Blocks of square pixels after export

Question

I keep getting pixelated multi-colored squares that last about 5 seconds
all throughout my timeline when i play my timeline.
my goal is to make a DVD of this movie on iDVD,
but I also get the squares after encoding and export.
I've tried many different settings and still no improvement.
But this problem is on the timeline, before encoding and export, and I'm not sure why.
Incidentally, this project was originally edited on an Avid Xpress DV.
I transfered the project to an Avid Media Composer, and maybe that's
the problem???
can someone help me get rid of these square pixels so I can
burn it on iDVD, or even DVD Studio Pro?
thanks in advance.
Message was edited by: teresita

Answer 1

Computers use square pixels, TVs use rectangular pixels. Thus, a 720x540 square pixel document viewed in, say, Photoshop should be made 720x486 with a D1 pixel aspect if you want it for television. You would need to make sure your document is the correct way if you were putting it in an FCP timeline or something, otherwise it would look squished/stretched depending on waht you did. But for DVDSP, you should create elements in a 720X540 square pixel document. This is also recommended in the manual in the section that pertains to your question. DVDSP will make the necessary corrections for a DVD burned for TV. Since most DVDs are made to go on TV, viewing in 720x486 (rect) would be the most accurate way to view, which is probably why simulator does that so you can see what it will look like on a TV monitor.
I recommend working in the correct size and pixel aspect ratio anyway just to avoid problems down the line. For example, in After Effects you would work with 720x486 video in one precomp and all your generated text and graphics should be in a 720x540 precomp. Then bring the sq pix comp to the rect one (if planning to use for TV) and fit to comp.