Content speed/aspect ratio

OK, I did some searching on how to change Motion content clip speeds (scrub filter, change fps, etc), I'll try those out.
But, I'm a bit confused about the source media Motion came with. For example, I'm doing an NTSC project and I use "Lightning Flares 3". "Right-click ---> reveal source media" shows the pixel aspect ratio as a PAL setting and the source file is 25fps. I did not change this...first time using it. Oh yeah, I brought it into FCP to try for re-mapping and the item properties were: 720x576, 25fps, Motion JPEG-A, PAL-CCIR 601, Upper (Odd) field dominance.
Now, I would like to understand the "gears under the hood" (as Patrick calls 'em). Is the source file 25fps because it was created with a MotionJPEG-A compressor? Why is the clip a PAL clip to begin with? And if I'm working NTSC, should the pixel aspect ratio be square or NTSC D1/DV? I know that in FCP, I have the canvas set to "show square pixels" so I know what it's going to look like on a TV (right?) since I don't have a monitor hooked up yet.
Please help me help this project.
Jonathan

Its been archived, so I'm marking it as answered to get it off my "My Questions" list.
Jonathan

Similar Messages

Resize a native window content mantain the aspect ratio..

Hello,
I'm using this code top open a native window and load an external SWF into it.
var tableWindow:NativeWindow;
var options:NativeWindowInitOptions = new NativeWindowInitOptions();
options.systemChrome = NativeWindowSystemChrome.STANDARD;
options.type = NativeWindowType.UTILITY;
tableWindow = new NativeWindow(options);
tableWindow.title = 'MyWin';
tableWindow.width = 600;
tableWindow.height = 500;
tableWindow.stage.color = 0x000000;
tableWindow.stage.scaleMode = StageScaleMode.NO_SCALE;
tableWindow.stage.align = StageAlign.TOP_LEFT;
tableWindow.addEventListener(NativeWindowBoundsEvent.RESIZING, resizeDisplay, false, 0, true);
tableWindow.addEventListener(Event.CLOSE, closeWin);
tableWindow.activate();
after opening a window i load the swf into it:
var loader:Loader = new Loader();
var context:LoaderContext;
context = new LoaderContext();
context.allowCodeImport = true;
context.applicationDomain = new ApplicationDomain();
loader.load(new URLRequest("app:/myswf.swf"), context);
loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.INIT, loadFlash);
I have several problems.. if i use a ScaleMode different than NO_SCALE in main swf and/or in the loaded SWF the file is shown wrong. I have a correct window but the swf is displayed HUGE into the window.. so i've decided to use NO_SCALE as ScaleMode
Is there a way to mantain the aspect ratio of the window AND (more important) resize ALSO the swf loaded into it?
Thank you

I rarely do Flex but I've done a lot of AIR for AS projects and I find their windows to have this bizarre behavior as well.
I think 2 things are important in my limited experience. To keep aspect ratio I set it to NO_BORDER. This maintains the aspect ratio but also allows resizing.
Second on my main class I explicitly set the main SWF to a height and width:
e.g.
package yada {
[SWF(width=xxx,height=xxx)]
public class MyApp extends.....
If I didn't set that in the AS3 code explicitly (the XML didn't matter at all) the SWF would be the original size. Now your content should be at the size you specify in your window and allow resize.
Lastly, you're already paying attention to resizing:
tableWindow.addEventListener(NativeWindowBoundsEvent.RESIZING, resizeDisplay, false, 0, true);
I think you need to handle that manually. As the user intends to grow or shrink the window you need to override their resize and set the height and width explicitly based on what they try to do, forcing the outer windows size to always be a proper aspect ratio.

Emergency Question Re: Aspect Ratio

I'm shooting for the first time today with an HD Camera. I'm going to shoot in SD, but which aspect ratio? 16:9 or 4:3? I don't know what type of TV the video will ultimately be viewed on, but I'd like the flexibility for it to look great on both widescreen and standard TVs (letterboxed).
Thanks.

