Difference Matte Key aspect ratio PP2.0

I'd appreciate some help with the Difference Matte Key using Premiere Pro 2.0. I followed the instructions in the help guide to set up the Difference Matte, and it worked perfectly, except... the Matte doesn't match the 16:9 aspect ratio I'm using, it only applies to the central area of the screen leaving a band either side where the original background of the video remains unaffected.
How can I get the Matte to fit across the whole screen, please?

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

Similar Messages

Windows DVD Maker Aspect Ratio

I am using the Windows 7 DVD Maker tool, and am experiencing some MAJOR issues. I have a widescreen formatted AVI file I am trying to burn onto a DVD. When I import the video, it doesn't matter which aspect ratio I choose the finished DVD is the same. Menu shows video correctly, but the movie part is squeezed into a 4:3 with black bars on all four sides. I have wasted several DVDs attempting to use multiple configurations within DVD Maker and none have been successful. None of the "related topics" have helped as half are unanswered and the others explain a method of using Movie Maker to edit the movie and import the project into DVD Maker. Well, Windows Movie Maker projects CANNOT be imported into DVD Maker; I've tried. It throws a "Unsupported file type" error and cannot be imported. Furthermore, when I try and save it as a file from Movie Maker, it gives me an error saying that the DVD won't hold my movie length, when I know it will, and doesn't do anything to help.
I would really like to get this to work, because it appears to be an integral part of the functionality of DVD Maker and I do not want to waste any more DVDs.
Thanks,

My problem with DVD Maker was slightly different.
I found that with .avi files it did not create wide-screen movies correctly for my widescreen TV. Instead of producing a "letter-box" format (black bars top and bottom) it filled
the screen from top to bottom and also squeezed the picture horizontally. It was obvious right from the start with, for example, the planet earth in the Universal Pictures logo appearing oval instead of round.
A search of forums on this subject produced a hint that codecs could be the source of the problem, so I downloaded the Windows Vista Codec Package. This made no difference. I then
found a tip in another forum relating to a different type of problem, but it suggested loading the .avi file into Windows Movie Maker, setting a few options, creating a project, then selecting DVD for output, whereupon Movie Maker switches to DVD Maker
and creates the DVD in the usual way. I decided to try that out, and eureka! - it worked. The movies now play correctly on my DVD player/TV and also on my home theatre setup.
I suggest that you don't use Save As... nor try to copy it into DVD Maker. Let Movie Maker do the work.
Just select Publish / DVD and Movie Maker will tell you what it's about to do. So click OK and enter the file name.
For those readers unfamiliar with either or both programs, here are the step-by-step instructions:
Click Start
Select Windows Movie Maker
From the top Menu click --
Tools / Options
Select the Advanced tab
Set your applicable Video format - NTSC or PAL
Set Aspect Ratio to 16:9
Select the Compatibility tab
Uncheck the box "AVI decompressor"
Click OK
You only need to set the above options once - the settings will be retained for future jobs.
On the main screen, under the heading: Import-------
Select: Videos
Locate your .avi file and click on it (or double-click if necessary).
The file will be loaded.
Drag the file down and drop it on to the storyboard.
Under the heading: Publish to -------
Select: DVD
Information message appears - click OK
Movie Maker needs to save the project file - enter the name of the movie when prompted and click Save.
Movie Maker will switch to Windows DVD Maker.
Click Next
Select Menu text
The movie name will already be copied in. Change it if you like / or Don't Change.
Load a blank DVD
Click Burn
Go make a cup of coffee, take the dog for a walk.
After the job has completed, be sure to exit completely from Windows DVD Maker before starting the next job with Movie Maker.
If anyone has a smarter solution do share it!!

