Aspect ratios exporting to quicktime

Apologies if this is a hoary old newbie question and please do point me in the right direction if there are other threads on the same topic.
I’m editing a short originally shot on digibeta 16:9, then dumped down onto DV for digitising in. I’m having trouble keeping the aspect at 16:9 when I export to Quicktime.
The imported clips need ‘anamorphic’ checked to push them from 4:3 into 16:9 for editing, and almost every time I export the timeline to Quicktime, it comes out as 4:3. I’ve tried loads of different combinations of export settings but can never hit on the right one twice, let alone quickly. It’s not helped by FCP defaulting back to, well, its defaults each time.
So my question is: What boxes need to be ticked, settings set, etc. to export to a 16:9 .mov? I’m after streaming quality to do rough cuts people can view online.
many thanks
SD

You should use Compressor for this if you're not already using it.
Export the squeezed movie from FCP, and bring it into The Compressor Batch window. Your clip will appear in the window with a "Setting" column to the right of the clip name. Click the pop-up to apply a setting.
You will see all of your codecs with the QuickTime Web Download settings most likely toward the bottom.
Select the settings that you need.
This will show information for your setting in the Inspector window. Towards the top of this window, you will see a series of buttons under the name & description fields. If you hold your mouse over them, the name of that preference will pop up. Click on the Second to the last on the right which is "Geometry".
Here you can chose your frame size, pixel aspect, etc. At the bottom, you will see "Constrain to display aspect". If you click that menu, and select "16:9", and then click "Submit" in the batch window, your movie will be exported in the proper 16:9 aspect ratio.

Similar Messages

Is it possible to embed new aspect ratios into your quicktime movies?

Well my subject line explains it all really. I was wondering if there was a way to embed the aspect ratio in my quicktime movies instead of manually resizing them whenever i open them to a ratio that suits the content better.
thanks

I was wondering if there was a way to embed the aspect ratio in my quicktime movies instead of manually resizing them whenever i open them to a ratio that suits the content better... I'd also love to know the answer to this. It's dead easy to amend an anamorphic movie to play at 133% of original width, but can a QT movie be told to open in that ratio the next time?
Yes, however, to some extent, the method to be employed depends on your media player. QT 7 (and similar applications), for instance, will open using the "Current Size" display dimensions contained within the file. These dimensions are easily changed in the Properties window, using QT 7 Pro while the "Keep Aspect" switch is turned off and do not re-compress the data but may re-write the date to an MOV file container. On the other hand, applications that rely on the embedded PAR flag/value (like QT X, iMovie '08/'09', etc, must be re-compressed using the correct Anamorphic setting to re-embed the correct flag. When both settings are in agreement, an anamorphic file will open correctly in all players. However, where they differ, the files will open correctly in one type player and incorrectly in the other type of player.

Aspect ratio problem with Quicktime Conversion from FCE HD 3.5

I have a FCE 3.5 HDV project (16:9 aspect ratio) which I am trying to export using Quicktime Conversion for eventual web-streaming. I have tried various settings including "maintain aspect ratio" and the "letterbox" options. After every multi-hour attempt, the end result is just what I need, except the aspect ratio is always 4:3 and vertically squeezed.
What settings should I use for a small to medium sized version of my movie for streaming on a website, but in the correct aspect ratio? I'd prefer a 16:9 Quicktime frame, or at least a 4:3 Quicktime frame with black bars.

I too have been having some problems, same software. Export to iPod completely ignores the intended aspect ratio and is non-adjustable and squeezes the footage. It looks fine on the canvas but gets messed up on export. A 4:3 video that should be 640x480 ends up being 640x426, and a 16:9 video that should be 640x360 looks to be getting 640x426 as well.
Currently, my work-around is to export to DV file, then export to iPod. Being a double encoding, it is quite wasteful in terms of time and processing power. Is there something else I can do?