I'd like the flexibility for it to look great on both widescreen and standard TVs (letterboxed).
Agreed. It's a subjective thing, but widescreens conforms more closely to the area of vision of the human eye. Here is how I achieve that. (see the punch line at the end):
HOW TO MAINTAIN 16:9 ASPECT FROM IMPORT TO BURN
This is the way I do it. There is no compulsion on you to do it my way, but this works (for me). I started this method before iMovie and iDVD were upgraded to 6.0.3, and because not all elements of the various iDVD themes (particularly the pre-iDVD 6 ones) are consistent in keeping to 16:9 throughout the process.
The widescreen preview works just fine when you check your finished project within iDVD. The problem only happens when you either burn a project or save it to an image.
The reason this bug is present is because iDVD incorrectly sets a single binary value to 1 instead of 0 in the .IFO and .BUP files that correspond to widescreen .VOB titles. If this value is set to 1, it instructs a DVD player to prohibit shifting to widescreen mode, even though another binary value that specifies the 16:9 format instead of 4:3 is properly set.
The simple translation of how to fix it is to open the .IFO and .BUP files, change the value (you do it in hexadecimal, which means it changes from 4F to 4E), save, then burn to DVD.
The reality is, it’s a bit trickier because you have to first copy iDVD’s disk image to your hard drive, change the read-only permissions on both the files and the VIDEO_TS folder to permit writing, save the changes, then run the whole folder through DVD Imager which saves a new disk image to burn that will be recognizable by DVD players.
That was one way to do it (and applies particularly to iDVD 5) but if, like me, you don’t fancy mucking about with hexadecimal, then here is an alternative.
A bug in iDVD 6, particularly when working with PAL, and which has been reported to Apple, is that the sub-menus in many of the themes (the chapter settings) default to 4:3 aspect, NTSC and mpeg 1, instead of the desired 16:9 in mpeg 2 in PAL. This may be partly a leftover from iDVD 5 or even a newer ‘feature’ of iDVD 6. Either way, it is annoying when it happens, and we must hope Apple cure it in iDVD 7. In the meantime here is my failsafe workaround, which sounds a lot more complicated when reading about it, that it is in practise.
Living in the UK, I use PAL (25 fps). Wherever you see a reference to PAL (25 fps) in the following you may substitute NTSC (30 fps) in the various settings mentioned (if you don’t live in Europe), the basic idea is the same. I still use this method, and take these steps, regardless of whether it is always necessary. Worst case scenario: it would have worked anyway. Best case scenario: it works perfectly where it otherwise wouldn’t!
The object of the exercise is therefore to ‘fix’ all constituent parts of the project (video, titles, theme, effects, even audio!) in the desired 16:9 aspect to avoid producing a DVD where the movie is in 16:9 and the menu is in 4:3 or where other irritating surprises lurk in your project, which you only discover after burning a coaster!
First go to http://www.mydvdedit.com/index.php?lang=english and download myDVDedit. This is shareware although the download is free. Send the guy a few dollars/euros, he deserves it. While you are there, read all about it. Now install it in your Applications Folder. You will need it later.
You have finished your iMovie project with music, transitions and so on, and saved it to you Movies Folder. Before you started the project you naturally set it to DV Widescreen.
Open iDVD. Give the project a name, and save it as Widescreen if it didn’t default to the same aspect as your iMovie project. Now import the iMovie project into iDVD, choose a theme (any theme you like, even if it prefers to stay at 4:3) and save the project. Do what you would normally do to the theme and its drop zones. Save the project.
Now save as Disk Image on your desktop. Leave it there for the moment when it has finished/appeared.
Open your Movies Folder. Create a new folder. Name it PROJECTNAME – TS FILES (where ‘projectname’ is the name of your project!). Close the folder. You can of course call it anything you like, but this aids identification.
Now double-click the disk image on your desktop. It contains two folders: AUDIO_TS (which is empty, but please pretend that it isn’t) and VIDEO_TS. Drag and drop these to the folder you created in your Movies Folder. (This takes a moment).
Click on the AUDIO_TS folder and go to Get Info in the file menu. Right down the bottom is where you have to change the permissions. Under ‘Ownership & Permissions’ change this from Read Only to Read & Write. Click the small triangle next to Details, scroll down and click on ‘Apply to enclosed items’. You will be asked for your root password. Close the get info window, and now click on the VIDEO_TS folder and do the same. Close the Projectname-TS Files folder. You have now allowed yourself to change the properties of the contents of those folders, which leads us to the next all-important step.
Open myDVDedit. Go to File and open the projectname TS Files folder. By all means stare at it shock and awe, but don’t bother finding out what it can do, except for the following:
Top left you fill see a list of files. Lower centre you have a large window. On the vertical menu to the left of that, click IFO.
In the window at the top left, ignore ‘First Play’ (if there was anything to correct in that, myDVDedit will have done so and told you).
Click on VMG Menu en (English). Now the whole thing springs to life.
Set Coding Mode to MPEG-2 (if it isn’t already)
Set Standard to PAL (or NTSC if that is what you want)
Set Aspect to 16:9 (not any of the other options)
Now save the file.
Click on VTS Menu 1 en (English) and repeat as above.
Click on VTS Menu 2 and repeat as above.
You have now permanently ‘fixed’ the entire contents of the TS folder (the disk image) in 16:9 aspect. Close myDVDedit – you won’t need it again until the next project!
If you have Toast 7 Titanium, open it. ‘Select DVD-Video from VIDEO_TS’. Choose Select from the main Toast window and select your projectname-TS Files folder. You are now ready to burn! You can set the burn speed (2x recommended) before the burn commences. Allow Toast to verify the burn before you eject the DVD-R disk.
If you don’t have Toast 7, then I assume you can burn the projectname-TS Files folder (disk image) via Disk Utility. I say ‘assume’ only because I have never tried it that way.
Either way, you now have a DVD which will play as 16:9 widescreen on any TV set, even the old ones where you can’t ask it to letter-box.