External Monitor Aspect Ratio Looks Wrong

I'm having trouble using my TV as another monitor with my new MacBook Pro. I don't really care whether it is mirrored or as a second monitor, but no matter what I do I can't get the aspect ratios right. I want to play videos on my TV, but when I put them fullscreen there, no matter what aspect ratio I've chosen, it ends up cropping the screen, as if instead of actually changing the aspect ratio, it has just blown up the screen from the wrong aspect ratio and let the edges get cut off. The (oldish) TV has a 1024x768 ratio, my laptop a 1280x800. They're connected by VGA cable. When I just leave them like that as separate monitors, the TV acts as if it's the same size as the computer and ends up cutting off the bottom and left side of the window. I've tried setting my laptop to 1024x768 as well as having them as separate monitors, and that changes the laptop screen, but still when I fullscreen a video it's cropped instead of resized, now on both laptop and TV. When I mirror them my laptop gets all stretched looking, presumably because it's taking on the TV's aspect ratio and then just stretching it out. It's like the only way it knows how to handle anything properly is if it's in its native 1280x800 setting. My old PC handles this without a problem (I think it ends up putting black bars top and bottom on my TV to make the ratio work for videos that aren't fullscreen, and in any case it doesn't do any of the weird cropping), and I thought Macs were for graphics people!

Hi
> Should I install the external monitor samsung driver (I do have the disc) or might it upset the Toshiba's own screen...
First of all the graphic driver is necessary and important to run and to use the graphic card with full performance and NOT the external monitor!!!
I'm sure that the external monitor software was not designed to run the graphic card but to enable and to control some external monitor options.
Anyway, you could try to install this delivered software but please understand that this software will not replace the installed Toshiba nVidia graphic driver.

Menu aspect ratio considerations for widescreen DVD

Hello all:
I'm building a DVD with widescreen content. My intent was to build widescreen menus as well, as this would ease the use of my widescreen video for menu backgrounds (no need for panning) however I've noticed that when I create widescreen menus in Encore, they show up letterboxed on a 4:3 TV when my DVD player is set to letterbox widescreen content. At first, this seemed to make sense, however I've since observed that none of my commercial widescreen movies behave this way. Rather, they fill the screen entirely on both my 4:3 TV and my 16:9 TV, regardless of how the DVD player is set to deal with widescreen content. It's almost as if the disc provides different sets of menus for both cases, or that the menu contains directives to force the DVD player to do pan-and-scan in the 4:3 scenario even if the default behavior of the player is to letterbox.
Am I making any sense?
Basically: Is there any way to create widescreen menus and guarantee pan-and-scan on a 4:3 display, or else provide both 4:3 and 16:9 menus and have the player decide which to use? It seems the commercial DVDs must be doing one of these things...
EDIT: Incidentally, one of the popular DVDs I tried was The Matrix: Reloaded.
Cheers,
Aaron

>Basically: Is there any way to create widescreen menus and guarantee pan-and-scan on a 4:3 display...
Not using Encore, no. Encore 16:9 menus will be displayed letterboxed on a 4:3 monitor.
It may be possible to hack it post-authoring, but I'm not sure. Take a look at the tools on videohelp.com. If it is possible, you'll have to design your menus so the buttons are within a 4:3 safe area, and also have to live with the difference in pixel aspect ratios.

What is the difference between Aspect Ratios?

Hello. I couldn't find any specific documentation regarding this.
I am working on an iPhoto 09 slideshow project using the scrapbook theme. I am planning to export the slideshow as a movie (it looks like the default export is mpeg 4 but I could also export as a quicktime .mov) and then move to iDVD to burn on a DVD. Ultimately, I need to show it on a projector using a DVD player. I'm not sure what the projector's resolution is but I assume 16:9 will be the best aspect ratio for the highest quality.
In the slideshow settings, there are 4 different aspect ratios:
1) This Screen (16:9)
2) HDTV (16:9)
3) TV (4:3)
4) iPhone (3:2)
What is the difference between This Screen (1) and HDTV (1)? Does it matter? Any other suggestions?
Thanks.