Solution for Aperture's aspect ratio/export bug?

take an image, then use the crop tool to crop it to a 'perfect' 2x3 or 3x2 aspect ratio.
now export the image.
my case?
Canon 350D images, cropped to 2x3, exported to 'within 750x510' with the purpose of getting an image of 340x510 pixels.
the result? 340x509.
the only way to get a correct export size is to manually change the crop dimensions in the HUD; very inefficient; and sometimes this doesn't work either. rather than getting 340x510, Aperture sometimes skips to 339x510.
it's especially difficult to export images in my favourite mobile size: 174x204, even when using the equivalent 29:34 aspect ratio to crop the image.
any ideas?

found it.
first, I had to extend the length parameter of the Export preset far beyond my goal of 204 pixels and rely on the 174 width and aspect ratio to automatically calculate the final exported length of 204.
next, I had to manually increase the crop length of the image, 1 or 2 pixels at a time, and export each time until Aperture exported my exact required dimensions. it only took 8 tries!!

16:9 Aspect Ratio exporting incorrectly

I shoot 16:9 footage with my dv cam @ 720x480. When I try to export using default video settings, and when manually setting them to 720x480 (PAR 1.2) I get the same problem: 16:9 video is squeezed to more like 13:9.
To demonstrate, I have exported a frame using these settings:
http://atomspace.com/putfile/AR_settings.jpg
... and this was the result:
http://atomspace.com/putfile/Aspect_ratio_wrong.jpg
As you can see, the frame is squeezed ---- for example, compare the CRT monitor in the exported frame to the one in the sequence window in Premiere.
Can anyone offer some advice to get my video (and frame exports) to be exported correctly - without this horizontal squeezing?

To understand aspect ratios, see:
FAQ:16:9 or 4:3?
You will also find links to many
free tutorials in the PremiereProPedia that will quickly show you how things are done in Premiere Pro.
Cheers
Eddie
PremiereProPedia (
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- Over 250 free tutorials
- Maintained by editors like
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Forum FAQ

Aspect ratio changes from quicktime

Hello,
I have edited together a video in Final Cut Pro (a simple slideshow comprising mostly of still photos) and made a quicktime that is 720 x 480. When I play it in the quicktime player it looks fine, but once I drag it into iDVD it looks elongated from left to right as if iDVD is stretching it to make it letterbox-shaped. I have made slideshows in iPhoto and dragged them into iDVD without encountering this problem. Any ideas?
Thanks!

Sounds like this could be the result of the square vs rectangular pixel story. iMovie and Quicktime can appear to stretch each other's video since iMovie's frame is 640x480 and Quicktime is your 720x480. Try sending it out of FCP in iMovie size.
John

16:9 aspect ratio - export to DVD

We want to produce some DVDs in 16:9 which play on a widescreen TV properly ie filling up all the screen and not warped in any way. also we would like the DVD to play on a regular 4:3 TV as letterboxed, and on a computer as 16:9
We filmed the production in DVCAM 16:9, digitised in as 16:9, and edited in FCP as 16:9.
At this point we have been trying with different settings and methods of exporting, we have tried using compressor, then to DVDSP, or as QT to Toast.
Results so far - all warped in some way, either letterboxed, stretched, zoomed, pillarboxed or a combination of the above.
Does anyone know of exactly what settings we need to use to get our project onto DVD in widescreen?
The proj is 2.5hrs long, we work in PAL and we are using FCP Version 6.0.2, Compressor Version 3.0.2 DVDSP Version 4.2.1
Thanks to anyone who can help
Meris

This has always worked for me:
FCP: File Export QTMovie... current settings.
COMPRESSOR: 16:9 High Quality 90 minute (choose ac3 for your audio in here)
Then, in DVDSP make sure the setting is correct in the above window.
Also - check your preview (forgot what it's called)you can change it to widescreen also. Dbl check there that indeed all is good.
Then, as said above also - run it on DVDPlayer in your applications folder. Don't watch it FULL screen, watch it as a window in your finder. There you'll get a read on EXACTLY what the dvd is sending... if you see a 4:3 window with letterboxing something is wrong. You should (SHOULD) see a 16:9 window with no distortion or letterboxing.
Once you determine that, the issue will be your setup of DVD player and TV.
CaptM

Quicktime X Aspect Ratio problems.

