file from FCE as a 854x480 instead of the native 720x480. This seems to work so far except my question is... does changing the aspect ratio before exporting like this degrade video quality of the final DVD?
Any help would greatly be appreciated.

OK. More information as a result of working with this some more.
There are several disadvantages to following the steps in the KB articles listed in my earlier post. They are:
1) You will lose all Chapter information that you placed in the sequence while working in FCE/FCP.
2) You can't use the export as QT reference movie. This requires extra time (CPU and wall clock) and extra disk space to hold the large resulting files.
3) By doing one more full export, you introduce the possibility of reduced quality in the final product.
4) I didn't test this but I would expect that compression markers get lost too.
I did find one way to to using the QT reference movie with Chapter information. Following is the information on that:
1) Export the sequence as described in the FCE/FCP manual to get a QT reference movie including Chapter markers. (A reference movie is usually a lot smaller than files resulting from the KB articles.)
2) Open the new QT reference movie in Quicktime 7 (may need to reinstall this if you are on Snow Leopard - search the internet for steps to do this).
3) Once the file is open in QT 7 (NOT QTx) then select Window / *Show Movie Properties*.
4) Select the Video Track and the *Visual Settings* tab, enter 854 x 480 in the *Scaled Size* and UNCHECK the *Preserve Aspect Ratio* option.
5) From the File menu, save the movie (I used the Reference Movie option).
6) Drag this new file into your iDVD project and things should work as expected - Chapters and all.
Bottom line, Apple does not have a clean solution (as far as I know) to a 16:9 workflow between FCE/FCP and iDVD. If you think this is important, please provide feedback at the following site:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/finalcutexpress.html
The feedback should include a request to have a better 16:9 workflow from FCE --> iDVD.

FCP/FCE anamorphic to iDVD widescreen - A simple solution?

I have seen a lot of discussions about how hard it is to get anamorphic material from FCP/FCE into iDVD. There seem to be a few complex workarounds using third party software etc.
Today I suddenly came to think about a possible very simple solution.
1. Export to QuickTime from FCP/FCE
2. Open the clip in QuickTime Pro
3. Choose the Window menu and choose Show Movie Properties
4. Select the Video Track and click the Visual Settings tab
5. Uncheck Preserve Aspect Ratio
6. Change the width to 854 (DV-NTSC) or to 1024 (DV-PAL)
7. Save the clip and quit QuickTime
8. Open iDVD and start a new 16:9 Widescreen project
9. Import your modified QuickTime clip
10. Author and burn your DVD
Is it really this easy? Are there any downsides to doing it this way? The modified QuickTime clip's Movie Info in QuickTime says: Format: DV, 720 x 576 (1024 x 576)
I just tested this workflow, and the finished DVD looked fine.

I gave the usual dimensions for Standard Definition DV Anamorphic as an example. The actual dimensions for DV Anamorphic NTSC and PAL are: 720x480 and 720x576, but when stretched, the right width is 854 and 1024 as mentioned in my first post. The dimentions you are mentioning are for High Definition 1080i/p
If you are editing 720p, the dimentions are: 1280 × 720.
This might be of help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CommonVideoResolutions.svg

Importing FCE sequence to Quicktime movie to Idvd

I imported a FCE sequence to Quicktime movie, then into iDVD. Where I had made freeze frame images with cross fade transitions in FCE, when i previewed them in iDVD the transitions were "jumpy" in iDVD. Any suggestions?

Try deinterlacing the freeze frames in FCE.

Settings for importing keynote content to 16:9 anamorphic DV project in FCE

Hello, I've tried searching the support forums, but unfortunately didn't find the answer to my question and maybe I was just not searching for the right terms. Anyhow this is what I would like to do:
I would like to create a keynote presentation and export this to a QuickTime movie, which I then could import into Final Cut Express as a title and bumper between certain scenes.
Now my problem is that even if I specify the appropriate anamorphic PAL size 720×576 pixels and then export the movie, all seems well, until I import that movie into FCE4 and add it to my timeline.
It is there that the file will look stretched on the X Axis. I am obviously doing something wrong. I am a total beginner with FCE 4 and still have so much to learn...
thanks in advance for your help and sorry if I overlooked an answer...

I found that 1024 x 576 did the trick for me. It also seems that Apple suggests this particular resolution when taking your Final Cut Express footage for use in iDVD as 16:9, which isn't always recognized (regretfully)
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1611
So works for me and a big thank you for everyone, who helped.