Terence Devlin wrote:
Aspect ratio is the ratio of the width to the height of the image - in other words it's about shape. So both the 'This Screen' and the 'HDTV' settings will be the same Aspect Ratio.
The Aspect Ratio has no bearing on the quality, only the shape of the final images.
TD is absolutely correct here. The aspect ratio is only the shape of the image, not the quality. Basically, you need to decide if you are designing the show for viewing on a HD tv (16:9 or widescreen) or a SD tv (4:3 or squarish). A couple of years ago this choice was easy since most tv's out there were still 4:3, but today, the opposite is true. The popular choice now would be 16:9.
The biggest problem you will have with the quality of your slideshow is the
fact that you're burning it to DVD.
Your slideshow will be heavily compressed to fit the DVD spec of 640 x 480
pixels and this can lead to soft images or even blurry ones.
I think we're getting "compression" and "resolution" confused here a bit, or at the very least, we're using the wrong terminology.
For everyone's benefit, let me try to explain...
If you show an image that is native 640x480 on a screen that is native 640x480 (standard def tv screen), the image will look just fine. This is resolution and will not effect quality as long as you don't try to view at a higher resolution than the image actually is.
(If you try to view a 640x480 slide show in full screen mode on your computer monitor which is running at 1280x1024, the image will look horrible.)
Trying to view a higher rez image (ie: 3200x2400) on a lower resolution (ie 640x480 or SD tv) screen will reap NO benefit in quality. Remember that a SD TV will only show 640x480 (or 720x480) and no higher, so there is no benefit in trying to cram more pixels into an image than the screen can actually show.
Of course this all changes if you're going to view it on today's HiDef tvs, but even on them, the resolution tops at at 1920x1080. Once again, using a very high def image (ie: 3840x2160) will reap NO benefit since the resolution of the screen it's being viewed on tops out at 1920x1080. The aspect ratio on this type of tv is now 16:9 so the images shape will be wider than a normal tv (4:3).
Compression is the scheme used to compress an image to reduce it's file size, thus reducing it's quality. JPEG is a common form of image compression, and the amount of compression can be adjusted..the more compression, the more degradation of quality. This has nothing to do with resolution.
Depending on how you're going to process (iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD), the program will reduce the resolution of the original image to the resolution of you output. In other words, don't worry about doing any kind of resolution change prior to creating the dvd, as the program you choose to use will simply lower the resolution (this is not compression) to fit the output you choose.
Message was edited by: Rufus
Message was edited by: Rufus
Message was edited by: Rufus

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

The (new) Premiere pixel aspect ratio is wrong for my PAL DV cam footage

I've had a Sony TRV-950E DV-cam since 2003. I've been shooting DV PAL in widescreen.
I just bought Elements 12 to edit my footage, and discovered that the pixel aspect ratio for D1/DV PAL Widescreen has been updated to 1.46 (old value 1.42).
The theory behind this change is that video recorded on 720x576 is slightly wider than 16:9 and that the 16:9 portion is 704x576.
Unfortunately this is not correct for my footage! I've captured the video from my DV-cam (by firewire) and opened it in Premere and it is streched to be shown as 1050x576.
So I did a test:
I filmed a steady shot of a perfect circle and captured the video from the camera and opened it in Premiere. The pixel ascpect ratio 1.46 makes the display 1050x576.
The question is: Am I seeing this displayed as a perfect circle now?
This can be tested:
I make a picture of a perfect circle in Photoshop (square pixels) with size 1024x576. I imported this picture into the Premiere project, and match the two circles: The filmed one, and the Photoshop one.
They DO NOT match! The one on the video is slightly stretched in width.
So then I stretch the Photoshop picture in width to become 1050x576. I then import this picture into the project. And now I have a perfect match between the circles!
This means that my DV camera actually records a 100% 16:9 picture on all the pixels 720x576 - and not a slightly wider picture with the 16:9 part being in 704x576 (which is the reason for the change in pixel aspect ratio from 1.42 to 1.46).
I have some HD scenes that I want to import (and downscale) into my SD project also, and I also have a lot of still pictures.
Unless I can change the setup i Elements to the correct ratio 1.42, these stills and sqare-pixel-video (HD) should ideally be streched from 1024x576 to 1050x576 to match (become equally stretched as) all the SD footage.
How do I solve this?
I just bought Elements 12 three days ago.
(I just tried opening the captured video in Windows Movie Maker - and that program must use pixel aspect ratio 1.42 since the video is diplayed correctly as 1024x576 with a perfect circle)
Regards,
Tom from Norway

