FCE changes my aspect ratio--problem

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

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

Similar Messages

Aspect Ratio Problems with iDVD

I am putting together a video presentation with video from several different sources. I have had a whale of a time getting the video to display uniformly at the same aspect ratio. I put all my separate clips into Quicktime Pro and set the aspect ratio to 960 X 540. FINALLY, in Quicktime Pro I was able to assemble the full video so that ALL the footage played in 960 X 540 and looked seamless. I thought I was in great shape.
Then......I thought I would test the video in iDVD because I need to burn about 40 copies of this presentation. Lo and behold, iDVD takes part of the video footage and somehow changes the aspect ratio of certain footage. Part of the video plays in a small postage stamp area in the upper left of the screen, while other segments play in full widescreen just fine. Obviously, my aspect ratios are still messed up somehow, even though the the entire video plays in full 960 X 540 glory in Quicktime Pro. I'm stumped.
Anybody run across this problem in iDVD before?

Wow, nobody qualified to help me with this problem?
I'm finding out, thanks to more research on my part, that iDVD does not like the aspect ratio of 960 X 540. The only reason I used that setting is because part of of my video has an iMovie 9 "trailer" and iMovie 9's "large" export is set to 960 X 540. The weird thing is iDVD handles segments of my video that is 960X540 just fine, but it completely bungles up the iMovie 9 trailer segment that is 960 X 540.
I have also found in further testing that iDVD does like a .move file in 853 X 480 and displays that aspect ratio in full widescreen glory.
Hopefully this information will help somebody someday avoid the headaches I have had.

Change pixel aspect ratio

Hi all,
My school requires me to produce all my videos in a format of 768px by 576px, square pixels, PAL format. I need to know how to change the pixel aspect ratio to 768x576 with the standard PAL format and square pixels. I can see that when you start a project you can set the size, but the boxes that contain the pixel size are shadowed out and I can't select them to change them. I have also tried to modify the project after it was created, using project settings and sequence settings, but again, I was not able to select the boxes that included the pixel aspect ratio.
Please help soon, as my project is due within hours.

My source material is 768x576 animations from Maya. The output needs to be .avi format, but it's not going onto a DVD or a DV tape or a web video, it just needs to be uploaded to my instructor's computer.
I am trying to export a file with the correct aspect ratio now. I set the output to codec=none, and changed the aspect ratio to 768x576. It seems unable to output the file, as I have tried four times and it has given me an error each time. Is a codec necessary? Is that what's freaking it out?
Also, the final video will only be 2:28 long, and I have set the scratch disk to a drive on my computer that has 78 GB free, so I hope it is not running out of processing space.
Thank you for your help and patience with this problem. I'm not sure I get the reason for the format myself, which is probably why I'm having trouble explaining why this is so important. However, my instructor told us numerous times that we absolutely had to have a final file that was 768x576, so I figured I had to make every effort to get it done that way.

PRE7: Aspect Ratio problem even before opening source media file

Hi,
I am a newbie in Premiere Elements. Read a lot of threads with aspect ratio problems, but didn't find similar problem to mine, so decided to open a new discussion.
I am shooting video with Samsung HMX-H105 SSD camcorder, in 16:9 widescreen HD video.
When I try to make DVD from the MP4 file from the camcorder, it gets skewed even before opening it, when it is seen in the right hand pane with the Media file previews. I am not sure if somebody can understand what I am trying to tell so I have a screenshot of a video that I shot with my camcorder and a video that I have downloaded, shot by someone else with Samsung HMX-H20 in 16:9 HD as well.
So even when I start a new project in 4:3 and not 16:9 my videos always get stretched. This is why I think that maybe Premiere Elements doesn't understand the aspect ratio of my MP4 video files - it can be seen in the left hand side pane, where I have circled (with white elipse) the black stripes above and below the video.
Hope that somebody can help with my problem.

You ROCK
both of you
Thanks wine_snob for pointing me how to find the Interpret Footage option.
And thanks to Steve for solving my problem
In the "Interpret Footage" and "Pixel Aspect Ratio", the working video says: "Use Pixel Aspect Ratio from File: Square Pixels (1.0)"
but on my problem video it says: "Use Pixel Aspect Ratio from File: Other Aspect Ratio (1.778)", so I changed it to "Conform to: Square Pixels (1.0)" and now I have perfectly proportinal video for 16:9
Thank you once again!

How can I change the aspect ratio of an image display

I am snapping a sequence of images and using imgPlot to diplay the images. However, due to my camera specifications [it's a Pulnix 9701 with Pixel Size 11.6μm (H) X 13.3μm (V)], the image I get displayed is elongated in the horizontal direction, i.e. if I snap an image of a square, I get a rectangle on my computer display.
How can I change the aspect ratio of the display on my computer? The only parameters I have seen so far just control what portion of the image is acquired or diplayed, but none actually changes the aspect ratio.
Thanks in advance for any help.