Interlace issues from 1080i50 to - iDVD, PS3, Apple TV and even FCE canvas

Hello all,
I am struggling to get smooth output from my FCE, interlace is thwarting me at every turn. I can produce a smooth DVD but at low quality with a work around as described at end of post, but really want smooth HD file, here is my workflow an plight
Have captured footage with Panasonic HDC-SD5 AVCHD camcorder in 1920 x 1080i50, imported into FCE with the newer 1920x1080 apple intermediate codec at 25fps
On inspection in the canvas set to 100% I see interlace jaggies, play back is not smooth either. So this is the first question should I really interlace in the canvas at this point?
Export to iDVD, use Quicktime Movie export, import into iDVD and produce DVD - result awful not smooth and blurred.
So try to export a HD MP4 , using Quicktime conversion. I produced in 1080i at 25fps and it's jumpy and blurred on the PS3 in playback. Then I did one at 29.97fps and as expected the video jumped every second BUT there were periods of smooth HD playback so I was so close! But just could not find the correct export setting.
Export to Apple TV directly from FCE produce awful results, however if I use the Quicktime movie and run it through visual hub I can encode for Apple TV using H.264 it de-interlaces correctly but movei not smooth (so it just removes a frame)
So, over a period of 2 days I have tried seemingly every export in Quicktime conversion for PS3 and Apple TV, VisualHub conversions and MPEG StreamClip all producing blurred or jumpy results due to interlacing.
The only smooth output was achived by using technique of another poster
Export Quicktime Movie and use Mpeg_StreamClip exportthat movie in
DVPRO50, set to PAL and 16:9, no deinterlace
then take movie and drop into iDVD and resulting DVD is Smooth
BUT quality is poor.
So, the main question is
How do I get all my nice HD footage out of FCE and onto Apple TV, PS3 or even iDVD in quality and without interlace making it jumpy or jaggy.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Andy.

Wow thanks for quick reply. Apologies I didn't give full info.
I am viewing DVD on TV - well a plasma being played via DVD on PS3.
BUT, DVPRO50 is the only output that shows a "smooth" movie, if I playback on the canvas at 50% the interlace line are gone due to the scaling BUT the movie plays jumpy, so the DVPRo50 method is the only way I can get a smooth pan for example, every other method just gives a jumpy playback on DVD.
iDVD is set to Production quality, when I do a QT movie direct to iDVD without the DVPRO50, the quality is better but the movie is jumpy.
The movie is also 47 minutes long - it's quite big, file produced is about 19GB.
Also I understand about getting HD quality and BlueRay disk etc, but I would expect to get DVD quality from iDVD, doing the DVPRO50 conversion makes it pretty bad. but smooth!
As I said the anooying things is when I exported to MP4 on quicktime at 1080 HD and 18000kbps and 29.97 it also plays smooth for a short bursts of a few seconds (albeit jumping every second to 25 -> 29.97 issues), in 25 fps it's just blurry and jumpy. (playback on PS3)
Thanks

Does FCE HD 3.5 work with iDVD 06 which is in iLIFE 06?

I recently purchased FCE HD 3.5. My Mac is a PowerPC G4 which is a few years old. I need to purchase a new version of ilife because I just upgraded to Leopard 10.5 and need a version of ilife that works with leopard.I've been told that ilife 08 is too advanced for me computer and thus I will be purchasing ilife 06. My question is: Does Final Cut Express HD 3.5 work with iDVD in ilife 06? If anyone can answer this question, I would greatly appreciate it :O)
Thanks!!

Yes, it does.

Is FCE exporting anamorphic in default? Or what is this?

I am a total newbie in FCE, I only have some experience about iMovie.
Here is the problem:
I have captured material from MiniDV camera in PAL format (I am in Finland, Europe), and everything looks just fine in the editor. But when I export it as a Quicktime, it stretches the image vertically. Thus it looks bad in every 4:3 displays.
However, if I capture the material in PAL ANAMORPHIC, it looks flattened or squeezed in FCE. And when I export, it will appear as normal!
Surely, I can just edit everything in flattened looks, and the end result is fine in 4:3 displays, which I need to use in this project. But it doesn't feel right...
What am I doing wrong? Any quick insights are grately appreciated!! Thanks, Jari

Tom, Thanks for help!
I try to clarify:
I have shot the material as 4:3 PAL.
In the end, I want to burn a DVD and play it on a 4:3 data projector.
In FCE I first used the DV-PAL setting in Easy Setup for capturing. All was good. When I exported, however, the image appeared stretched vertically in QuickTime player and in iDVD. When burned and displayed in 16:9 TV all was good again. Unfortunately, I don't have an 16:9 projector.
Then, in despair, I captured the material using DV-PAL Anamorphic setting. Now I had the material in squeezed format in FCE. And when I export I have normal 4:3 image in QT and iDVD.
Any insights? Thanks!