Tom
After much thought and exploration and experimentation, I have come to the conclusion that there is no practical purpose for doing anything other than importing your media into the project and editing/exporting. I find no distortion in doing so, be it in the video samples that you posted or in still models that I created for the pixel aspect ratio 1.422 vs 1.4587 for D1/DV PAL Widescreen.
If you have not already, please read the following about the Adobe DV Widescreen Pixel Aspect Ratio change from 1.422 to 1.456.
Please start in the first link which gives some get subsequent links in it
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/673877
http://www.mikeafford.com/blog/2009/03/pal-d1-dv-widescreen-square-pixel-settings-in-after -effects-cs4-vs-cs3/
Also, you may find the following article on square and non square pixels of interest. It uses the PAL DV Widescreen 1.422 pixel aspect ratio in its discussion.
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/gerard_rick/pixel_madness.php
Aside from the explanation for the rights and wrongs of the matter, this is what I actually observed taking your PAL DV AVI Widescreen and PAL MPEG2.mpg Widescreen into the same Premiere Elements 12 Windows PAL DV Widescreen project. Along with your video files were still images that I created in Photoshop Elements 11 Full Editor:
1024 x 576 document with a red circle on Layer 2 of the Layers Palette
1050 x 576 document with a red circle on Layer 1 of the Layers Palette.
The red circles were superimposed in creation. The difference in the pixel dimensions between the two are evidenced by Layer 1 content peaking through on the left and right.
The gpsot readout for pixel aspect ratio for each of the videos was
a. Your PAL DV AVI 720 x 576 Widescreen = 1.422
b. Your PAL MPEG2.mpg 720 x 576 Widescreen = 1.422
Each of the Photoshop Elements documents (circles) saved as .psd files 1050 x 576 pixels.
When all were taken into Premiere Elements 12 project manually set for PAL DV Widescreen, they looked like the following, no display of distortion.......
PAL DV AVI Widescreen 720 x 576 (now the pixel aspect ratio in Premiere Elements Properties was shown as 1.4587, not the 1.422 seen in gspot before import)
PAL MPEG2.mpg Widescreen 720 x 576 (now the pixel aspect ratio in Premiere Elements 12 Properties was shown as 1.4587, not the 1.422 seen in gspot before import)
Edit Menu/Preferences/General with check mark next to "Default Scale to Frame Size" was in effect.
As for the red circles stills (1050 x 576 to equate to the square pixel version of 720 x 576 widescreen) did not distort when brought into the Premiere Elements 12 Edit area monitor which is established by the PAL DV Widescreen project preset with the pixel aspect ratio = 1.4587.
The jpg version of the Photoshop Elements document (.psd) 1050 x 576 pixels (square pixels) looked like:
And, when this Timeline was exported Publish+Share/Computer/AVI with the DV PAL Widescreen preset, there was no distortion in the export. It looked undistorted as it did before export.
So, unless I am overlooking a key point here, I cannot see a reason why you cannot use the video sources that you presented for sampling as weil as stills with the 1050 x 576 pixel dimensions.
The only time I see any distortion possibilities is if you use a player that does not recognize the 16:9 flag that stretches the 720 x 576 to 1050 x 576 for display after encoding.
Trying to convert Premiere Elements 12 which uses the 1.4587 pixel aspect ratio for PAL DV Widescreen into a Premiere Elements 7 which uses the 1.422 pixel aspect ratio for PAL DV Widescreen is up hill in spite of creative thinking on your side.
Please review and let me know if you are seeing another different from what I am reporting with the samples that you posted.
Thank you.
ATR