I recorded films on my Samsung HMX-H100N camcorder and imported the files on to my macbook.
Having OSX Lion I am forced to have Quicktime X as a default for Final Cut Pro. MY camcorder
films in 1280x720 however the aspect ratio displayed in Quicktime X is 2275x720. The width is very
stretched out. I downloaded Quicktime Player 7 and the aspect ratio was displayed fine. Is there a way to
have Quicktime X display the correct aspect ratio?

Is there a way to have Quicktime X display the correct aspect ratio?
No. There are basically two ways to correct the problem. One is to re-compress the file and the other, in the case of H.264/AAC content in MOV, MP4, or M4V file containers, is to simply reset the PAR display value and/or the current display size dimensions.
In the case of recompressing the files, you export the file as either a non-anamorphic file (one in which the encoded dimensions of the file equal the display dimensions, in which case the PAR is 1:1) or you encode a valid anamorphic file which sets a non-1:1 PAR value and also stores the actual display dimensions for media players that require them.
Your main problem is that applications like the QT X Player and iMovie '08/'09/'11 use the file's PAR setting to display the width of the video given its height dimension while other applications like QT 7/QT 7 Pro, GarageBand, and MPEG Streamclip display the files based on the actual "Current Size" dimensions stored in the file. From what you've said, it appears that either the PAR value was either changed by your work flow or was originally encoded incorrectly for use by the QT X Player. Unfortunately, while QT 7 Pro can be used to correct the scaled display dimensions for a file having the wrong "Current Size" dimensions and correct PAR setting, QT X cannot correct erroneous PAR values whether or not the "Curtrent Size" dimensions are correct. In the former case, the QT 7 Pro correction will allow the file to play correctly in both QT 7 and QT X, but in the latter case the file will always play incorrectly in QT X and correctly in QT 7.
Luckily, in the case of standard H.264/AAC files wrapped in MOV, MP4, and/or M4V file container, there is a way to correct either or both problems. The question at this point is what kind of files are you working with at this point. In reviewing the manual for your device, it was unclear if the actual recordings are standard H.264/AAC files in an appropriate file container or AVCHD content which has to be process by some sort of included software processing before it is in the required compression format and file container type.
In any case, if/once the files are in the proper format and file type, they can be processed by a utility called "Subler" which is available online free but is supported by user donations. The work flow is essentially straight forward. You open the source file and select the the audio and video data to be included in the final file. You then select the video track, deselect the "Preserve Aspect Ratio", enter the "Scaled Size" for QT 7 playback, create the "Aspect Ratio" value of QT X playback by entering the QT 7 "Scaled Size" width value followed by the "Normal Size" width value, press the "Tab" (or Return) key to "lock in" the last entered value, and save the resulting file. This should create an M4V file which plays correctly in an QT or QT-like media players.

Aspect ratios for FCP 5 exportions

To all Mac Fans,
I have filmed a film in HD and editing using FCP 5. I have done this when i export:
file > export > QuickTime Movie > (named the movie) > save
(my settings are "current settings" and the movie is self contained.
Its an 8 minute film.
I dont know if this helps, but i went
final cut pro > easy set up
and my settings are:
sequence preset - HDV 1080i
Capture Preset - HDV
Edit to tape/PTV output Video HDV (1080 x 1440)
However, after exporting and then burning through iDVD when i play it on different sized televisions, i find that some of the image gets cut off. Right now i am presuming that that is due to HD being something like 1080 x 1440 pixels, which is bigger than the average tv which runs on an aspect ratio of 3:4.
a mate of mine suggested that i trim off the edges to each of my sequences, by cropping. However, that is long and time consuming, and due to visual semiotics i feature in my film, i cannot chop off edges of my sequences.
Could someone plesae advise me how to obtain the best quality 4:3 aspect ratio export formatting??
If it is possible, i prefer not to use compressor, as i have read the simple instruction booklets, exported it, but then cannot burn to iDVD.
many thanks to all
-jordan