FCP/FCE anamorphic to iDVD - A simple solution?

I posted this over in the iDVD forum, but I would like to get some response from you guys on this matter too.
I have seen a lot of discussions about how hard it is to get anamorphic material from FCP/FCE into iDVD. There seem to be a few complex workarounds using third party software etc.
Today I suddenly came to think about a possible very simple solution.
1. Export to QuickTime from FCP/FCE
2. Open the clip in QuickTime Pro
3. Choose the Window menu and choose Show Movie Properties
4. Select the Video Track and click the Visual Settings tab
5. Uncheck Preserve Aspect Ratio
6. Change the width to 854 (DV-NTSC) or to 1024 (DV-PAL)
7. Save the clip and quit QuickTime
8. Open iDVD and start a new 16:9 Widescreen project
9. Import your modified QuickTime clip
10. Author and burn your DVD
Is it really this easy? Are there any downsides to doing it this way?
I just tested this workflow, and the finished DVD looked fine.
I prefer using Compressor/DVD Studio Pro my self, but it would be nice to have a simple solution to offer those who ask about bringing anamorphic material from FCP/FCE into iDVD.
I wonder why Apple has not implemented an anamorphic checkbox or something like that inside iDVD. I have not yet found any guidance from Apple on this matter. Have I missed something here?

I gave the usual dimensions for Standard Definition DV Anamorphic as an example. The actual dimensions for DV Anamorphic NTSC and PAL are: 720x480 and 720x576, but when stretched, the right width is 854 and 1024 as mentioned in my first post. The dimentions you are mentioning are for High Definition 1080i/p
If you are editing 720p, the dimentions are: 1280 × 720.
This might be of help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CommonVideoResolutions.svg

FCE changes my aspect ratio--problem

I'm working with FCE 4. I am importing a photo from Photoshop. I designed it in PS so that it would have a 4:3 (width to height) aspect ratio.
When I import it into FCE, however, it changes the photo's aspect ratio. It gets squeezed horizontally so the a.r. is now about 3.6:3.
FCE has also added vertical black bars on both sides of the photo. If I add the width of those bars, the a.r. is a full 4:3.
So why did FCE squeeze my photo horizontally and add black bars on either side to take up that space? I want the entire photo to be 4:3, and I want to get rid of the black bars. Thanks for your help!

It will be in the Browser window of FCE.
The Browser is the left top window in the default configuration.
Apple/Command-9 will also call up the info if the Seqeunce is active.
Al

FCE widescreen to iDVD

I shot a movie in 4:3 aspect and now want to "convert" it to 16:9 for a DVD (I understand I will get some quality loss etc). I used the Widescreen filter in FCE, exported and then imported to iDVD. The problem is, iDVD still reads it as a 4:3 ratio movie, just with black bands on top and bottom (I realize that is all the widescreen filter does), so I just get a smaller version of my film, in a 4:3 box.
Is there any way to actually change the movie's aspect ratio, by cutting off the top and bottom (where the black bands are), so that it will be "read" by iDVD as a 16:9.
thanks

Edit your material in a 4:3 sequence. Change your preset to anamorphic and make a new sequence. Place the edited sequence inside it and scale up the nested sequence so it fills the frame. The left and right will get cut off and the video will look soft.
http://www.fcpbook.com/Video9.html

My distorted FCE QTs, again!!