What aspect ratio to use for slideshow dvd? (earlier question rephrased)

Slideshow created in iDVD, the ultimate product (DVDs) to be given as keepsakes to the surviving family members of a friend who passed away; also to be played at a celebration of life for my late friend.
Photos are old and many - span 83 years - and are all different sizes & shapes.
All I need to decide is what aspect ratio to use - this slideshow may be viewed on computer, TV (regular or H) - I have no idea what people will use.
What's my best choice? Thanks!

iDVD uses the 4:3 aspect ratio. Most digital cameras create images with this ratio. However, scanned photo can be a variety of ratios and will have to be cropped to the 4:3 ratio in iPhoto before sending on to iDVD.
You can use the photos in their original size if you'd like. That will cause the image to have black bars at the left and right and not fill the screen completely.
FWIW I find I get the best final image quality when I create the slideshow in iDVD from still photos in iPhoto. The downside to that is the Ken Burns effect is not available and you can have only one transition.
If you can crop the photos to the 4:3 ratio before using I think you'll have a better looking slideshow. If you use the KB effect don't over do it. Using it on every slide can be distracting making it difficult to concentrate on the actual content of the photo. (You probably can tell I'm not a big fan of KB. )
If you do create the slideshow in iPhoto be aware that users have had problem with using multiple audio tracks in the export process. Many have found that each track seems to fade out way to soon leaving dead air between tracks. You can add multiple tracks in iDVD and that problem is not present.
When you're ready to burn the iDVD project first save it as a disk image (File->Save as Disk Image) and check it with DVD Player. This separates out the encoding process from the burn process. If it plays as you expect with DVD Player it's ready to burn. Burn to disc with Disk Utility at the slowest speed available to assure the best burn quality. Always use top quality media: Verbatium, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.
Don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions.