I haven't been the only helpful one here and so you know, you can reward those who have by clicking the or buttons over their posts. You get 2 helpfuls and one solved...
New Discussions ResponsesThe new system for discussions asks that after you mark your question as Answered, you take the time to mark any posts that have aided you with the tag and the post that provided your answer with the tag. This not only gives points to the posters, but points anyone searching for answers to similar problems to the proper posts.
If we use the forums properly they will work well...
Patrick

Rtsp aspect ratio in QuickTime

I try to correct aspect ratio played in QuickTime 7.6 from Mac OSX Server RTSP Stream.
Quicktime open at 720x576 (4:3 PAL) than 1024x576 (16:9 PAL)…
When I open the same movie in Quicktime not streamed, Aspect ratio is correct.
Is exist a way to force directly QuickTime to play correct aspect ratio from a QuickTime Streming Server 10.5.
Whitout QuickTime Pro, or matain shith and clic drop from resize ???
Thanks for advance for any help.

This is actually an iDVD issue.
You need to add a "wide" udta atom to the movie. Lucky for you, there is a little utility out there to do this for you: The Anamorphicizer
http://homepage.mac.com/sith33/FileSharing34.html
Run your QT movies through that, and import the resulting versions into your demo reel, they should appear in widescreen.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Converting DV to ???. Which format? Aspect ratio problems.

I'm trying to digitize some old VHS videos for archival and I need some guidance. My goal is to keep a digital copy on disk and toss out the tapes with the player. Most of the videos will just be for future viewing, not further editing. I tossed out the TV a few years ago and I hope to never go back, so my primary viewing will likely be on a computer screen. If I do get another TV someday I imagine that I would play these videos with some sort of media center type device rather than a DVD so I may need to keep that in mind when deciding upon the final format.
I'm using a Canopus ADVC-300 to convert the videos to DV streams. I use iMovie HD 6 to capture the DV input. A few months ago I converted a few tapes with iMovie 08 and learned the hard way about the DV quality problems designed into that product. Anyway, the Canopus feeds my Mac a standard 720x480 DV stream. In iMovie I start a new project and tell it the video format is DV, as opposed to DV Widescreen.
Up to this point everything is working great.
My dilemma is how to save the video. I want a format that has good quality and will not likely need any future transcoding to stay usable. Thus far from iMovie HD I've been sharing to Quicktime, selecting Expert Settings, and then playing around with the various options within "Movie to Quicktime Movie".
On the video settings panel I'm going under the assumption that H.264 is the preferred choice. I set the compressor quality to high, the encoding to multi-pass, and the data rate to automatic.
The video filter panel has nothing selected for now.
The video size panel is where I start having questions. Obviously the original video sources have a 4:3 aspect ratio. If I leave the dimensions as "current" (720x480) I get a video that plays at 3:2 in every player I've tried. I guess that seems obvious even though I told iMovie I was working with a 4:3 project. My player of choice is VLC and I can tell it to show the video at 4:3 but it's a pain to do that every time. Quicktime can do that too, and in fact you can save the aspect ratio with the video so that it will display that way each time, but I never really use QT unless I have to.
Looking at the list of available choices in the dimension drop down box, it looks like there are a couple possible solutions...
The most obvious choice is "NTSC 720x480 4:3". When this option is used the video is 4:3 by default when played by QT. However, it still shows up as 3:2 in VLC, mplayer, and also when played via Frontrow. I downloaded mplayer just for this comparison and I never watch videos using Frontrow but I suppose I might someday if that media center thing comes into play. Once again I can tell VLC to show it as 4:3 but doing so every time is annoying. There doesn't seem to be any way to adjust the aspect ratio from within Frontrow so that's a non-starter. I'm thinking this might technically be the correct format to use but none of the players other than QT recognize the anamorphic setting (is that right?). When I look at the video properties in QT it shows 720x480(640x480) but the other tools show just 720x480.
The next obvious choice in the list of dimensions is "640x480 VGA". When I use this option I do in fact get a video that displays correctly in every player. However, I can't help but wonder if I'm losing resolution this way. I think it's just converting the rectangular pixels to square pixels but with the drop in horizontal pixels there must be less information there? Is this a viable format for playing on various devices in the future?
Should I be experimenting with something other an "Movie to Quicktime Movie" and H.264?
In all cases I've selected to deinterlace the video. Some might say that VHS is of such poor quality to begin with that using such high settings is a waste. I say that the source video is bad enough that there's no room to add even more degradation. I'm willing to live with data rates that will push 1-2 GB per hour of video. I think that's probably plenty to keep the video quality as good as can be considering the source. I'm just not sure which format is best for this purpose. It's a one-shot deal, once the conversion is done the tapes get thrown away so I'm a little anxious about making the right choice.