How can i export a series of images in different aspect ratios to the same height

How can i export a series of images in different aspect ratios to the same height?
I wish to make a slider callery for my website. all the images need to be 750 Pixels high, the width does not matter. I have a mixture of square pandscap and protraite images can i do thing as one export or do i have to do it twice? Once for long edge and once for shot edge?
Thanks

Yes, you can but there is a trick to it.
In the Export Dialog under <Image Sizing> select Widdth & Height.
Then enter 750 pixels for Height.
Put your cursor into the Width field behind all the numbers that appear there and with the backspace key delete the numbers. If you enter "0" it will not accept that. But it accepts when you just delete the field for Width with the backspace key. The Width field will now be just blank.
When you then export all image will have a height of 750 pixels and the width will fall variously according to thne height / width ratio.
Or alternatively you can enter 7.5" for height at a resolution of 100 ppi.

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 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).

Black bars alongside video+squished aspect ratio on export

I'm trying to get my import/export settings right--I keep getting black bars and a squished or stretched image when my videos export. Since Elements doesn't read MOD I've been using miro to convert, which doesn't like to export to mp4 all that well to begin with (which furthers my diagnosis problems.) I don't know anything about video image->pixel size (nor can I find anything online that makes sense to me) and canon's website doesn't tell me what my camera is shooting in in those terms, but I've been using the widescreen format--what is that size?? I'm not sure if this problem is because of defaulting project settings on import (Elements not picking up on the proper format and defaulting to something else), an exporting problem (I've tried all the different settings under publish+share>computer>mpeg4 and quicktime>NTSC DVD standard and widescreen, as well as every other export option I can think of), or a conversion problem (why doesn't Elements accept MOD to begin with? Final Cut 7 does no problem!) Everything looks good in the editing process, plays fine etc.
Is this a simple fix? The videos play fine in quicktime, but VLC catches the bars, which makes me think it's a simple solution to a complex diagnosis. Please help, thanks.
CAMERA:
canon FS200
MOD file format (raw file image/pixel size is not shown, can't find it)
mac OS.10.8.3
Elements 11.0
Miro converter 3.0

stockdizzle66
Thanks for the update.
Let us look into the following next, one problem down (the aspect ratio), next the quality of playback of your Timeline as seen in the Edit Mode Monitor.
1. Given that you are working with .mod widescreen 16:9.
a. Open a new Premiere Elements 11 Mac project. Go to File Menu/New/Project and set the project preset yourself in the new project dialog. You want NTSC DV Widescreen. Make sure that you have a check mark next to "Force Selected Project Setting on this Project" before you exit the new project dialog.
b. Once back in the Premiere Elements workspace, go to Add Media/Files and Folders and import your mod.widescreen into Project Assets.
c. Right click the .mod widescreen file in Project Assets, select Interpret Footage, and, in the Interpret Footage dialog, dot the Conform to: and set that to DV/DV NTSC Widescreen 16:9 (1.2121).
d. Drag your .mod widescreen to the Timeline from Project Assets. Do you see no colored line over the content, an orange line, or a green line? If an orange line, render the Timeline with the Render button or pressing the Enter Key of the computer main keyboard. Is the .mod widescreen now display the same, worse, or better than before we started all this?
Also, right click the monitor, select Playback Quality, and see if there is any difference in what you are seeing if you use Highest instead of Automatic as the set. Also check to see if Magnification there is "Fit" rather than other.
Is your video card driver up to date according to the web site of the manufacturer of the video card?
Please review the above and let us know the outcome.
Thanks.
ATR
Although conversion .mod widescreen to another format is always a consideration, it has not been found to be necessary in essentially most cases. Classically, if an import problem with this type of file, the renaming of the .mod file extension to .mpg prior to import took care that while Interpret Footage took care of the aspect ratio issue.
I just saw your note about MPEG Streamclip. That works great for Windows for conversion to DV AVI. Never tried it for a .mov export for Mac. But remember there is an option for 4:3 or 16:9 in that dialog (or there should be...I will take a look if you do not find it). So no distortion expected since MPEG Streamclip should be supplying that problematic 16:9 flag.