Custom Pixel Aspect Ratio (After Effects CC 2014)

Hi All,
How do you create a custom Pixel Aspect Ratio for After Effects CC 2014. I need a PAR of 3.3, as it would help me solve a technical problem i've been having with projection mapping.
I've tried editing the Interpretation Rules.txt file which was hidden within the Users\Appdata\Roaming\Adobe\After Effects\13.1 Folder. To remove the last # so i can at least see that I can set up a custom PAR.
But it doesn't appear in the drop down menu when creating a comp, or interpreting footage.
I've also made the same change to the Interpretation Rules.txt file in the Premiere PRO CC 2014\Plug-ins\en_US\ folder.
And I've restarted my PC after changes just incase Media Core wasn't updating itself properly.
I can see the Custom PAR as an export option out of Media Encoder. But thats not what i need. I need to be able to correct a render which had a PAR of 3.3 without losing pixel information, much like an Anamorphic workflow.
Anyway, Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Evan

Hi Rick,
You're right, it's no known PAR... completely arbitrary and custom to this particular job. I'll run you through my process.
I have a projection surface (a basketball court) Which needs to have content designed onto it which is viewable from one perspective point (camera 1) in the stadium. The problem is that Camera 1's viewing angle to the court is quite shallow.
This is what Camera 1 sees:
I will be generating like this for the surface so that it looks like a deep 3d surface from "camera 1"
Now, the problem is that when I perspective correct the renders to fit what the projector will be projecting from straight down. There isn't enough pixel information for the height of the image. Meaning the pixels will smear.
This is the image that would be projected from a top mounted projector to achieve the 3d effect from the image above, you can see the loss of information in the the height pixels.
My solution for getting more information into the height is to render out of our 3d packages with a Pixel Aspect Ratio of 3.3. This was the sweet spot I found to get enough pixel information to match the pixel output of the projectors.
The resulting render looks like this (note, the angle of the camera hasn't changed)
As you can see, there is more height detail now, which will mean that that last row of pixels will be remain fairly sharp.
So, at this point, I can render from my 3d applications, and conform to the projector dimensions, with very little information loss in the height of the projected image, and without compromising my 3d persepctive.
I'm using the plugin "Camera Mapper" to project this render onto a plane which gets me the full frame of the projector at the right resolution, 4608 x 2304
The tricky part how to composite elements into the scene in an intuitive way.
If i want a horse to look like its jumping through the scene from "camera 1", like this:
Then in the that contains all the information, It will look like this:
Now that's all well and good, but it'll be harder to create realistic looking effects from this view, because they'll all need to be stretched.
I'd like to retain all the image information and just view the comp as though it's squished down.
I imagine this could be done easily by changing the comp settings to a PAR of 3.3.
That way, all the pixel information remains, but i can design in a realistically proportioned composition.
I hope that gets you up to speed on my issue, and my request for a solution.
So, in summary. I'll I'm really looking for is a way to customise the PAR options so that I have a custom available that I can apply to this, and only this scene.
Does this makes sense?
Cheers,
Evan

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

How do I get SD video (4:3 aspect ratio) to fill the entire screen?

Any 4:3 video I stream has black bars on either side of the picture. I have a Samsung HDTV, and I can stream content using its own pc to tv streaming software and 4:3 videos fill the entire screen. Or if I play a DVD with 4:3 aspect ratio that will also automatically fill the screen. With the Apple TV I cannot make it fill the entire screen. Is this something to do with the signal being transmitted over an HDMI cable?
Has anyone else had this problem, and if so how have you resolved it?

I know it is displaying 4:3 video correctly, however I'd prefer if there was some stretching (non-linear) so that it fills the entire screen. Having 2 big black bars on either side gets very annoying. There doesnt seem to be an option to fill the entire screen when streaming from the apple tv. There are options when streaming from Samsung's own software (I don't want to use samsungs pc share manager as the apple tv's user interface is much better).
Are my options restricted because the signal is transmitted through an hdmi cable? Seems to be what other websites might be suggesting.