When choosing Export -> QuickTime Movie, you get a self-contained QuickTime-file of your sequence. The default video format is the same as your current sequence settings, which means you will get the exact same frame size an pixel aspect ratio in your QuickTime-file.
The best thing would be to use Compressor, but first you need to tell us what you are going to do with your QuickTime movie. Is it supposed to be a copy for the web? What video format do you need/want your movie to be exported in?
To letterbox your video in a 4:3 frame size, read about padding in the Compressor User Manual.

Using "One Step DVD from Movie" on my IMac 10.8.6 using Verbatim DVD-R ("Life Series") 4.7 GB 16X 120, I get a wide angle version of my two minute story rather than the 3X4 standard aspect ratio that I normally get and want. Help!

While using "One Step DVD from Movie" using DVD-R Verbatim ("Life Series" 4.7 16 X 120 min) on my IMac 10.6.8 I get a wide angle aspect ratio on the DVD not the standard 3X4 aspect ratio. The Quicktime Movie is is standard 3X4 aspect ratio and the video video footage is standard 3X4 aspect ratio? Advice will be greatly appreciated.

Try this basic troubleshooting fix :
1 - delete the IDVD preference file, com.apple.iDVD.plist, that resides in your
User/Home()/Library/ Preferences folder.
2 - delete IDVD'S cache file, Cache.db, that is located in your
User/Home()/Library/Caches/com.apple.iDVD folder.
Click to view full size
3 - reboot.
4 - launch IDVD and try again.
Personally I would not the the one step method but create the iDVD project from scratch so you can make sure the widescreen option is not selected in the preferences and you can follow this workflow:
Once you have the project as you want it save it as a disk image via the File ➙ Save as Disk Image menu option. This will separate the encoding process from the burn process.
To check the encoding mount the disk image and launch DVD Player and play it. If it plays OK with DVD Player the encoding was good.
Then burn to disk with Disk Utility or Toast at the slowest speed available (2x-4x) to assure the best burn quality. Always use top quality media: Verbatim, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.
OT

Aspect Ratio in iTunes different than Qt and FrontRow

On my fully updated G5 with 10.5.1, I have some tv shows which display correctly in Quicktime and FrontRow but the aspect ratio is all wrong when playing in iTunes.
The shows are NTSC recorded off the air on a Tivo and trancoded (and deinterlaced) to mov using the vlc command line. In Quicktime they display correctly with the 4:3 aspect ratio. When I add them to iTunes, iTunes plays them with a 2:3 aspect ratio. If I then play them from the iTunes library with FrontRow, it plays correctly at 4:3.
It's as if iTunes were playing the content with square pixels instead of paying attention to the aspect ratio in the Quicktime file.
I've put an 800KB sample movie on my iDisk at http://idisk.mac.com/colinandlinda-Public which demonstrates the problem. (For some reason, this small movie doesn't show up in FrontRow, possibly because it is small? If anyone needs it, I can provide a larger movie).
Are there any solutions for this oddity other than transforming the movie into a different resolution with square pixels?