Aspect Ratio Doubts

Hey all,
I consider myself to be a pretty experienced filmmaker/editor, but one thing I have never quite understood (much to my embarrassment) is... Aspect Ratio.
I know what it is in film, but once we enter a Final Cut/DVD Studio Pro/TV arena, I got very lost and frustrated.
Here's my latest dilemma:
I shot a 15 minute film on the HVX-200. When asked what ratio I wanted to shoot in, I told the DP "2.35:1" for that beautiful cinemascope feel.
I captured my footage, cut the film, and applied a 2.35:1 matte over the final cut.
Then, in Compressor, I outputted the file as a Widescreen film.
Today I watched it on a friend's Widescreen TV, and there were black bars on top and bottom. Wasn't the whole point of shooting 2.35:1 that I would get a full cinemascope frame when playing the film on a monitor?
I would also like to understand the difference between matting in FC and exporting a file in Compressor with the WS setting on. Is 16:9 the equivalent of 1.85:1? W
Basically I would really appreciate a general overview of aspect ratios, because it's driving me off the wall.
Thank you so much.
Roberto

Is 16:9 the equivalent of 1.85:1?
Not exactly but pretty darn close. 16:9 is actually 1.78:1.
Flat ratio (1.85:1) films are actually encoded with small letterbox bars but, because of the overscan inherent in most TV inputs, you don't see them.
As already mentioned by Studio X, 2.35:1 is way wider than 1.78:1, hence the black bars. For more detail, check out Widescreen-O-Rama over at The Digital Bits.

720 x 480 DV sequence export aspect ratio always wrong. How come?

Finally finished editing one of the sequences and want to export and test it,
But no matter what settings in QuickTime Conversion (or just QuickTime Movie) parameters I do (e.g., Size), the exported file always seems to be in the wrong aspect ratio.
I need to have the resulting movie burned on DVD for showing.
Any tips appreciated.
Sequence settings are 29.97 fps, 720 x 480, DV/DVCPRO NTSC, NTSC CCIR 601, 48 KHz.
Thanks.

Hi guys.
OK, I hate to use the words "I assumed" because you know you are going to get into trouble for saying them! But... I guess this is how the newbies like me learn the difference between assumptions about certain theoretical concepts and their real-world exceptions.
"I assumed" that in FCE/FCP that if I set a sequence's settings in the new "multi-format" timeline, that FCE/FCP would keep that sequence throughout the timeline, and automagically conform whatever clip formats that I put into it, into the sequence's formats. And therefore that I no longer need to worry about the original format of the clips, and just focus on using the sequence's settings as the final assembly format.
(Please advise if this assumption is incorrect).
Thus, my sequence settings above
29.97 fps, 720 x 480, DV/DVCPRO NTSC, NTSC CCIR 601, 48 KHz
combine footage from
1) HDV camcorder imported into iMovie 08 as 960 x 540 (the "lower resolution" option from iMovie '08 import), 16-bit @ 48 KHz (Big Endian), 25 fps
2) AVI files (DiVX 512 x 384, MP3 at 44.1 KHz, 23.98 fps)
The AVI DiVX footage is actually television program recorded content. The HDV footage (converted to 960 x 540 resolution by iMovie) is what I shot myself.
What I am doing is trying to cut in my HDV footage (home video) into the TV show's content to create a humorous entertaining video to show family and friends.
So after editing this thing for the past week, I am now ready to test on the target devices (iPod, DVD).
The edited cut plays fine in FCE's preview.
However, on export, the original TV show's content is in the wrong aspect ratio. That is, it is a bit wider, pulled out horizontally. Not significantly wider (e.g., not like 4:3 pulled to 16:9) but just not in the proper aspect ratio. I can't really tell if the superimposed HDV (that is, 960 x 540, not actually 1080i) footage is pulled out too (most of that is shrunk down or otherwise distorted, in the final assembly).
I have spent two days now exporting to many different formats, etc. but none of them seem to work. I just don't understand why. I would have thought that "forcing" the pixel dimensions using QuickTime Conversion's "Size" option would brute-force ensure the resulting video has the exact required dimensions and thus aspect ratio, but it does not seem to be my result.
Help much appreciated!
Thanks.