Aspect Ratio

Hello,
This question has baffled me for a while.
I create DVDs using FCStudio. During this process I have had a hard time understanding what I need to do to create a "native" screen size that looks as intended during playback on a Television that supports native 16:9 ratio.
My files are created using PAL 720 x 576.
Exporting to Quicktime and importing to DVDSP.
I've played around with the sequence settings with no luck.
What I'd like to know is why do my Purchased DVDs look great on a Television no matter if it's a 4:3 Television or a 16:9 Widescreen Television?
I never have to adjust any television settings to view the movie as intended.
However, My content looks great on a DVD player that is connected to a 4:3 Television. When I play the same DVD on a DVD Player connected to a Widescreen Television, I have to change the settings on the Television to 4;3 to view as intended-—Which is annoying the ** out of me!
I'd like to create content that is for Widescreen Televisions. If the DVD is played on a 4:3 Television I'd like to have the black bars Top and Bottom.
I also want to avoid having to adjust any TV settings. I have never had to adjust any TV settings for my DVDs in my DVD collection. If there is a way of doing this, a setting to change, new format, anything, I'd be very grateful for your advice.
Joe

Hi Denis,
This is a copy of the Summary, displayed in the Audio Video Settings Preference Pane in FCP
I then export to Quicktime .mov file--and import as an asset to DVDSP.
I hope you can see something out of place. 16:9 Anamorphic is set to OFF. If this is the problem I'd be extremely happy!!!
Frame Size: 720 x 576 Px
Edititng Timebase: 25 fps
Field Dominance: Lower (even)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: PAL - CCIR 601
Anamorphic 16:9: Off
Video Processing: YUV allowed (8bit)
White Point: White
Compressor: DV-PAL
Millions of Colours (24-bit)
No Data Rate Limit
No Key Frames Set
Quality: 100
Audio
16-bit 48,000 kHz Stereo
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 1.67Ghz 2G RAM
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 1.67Ghz 2G RAM
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 1.67Ghz 2G RAM
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 1.67Ghz 2G RAM

Aspect ratio issues in iDVD with mov files exported from FCE

Please help. I believe this is an iDVD bug. I have found some relevant discussion of it on online forums - but have not found a solution that works for me. I am looking for a workaround.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1356500&tstart=31
PROBLEM STATEMENT:
My 4:3 movies, exported from FCE in QT-with-conversion formats (any 4:3 format) - appear in iDVD with gray side-pillars (as expected for 4:3) AND with a black line (letter-boxing) at top and bottom - as would be for 16:9. It appears the aspect ratio is also distorted i.e. 16:9. (The iDVD project is set to 4:3.)
1- A 4:3 mov file exported from FCE using Quicktime Movie format (no conversion) does not have the problem, but I cannot de-interlace the video using this export mode.
2) A 4:3 mov file exported using QT-with-conversion mode (any 4:3 format) DOES have the problem. I need to use this mode in order to get de-interlace.
(Exception: 640x480 VGA mode does not have the black lines, and it displays correctly in dvd player on my computer screen - but on the TV screen, it crops content from the top and bottom of the movie, so this is not an option.)
3) In Finder, if you click on mov file exported QT-only (no conversion), it opens in the FCE viewer. If you click on mov file exported in any other 4:3 mode, it opens in Quicktime viewer (i.e. there is absolutely something different in the header/ID of these files.)
4) All mov files, regardless of export mode, show correctly in Quicktime viewer - no black line, no distortion. The problem does not occur outside of iDvd.
5) I tried passing the QT-with-conversion mov files through an Inverse-Anamorphicizer (per suggestion on forum - this apparently fixed the problem for some people) but the resulting output mov (i.e. the inverted product) still had the same problem.
I am, so far, left with this trade-off: Give up the de-interlacing, or live with the letter-boxing/ distortion. Neither is acceptable.
I am looking for a workaround:
1) A way to export de-interlaced 4:3 mov from FCE that shows in correct ratio in iDVD
2) A way to "convert" / re-head mov file after exported so that it displays corrrectly (inverse-anamorphicize) so that iDVD reads it correctly
3) Can the mov be de-interlaced after the fact (so I could use QT export without conversion)?
4) Something besides iDVD to put this together - that doesn't have this problem? (I like and want to use the iDVD menu/theme.)
5) Other?????
I also notice that all the QT-with-conversion mov files are 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the QT-only mov file, which is valuable and preferable to me. (I don't see any quality difference in the display...)