I have mentioned this problem here before. I cannot get FCE to produce properly formatted QTs. The problem seems definitely to be with FCE and not my burning software (Toast).
My camera is a True widescreen sony HDR-HC96 (current model). Easy Setup is set to DV-PAL Anamorphic as advised by Tom. (I have tried DV-PAL but the Canvas does not display properly). I capture and edit in the usual way, with some transitions and a fade-to-black (by lowering the opacity) - about 5 minutes of video. I then do FCE > Export > and then either:
(1) > Quicktime Movie (there are no relevant options)
Result: QT Player window and the video is 4:3, squashed left/right (people look tall and thin). On TV, full height, cropped left/right, squashed left/right
(2) > Using QT Conversion (format = QuickTime Movie)
I chose:
Format: QuickTime Movie
Options > Movie Settings > Video Settings: Compression: DV PAL, Frame Rate: Current, Compressor: Quality: Best, Scan mode: Interlaced, Aspect Ratio: 16:9
The preview on that options window shows the video's image as true 16:9 (no black bars, no cropping.The movie Settings window now confirms all the settings by listing and adds:
Dimensions: 720x576 (1024)x576); (Compessor: Native); Scale: Letterbox.
Result: QT player window is 16:9 but the video is 4:3, squashed (people look tall and thin). On TV: black bars top, bottom, left & right. Image not cropped, squashed left/right.
(3) > Using QT Coversion (format = DV Stream) (as advised by Apple)
DV Format: DV; Scan mode: Interlaced; Aspect Ratio: 16:9; Preserve Aspect Ratio Using Letterbox, is checked).
Result: Same as (2).
All this does not seem normal behaviour for a commercial software.
I have tried using QT Pro to convert (1) to DV but no luck. I have trashed FCE's three preferences. I have not re-installed QT (7.1.1) because I have recently bought QT Pro and from previous experience when upgrading, re-installing it will destroy the Pro. I was recommended to use myDVDEdit but the settings in its manual were already set in the DVDs. Weirdly, I have a project whose exported QT shrinks to 4:3 momentarily whenever a transition or a fade-to-black appears (another poster has had that problem). I have tried several format settings on my TV and my standalone DVD player. I tried Anamorphicizer once but no result.
I don't see what more I can do. Surely there is someone on this forum who can produce proper QT files from FCE? Apple Care phone line assures me that iDVD can accept QT files from FCE, but FCE won't produce proper files. THAT's the problem. Even if DVD Studio Pro (Tom suggested it some time ago) could accept these distorted files, it is far too expensive now it is available only as part of a big package costing 800 GBP. FCE is useless to me in this state.
There is lots of discussion on the iDVD forum about this problem. It seems to me that Apple are not yet fully aware of Widescreen material. (But can that be true - someone told me that Apple stuff works straight out of the box.)
Is everyone out there in FCE world producing proper 16:9 QTs from FCE effortlessly? Can anyone help?
Or is the solution for me to to abandon widescreen and shoot only in 4:3, until Apple become widescreen literate?
I really need help, IF there's a solution. Thanks.
G5/2.0 GHz Mac OS X (10.3.9) 1 GB RAM, 150 GB HD, Sony DCR-HC96 mini DV, FCE HD 3.0

A.Yes, how does it get letterboxed etc. The project in FCE (which I have used for my experiments): its bin in the browser containing the clips had Anamorphic checked in Item Properties before I exported as a QT movie. It still does. However, the Segments into which it was split by DV Start/Stop Detect did/do not have their Anamorphic column checked.
Should I check them nanually?
You say: "That can either be done in FCE before export or is done by the DVD authoring tool that tells the display how to handle the material." As it was done in FCE (see paragraph above) why did it not result in the video being 16:9 when it was burned? Could it be that FCE did not pass on the flag (or whatever) to the DVD burner?
If so, how can I manually pass it on when I load FCE's QT video into it?
B. I have just looked at the anamorphic column for the reimported QT material and it was not checked. I deleted its clips in the Timeline, checked the anamorphic column in the browser, dragged the reimported QT material back into the Timeline and it now displays in the Canvas as 16:9 So that solves the problem of FCE not displaying the reimported QT material properly.
But, since the reimported QT material did not arrive with its anamorphic column checked, this surely means that the QT material when exported by FCE did not have its anamorphic info checked. I am not surprised that the burner treated it as 4:3.
So, the burning question seems to be: how do I get FCE to export its QT material with anamorphic embedded in itself so that the burner can know that it is anamorphic? Checking the anamorphic column seems ineffective.
I am studying the tutorials for myDVDEdit to see if I can force the burned DVD (as a DMG) to go anamorphic which I think is what myDVDEdit does (although when I tried it last time the settings that it recommended were already in the DVD).
In the meantime, I would be grateful for your answers and comments on the above.
Thanks.
G5/2.0 GHz Mac OS X (10.3.9) 1 GB RAM, 150 GB HD, Sony DCR-HC96 mini DV, FCE HD 3.0