For anyone interested...
I've been in contact with Elgato http://www.elgato.com/elgato/int/mainmenu/home.en.html
regarding this as they are part of this issue.
They have confirmed that there is a bug in the latest releases of iTunes that is causing the problem.
They have been communicating their information to Apple but have had little response to date.
Maybe we'll get a fix when Apple could be bothered.

Export to Quicktime Movie Results in Aspect Ratio Distortion

All of my original footage was shot in miniDV. I have created a sequence with the following settings:
Frame size: 720 x 480
Compressor: DV/DVCPRO - NTSC
Pixel Aspect: NTSC - CCIR 601
Vid rate: 29.97 fps
Ultimately the sequence needs to go to DVD with a standard 4:3 aspect ratio. To export, I am using:
File > Export > QuickTime Movie...
I have tried using several different settings including:
Apple Pro Res 422 NTSC 48 kHz
Apple Pro Res 422 NTSC (HQ) 48 kHz
Apple Pro Res 960x720 30p 48 kHz
DV NTSC 48 kHz
etc...
All settings yield the same result: a slightly squeezed aspect ratio. At first, I thought that this might simply be the fact that I was playing back files in QuickTime which uses square pixels I believe. But in both DVD Studio Pro and iDVD, the simulation shows the same effect. (By the way, Finder's "Get Info" reads the resulting Final Cut Pro Movie File dimensions 720x486.)
I'm fairly new to FCP so I'm hoping there is something obvious that I have missed. Can anyone explain what I need to do to get the video to DVD without a distorted aspect ratio?
(Incidentally, I have managed to export using quicktime conversion with no problem. But I need the export to be a Final Cut Pro Movie File so as to maintain chapter markers, etc.)
Advice welcome!!!

Hi David, I know this was discussed in you posting already but I just wanted to make sure I had it clear. I have a 4:3 film and I've exported as a quicktime movie with current settings, which should be 4:3 and found that the image when played back in quicktime, looks horizontally stretched. Almost as if quicktime is trying to play it back as a 16:9 image. I think this is the same issue the other fellow was having but I just wanted to be clear. You're saying that the 4:3 image distortion is perfectly normal when played back in quicktime on a computer screen and that the export will look fine when put to DVD or sent to a monitor? I just wanted to make sure because this problem is freaking me out and I don't want to deliver a distorted image to my client. Could you also explain briefly why this happens with quicktime export and not quicktime conversion and what causes quicktime to distort the 4:3 image? Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
james.

FCP project not the correct aspect ratio when exporting to Quicktime

Hello All;
I am trying to export a FCP project in its native resolution (1440 X 1080) to Quicktime but everytime I try, the aspect ratio is messed up and people look taller and thinner than they should.
The project is a resolution of 1440 X 1080 as determined by examining the sequence settings in FCP.
I configure quicktime (see below) to a resolution of 1440 X 1080.
So why isn't my Quicktime video the correct resolution when I play it with the IMac's Quicktime player ? I shrink the player to 1/2 size to fit it all on the screen.
My exact settings are below ...
Export - Using Quicktime Conversion
Format - Quicktime Movie
Video Settings - Compressor - MPEG-4
Quality - Best
Not sure if I changed the framerate - if I did, I probably changed it to 29.97
I didn't touch the other settings in the video settings - left them to default
I didn't change the filter settings - I left them at default
Size - 1440 X 1080 (The actual resolution of my source video)
I checked the box - preserve aspect ratio using letterbox (If applicable)
Other settings were left at default
Sound Settings - Format - AAC
Rate - 48 KHZ
Render Settings - Quality - Best
Target Bitrate - 128 KHZ (This was left at default - I did not change it)
Prepare for Internet Streaming - Fast Start checked (This was default - I did not change it)
All other settings not specifically mentioned were left at default.
Thanks. Tim

I don't have much of an answer for you, but to test try not checking the preserve aspect ratio. Rather than reexport the entire 1 hour just export 10 seconds so that you can trouble shoot different things.
Hope that helps a bit,
Eric

Aspect ratios exporting to quicktime

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