Premiere exports in incorrect pixel aspect ratio

My Panasonic camera shoots quicktime .mov JPEG videos in a 720X408 px resolution. I am having a very hard time editing them in Premiere, because I cannot get it to export them in a correct pixel aspect ratio.
Maybe you can figure out what I'm doing wrong. Here's what I do.
First, when opening a new project, the closest frame size I can choose is 720x480. So I choose that. I import the .mov file into it, and put it on the time line. At that point it looks like this:
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/812/premierewindowoc9.jpg
Correct aspect ratio and no deformation.
When I try to export it as a .mov file, I do the following: I click on settings (in the file save dialogue), and go to video settings. I can choose any pixel aspect ratio, it all produces the same results, but for example, let's say, DVCPRO (1.5) (that's the closest to the size I need).
I can manually set my frame size to be 720x408 px, assuming that now the frame size will be exactly the same size as my video and no deformation will occur.
However, the result I get is this:
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/6730/exportedmoviehl5.jpg
I've drawn arrows on that to make it clearer. So, I have a movie that's 720x408px. Premiere exports a frame sized 720x408, but then for some strange reason shrinks the actual video down to 483x480!!??!! Leaving completely unnecessary black bars on the sides.
Why does it do this?
When I export it with frame size 720x480, it doesn't add black lines on top and bottom as you'd expect. It does exactly the same thing you see in the image above.
I have tried many other combinations too. I have tried exporting it as every other available pixel aspect ratio, also as an avi file, nothing makes any difference. It always shrinks the original video in width, and adds black bars to the left and right.
What am I doing wrong??

Tina,
Lets see if we can get kitty onto YouTube.
There are four issues, that you will need to overcome:
1.) Project Preset to begin. Stanley lists the possible choices in post #8, based on the specs of your camera. You will have to determine which of these you used to record the files. These are *probably* set in your cameras menu area, and if you have not changed them, are probably still set. That will get you started in the right direction - but wait, theres more...
2.) It seems that your camera uses Motion-JPG as the encoder to create these files. There are at least two good Motion-JPG CODECs available, Lead and Morgan. Plus, your camera may well have come with its own Motion-JPG CODEC. The CODEC is what allows your camera to encode/compress the video data, and also what allows programs like Premiere to decode that data. Did your camera come with a CD/DVD with software on it? If so, the installation of that software *should* install any proprietary CODECs to your system. Now, if this was the case (or soon will be the case, when you locate that CD/DVD), Premiere *possibly* will be able to use that CODEC to handle the footage from your camera. If it does not, then it is *possibly* only a matter of purchasing, downloading and installing one of the two mentioned Motion-JPG CODECs. Both are relatively inexpensive, and Premiere *usually* can work with either, though your exact footage might not permit this. This is usually because a camera mfgr. chose to do their own thing. Thats why any disc that came with the camera is the first place to start.
3.) Now, you are in Premiere, have the proper CODEC installed on your system, and have Imported the footage into a Project with the proper Presets. If all is working, and I hope that it is, you just edit your footage.
4.) You have been working with Presets established based on your footage. That is likely not exactly what you will want to upload to YouTube. This is where Export comes into play. Unfortunately, YouTube seems to change the specs. weekly. About the time that someone publishes fool-proof details and settings for YouTube, they (YouTube) change everything. The best advice is to search as many fora, as you can for Export Settings for YouTube. Look at the dates for all articles. You really will only care about the most recent - very recent.
Going back up the list, there is another possibility. That would be to use a 3rd party conversion program to convert your footage to a DV-AVI Type II file. Often, with the proper CODEC installed, Premiere can do this internally, though not always, and even when it works, there can be problems. I use DigitalMedia Converter (Deskshare) a shareware program for most of my conversions. There are many freeware, and shareware, conversion programs available. Many get mentioned in this forum. Many get glowing reviews. Some are easier to use, than others.
Some balk at the thought of owning Premiere Pro and then having to use some 3rd party software to get their footage into a robust NLE, that they paid good money for. The fact is that Premiere Pro was designed to work primarily with DV-AVI Type II files, from mini tape cameras - the point made by several. That does not mean that it cannot work with other file types. It does, though not always without problems. Sometimes just passing the material through a conversion program will clear up all problems and no one is the wiser. I often use Premiere Elements, Pros little bitty brother, to convert some file formats, because it is more tolerant of many of these, than is Pro.
Good luck, and sorry that I do not have a current suggestion for Export to YouTube. Since it is a hot distribution medium, you should have no problem finding the correct settings for today - be sure to check the date of all articles, as the specs change all the time and in a heartbeat.
Let us know if you have any more questions. For "how things are done in Premiere," I recommend the Premiere-wikia: http://premierepro.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
for tutorials. Most that you could want to do will be there someplace. The current YouTube setting might be an exception, just because every time the Wikia gets updated, that info is out of date.
Hunt