16x9 sequence is getting squeezed to 4x3 when I export from Compressor

My usual Final Cut to Compressor workflow is producing an unusual result. I am starting with an anamorphic DV NTSC sequence in Final Cut, but when I export this from Compressor using the Uncompressed 10-bit codec in a Quicktime wrapper, the video is squeezed to 4x3.
Here is my process in depth.
These are the sequence settings shown in Final Cut.
720 pixels x 420 pixels. The pixels have an aspect ratio of 16:9 and so the sequence is displayed widescreen. (My one question about this section is what do the QuickTime Video Settings mean? This is not something that I have ever adjusted... can it affect how Compressor interprets the sequence?)
Then I export a reference Quicktime.
Then I bring this Quicktime reference movie into Compressor and apply the QuickTime Uncompressed 10-bit settings provided with Compressor. Now, I don't normally adjust the geometry at all with this workflow since I thought that this format automatically used the current frame geometry settings from the sequence. However, having no luck with this I attempted to fix the problem myself by adjusting the geometry to match my sequence settings in FCP.
Unfortunately, my attempted manual override of the compressor export failed. The quicktime that I got from this was squeezed to 4x3 just as before!
Using QuickTime Conversion directly from FCP I was able to get the appropriate 16x9 quicktime, but I really need to figure out how to do this in compressor since I have to process a lot of sequences and need to keep FCP available and Compress in batchs. So, any suggestions?

Your problem is one of the most common suffered by people new to editing or new to the anamorphic scene.
It starts with a misconception. DV anamorphic video is NOT 16x9. The camera that shoots anamorphic 16x9 is actually shooting squeezed 4x3 video. If you note the sequence settings in your first picture, you'll see that your actual frame size is 720x480 which is a 4x3 frame size (3x2 actually, but it's essentially the same thing). The anamorphic check box is merely to let FCP know that the footage was squeezed when shot so that it displays it properly to you.
Though FCP can most times recognize anamorphic footage upon capture, QT player does not. All it sees is the 720x480 frame, so that's why it looks squeezed.
To get it to look correctly in QT, you have to actually change the frame size in Compressor to a 16:9 frame size. For DV, that is 854x480. Go to your Geometry controls and choose Custom 16:9 from the drop down menu. Then type 854 in the horizontal box. Then save that as a preset for you.
When Compressor does it's thing, the finished movie will open up as a 854x480 clip in QT which will be the proper aspect ratio for your video.
On another note, I'm not sure why you're going from a DV/NTSC sequence to compressing in Uncompressed 10bit. Because the video was captured and edited in DV, it'll never be of higher quality than DV. You might as well keep it that way, unless there's something else about your workflow that I don't know/understand.
I hope this helps you understand how anamorphic works.
Andy

FCE, very slow at rendering fill from Canon 5D Mark II

I recently film with my new 5D Mark II camera at 1080 HD format, 48 mn of filming, 12 sequence. After editing and putting text Title in Live Type and all, it take over 7 hour to output to QT.
Any body with idea on how to avoid lonnnnnnng rendering or outputting?
I use my Mac Pro gigs of ram 2.66GHz intel 2 core 2007, CFE 4.0.1
Thank in advance!

Canon 5D is a DSLR camera with a full frame censor, so every 13 minutes I have to stop filming so the censor don't heat up to much. My frame rate in camera is 30fps, no conversion was necessary to edit in FCE. I also try different setting, from Apple TV to iPhone etc. they all take the same amount of time to output or render. I even try to render at 50%, ended up with less quality at final output.
Should I try to output in 720 HD instead of 1080 HD. But that would defeat the purpose to shoot in 1080p?

Why No Demo Version Of FCE/FCP ?

Over the past year I have seen at least a couple of requests for a Demo version of FCE/FCP.
It would seem sensible for Apple to give away 30-Day Fully Functioning Demos to prospective purchasers.
A number of other makers do it - like Adobe with their Photoshop etc. demos - and as far as I can tell they seem pretty secure!
Is there some technical reason for Apple not providing them?
It would certainly solve the problem of those people who are not sure whether either they or their cameras could cope!
Ian.

Yes, I agree. They do the Demo with Aperture, so its not something new to them. Although I probably woldn't do it anymore becuase I already have FCE, it would be nice for prespective buyers. I guess they can head over to the local Apple Store to take it for a test run, but then you can't work on it with your own videos.

Anamorphic 16:9 in FCE squeezes to 4:3 in iDVD '09 - Apple's solution...

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