In the Preview window > top frame > middle button
do you have correct for pixel aspect ratio checked or not?
!http://i533.photobucket.com/albums/ee340/gogiangigo/Picture1-4.png!

Aspect ratio distortion when exporting iMovie '08 xml to FCE 4

Hi, I'm working on a small piece which I started in iMovie '08. Now that I have selected all the content for the piece I have attempted to "share" as Final Cut XML. However, when I import that file into FCE 4 the aspect ratio is all out of whack. Does anyone have suggestions about how to resolve, or place to look?
Thanks in advance for the help!

Found the answer here if anyone else has the same problem: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10239568&#10239568

Changing seq. aspect ratio: crashes FCP

Hi all,
Despite my best intentions, my project contains sequences with different settings, which is causing problems on export. A quick overview of sequence contents and field dominance settings:
- SEQUENCE FIELD DOMINANCE: NONE
- PSD frame-graphic overlay (FD: None)
- QT titles from Keynote w/ transparency (FD: None)
- regular footage (FD: lower)
These field dom settings are the only ones that allow the titles to render crisply.
Rendering out using Compressor, DVD-90 settings. Some sequences render perfectly, but in others, the titles are jagged & blurry when rendered out. The only difference I can find, is in the sequence aspect ratios.
The sequences that render properly, are set at 720x480 NTSC DV (3:2).
The ones that render jagged/blurry titles, are 720x486 CCIR 601 NTSC (40:27). (These display crisply in FCP Canvas, but render improperly.)
When I change a sequence's aspect ratio to NTSC DV 3:2, I get "Operation Not Allowed," then "Out of memory," then the canvas turns red with the words "Display unavailable. Close and reopen window to restore." Sometimes, I get the beachball and then FCP crashes.
Closing and reopening doesn't help; I still have the red window. Only changing back to CCIR 601 brings the sequence back online.
I have tried creating a new sequence and copy/pasting, but I get "Out of memory" etc.
Can anyone advise??
Thanks very much,
Brett

By default Compressor assumes you're providing a 720x480 media file for compression to DVD. This is because DVD players can display only a 720x480 image.
If you send a 720x486 media file through the default Compressor settings, it will squeeze the image vertically to fit 720x480. It typically does not do this well.
If you suspect this is the problem, duplicate the DVD-90 setting, use the Inspector window and click on the Geometry button, select a Custom crop and crop 2 lines from the top and 4 lines from the bottom (always crop in even numbers for DVD playback). Rename and save the setting.

Aspect Ratio in Quicktime

I have been creating a showreel of work in iDVD6. It has all been going swimmingly, except that the Quicktime Movies that I have exported from FCP and imported into iDVD, which are 16:9, are coming out squashed 4:3 (i.e square pixels. The menu and sub-menu pages look great in all their anamorphic glory. I just can't get those dang Quicktime movies (i.e the content) to play in their true 16:9 aspect ratio. Help?! I can only guess(/hope) that there is something very simple that I have overlooked.
Thanks in advance.

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.

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.

Aspect ratio bug with analog TVs?