Cannot correct aspect ratio

Hi,
I'm using FCP 5.1.4 and I'm having a problem with the aspect ratio of the clips that were given to me. And pardon me in advance if some of what I write sounds silly, but I'm a beginner at FCP.
I assumed that the clips were shot using the "Anamorphic" feature of the camera, since they all look 16:9.
I started the editing with a sequence set in PAL CCIR 601 w/ the "Anamorphic 16:9" checkbox ON (i.e.: checked), but from the beginning the clips did not have the same look in the Viewer and in the Canvas. I thought that was normal and that the final edit would look ok when thrown to Compressor. But that was not the case: the image occupies LESS space than either a 16:9 or a 4:3 aspect ratio!!
It seems to be letterboxed, but on the 4 sides of the screen!!
Digging further, I found out that one can activate an "Anamorphic" option on a per-clip basis, when right-clicking on it and choosing "Item Properties > Format". Which I did for all the source clips in the Browser, as well as all the items on my timeline. But it does not seem to make a difference.
I've posted a view of my current desktop, so you can figure out what I'm talking about: http://mystere.free.fr/FCP_desktop.jpg
As you can see, the picture in the Viewer is WIDER than the same picture in the Canvas.
My sequence settings are shown here: http://mystere.free.fr/Seq_settings.jpg
And the clip settings are here: http://mystere.free.fr/Clip_settings.jpg
Notice the checkmarks on the "Anamorphic" line.
Of course, there's something I am not doing right, but I don't know what it is.
What do I have to do so my clips in the Canvas have the appropriate aspect ratio, even if they must be squashed when working with them in the Timeline: what's important is that upon rendering through Compressor, I get a 16:9 movie.
I hope I need not redo all the editing with different settings from start!!!
Thanks in advance for your help!
K.
iMac G5/1.8GHz - 20"/2GB/HD320 Mac OS X (10.4.10) PowerBook G4/667GHz - 15"/512MB/HD80

Judging from the pic of your workspace, your clips are not anamorphic 16:9.
Instead, they are letterboxed 16:9, meaning they are 4:3 clips with a 16:9 matte applied, presumably in camera.
To edit with the correct aspect ratio:
Select all your clips in the Browser in List view, then control-click over one under the Anamorphic column. Select No from the contextual menu to deselect Anamorphic.
Then, alter your Sequence Settings by deselecting Anamorphic there.
Finally, select all your clips in the timeline - they'll probably still be windowboxed - and press Option-Command-V to bring up the Remove Attributes dialog. Select Distort from the Video options, then click OK.
You should then be good to go.
Or where you set on making an anamorphic DVD?

Difference Matte Key aspect ratio PP2.0

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