I just bought an AppleTV, and connected it via component cables to a 4:3 TV (it's an older TV, has component inputs but only supports 480i, and it's 4:3, not widescreen).
The problem is that all 4:3 content that I have is squished horizontally on the AppleTV. And the same content plays fine on a variety of computers in iTunes, QuickTime, etc. Say I take a video file that's 640x480 (that's a 4:3 aspect ratio), and when played on a computer it looks correct. If I play it on the AppleTV, everything looks too narrow, and there are black bars on the left and right.
If I reencode the same video file to 720x480, then it looks correct on the AppleTV (fills the screen with no black bars, and people don't look squished). However, then it looks funny when played on any a computer, or anything else that isn't the AppleTV (now, people are fat, and there are black bars top and bottom).
My take is this is an AppleTV bug -- analog TVs (in the US anyway) have a resolution approximating 720x480, but an aspect ratio of 4:3, so the pixels aren't square. The AppleTV should be compensating for this (if it's gonna be the bridge between the digital world of H.264 files that come from computers with square pixels, and the analog world of NTSC TVs with non-square pixels, it should hide the differences) and isn't. In short, the AppleTV should be taking 640x480 content (or anything that's 4:3 with square pixels) and making it fill the TV screen, no matter that the TV screen has 720x480 slightly narrower pixels.
However, if I'm right, why aren't more people complaining about this; I can't be the first to notice? Am I the only one trying to connect the AppleTV to a 4:3 TV set?
Or, am I off base, and there's a simple explanation, or some setting I missed?
What I'm after is a way to take the media I've already encoded that plays fine on a Mac and make it play correctly on the AppleTV, and also a way to encode new media so that it plays fine both on the Mac and on the AppleTV, but I haven't been able to find it yet.

Also, I've read what I can find on the web, especially this excellent article: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/the-complete-guide-to-ipod-vi deo-formats-and-display-resolutions/. They have a really good explanation of anamorphic encoding, and how it's represented in QuickTime.
I'm using Handbrake (0.9.1) to encode, by the way, and its PAR setting for anamorphic encoding works fine with QuickTime; whether I encode to true 640x480 or PAR 640x480 (which results in a file that actually stores 716x480 but displays at 636x480 in my case) it ends up correct on a Mac and incorrect on the AppleTV+analog display.
Is there perhaps some extra display information that can be added to an .mp4 file, which will be honored by the AppleTV but ignored by everything else (including QuickTime on a computer), which can change the display size? I'd love to encode everything with anamorphic encoding so that the actual file stores 720x480 pixels, but a computer will render this at 640x480, and the AppleTV render it at 720x480 (all those numbers are for 4:3 content, again).

Aspect ratio difference 1.1 vs 2.0

Now before I start this could be different TVs doing different things.
However, this could be a difference in the way AppleTV 1.1 vs 2.0 handles video.
AppleTV1 > software 1.1 > connected LG 32"LCD (1080i setting)
AppleTV2 > software 2.0 > connected Panasonic 42" plasma (1080p setting)
Both connected via HDMI.
I have a movie which is in an aspect ratio of I guess 2.35:1, certainly wider than 16:9.
If I play this file fullscreen in Quicktime Pro it is certainly much wider than the 16:10 of my iMac monitor.
On the Panasonic via AppleTV 2.0, the expected black bars top and bottom are preserved.
Same file via AppleTV 1.1 on the LG and the movie is scaled to fill the 16:9 screen i.e. stretched vertically.
I have definitely not got HDMI scaling/zooming on on the LG TV set as I can cycle through the Zoom options and get back to original which looks stretched.
I cannot believe that the TV would automatically stretch wider than 16:9 content to fit as this would play havoc with HDMI playback of such material on DVDs.
This is bizarre, and I can only assume that AppleTV1 is zooming vertically to fill the screen on this file.
Anyone with both software versions have a similar file to compare?
AC
Message was edited by: Alley_Cat

OK
I've swapped the AppleTV over on the Panasonic - AppleTV 1 (1.1 - 1080i) gets the aspect ratio wrong and zooms the movie vertically, whereas AppleTV 2.0 (1080p) gets it right.
I'm sure I used to have some wider than 16:9 content before and never noticed this problem.
Perhaps a more important finding:
1.1 definitely won't play back the 5.1 soundtrack that AppleTv 2.0 will.
However, as 5.1 movies ALSO have an AAC soundtrack, AppleTV 1.1 will still output this audio track correctly from files that have both - so no real problem running both versions on your network.
AC
Message was edited by: Alley_Cat

Content speed/aspect ratio

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