If you are using an analog camera, you can set the aspect ratio in MAX. This will correct for non-square pixels.
If you are using a digital camera, I don't think there is a way to fix it during acquisition. You could resample the image to correct the ratios, but that would be a slow, time consuming process.
One other possibility is that your computer monitor is in a mode which is not a standard 4x3 configuration. For example 640x480 and 800x600 are 4:3 ratios. 1200x1024 is not, which tends to distort your displayed images.
Bruce
Bruce Ammons
Ammons Engineering

Photoshop Elements 5.0 - won't let me change image aspect ratio. Box is greyed out. Have reinstalled

I've been using Photoshop Elements 5.0 for years. As of today, it won't let me change image aspect ratio. Box is greyed out. Have reinstalled the program with no change

Where in photoshop elements 5 are you seeing the "Box" geyed out?
Or how are you trying to change the image aspect ratio?

IDVD is producing DVDs which chop the edges off my video. I have tried changing the aspect ratio between 4:3 and 16:9 but it hasn't helped. My TV is definitely on the correct settings. How can I solve this?

iDVD is producing DVDs which chop the edges off my video. I have tried changing the aspect ratio between 4:3 and 16:9 but it hasn't helped. My TV is definitely on the correct settings. How can I solve this?

One way to to put the videos into an iDVD slideshow
and set iDVD's Slideshow preferences to always scale slides to TV Safe Area.
However, some users have reported that the audio quality using this method is lessened. I've not noticed it but then I don't have a good ear when it comes to that sort of thing. If you add more than one video in the same slideshow do not select any transition.
OT

How do I change the aspect ratio of source video in the event library?

I’ve imported video to iMovie 08 from a Canon Mini DV MD235 video camera. The video is recorded in widescreen format and plays back in widescreen when viewed from the iMovie event library (prior to doing any video editing). However, when I delete rejected frames from any particular video clip in the event library the video clip is automatically pillarboxed (i.e. switched from widescreen to 4:3 format). This squashes the video horizontally, stretches it vertically and leaves vertical black bars to the left and right of the video during playback. This automatic change in aspect ratio is occurring to the source video in the event library.
I’d be grateful for any help / advice on how I can convert the edited clips back to widescreen aspect ratio, so they display in the *event library* as they did when first imported into iMovie.

I don’t really want to clog up my hard drive with unwanted video and it’s easier to edit it from within iMovie.
Have you considered manually importing only portions of the clips you actually plan to use? Or, if you must import the entire clip, have you considered trimming externally in an application like MPEG Streamclip which will allow you to set frame level in/out points and then perform a "Save As..." operation that stores the select range of frames to an MOV file container retaining the proper flag?
Is there anything I can do from within iMovie to activate the 16:9 setting for these as yet unedited clips, so the same pillarboxing doesn’t happen?
Not sure what you mean by "unedited" here. If the files have been destructively split, the flag is gone and there is nothing you can do about it but re-compress. If you mean they are imported but as of yet whole and still contain their flags, then you have two options. The first is to edit non-destrctively within iMovie '08 and the second would be to do the trimming externally.
This second option is really fairly simple. Just close iMovie '08. Open MPEG Streamclip and load a clip you want to trim. Set your in and pout points, select the "Save As..." option, and store the files in the original Events folder with a new name. I would also recommend you perform these trims in their original time sequence so the "creation" date time groups (Finder attributes) are in time order also. When done with the loaded clip either delete it from the "Event" folder or move it to an archival location. When done with the last clip, close MPEG Streamclip, delete the Cache and Thumbnail folders from the Event folder, open iMovie '08 again, and go get a cup of coffee or tea while the files are re-thumbnailing. DO NOT DO THIS TO ANY EVENT WHICH CONTAINS FILES ALREADY USED IN ANY PROJECT. (I.e., this must be done before you start the actual project editing process.)
It seems odd to me that iMovie is doing this.
I suspect that as the application was originally written as an NLE, non-destructive, "by reference" application, the writers/updaters "overlooked" this facet when adding a "destructive" routine and did not provide for checks of this flag nor provide for copying it re-written segments.

Changing photo aspect ratio with QT 7 Pro

Can I use QT 7 Pro to change the aspect ratio of my iPhoto pictures so they can be used in HD video?
David

I guess it would be easyier for me to purchase Graphic Converter to convert all my JPEGs to 16:9 ratio to be used in Final Cut Express.
Again, this depends on what you are looking for in an application. I personally have never used Graphic Converter. If, for instance, it is able to batch process your photos, then it might be worth purchasing if that is what you are primarily interested in. However, any graphic application can change the aspect ratio of your photos—including Preview which, I assume, is already installed on your system. In fact, I recommend you try this work flow with a few sample photos to be sure it is the aspect ratio you really want to change. (I.e., most cameras use a 4:3 or 3:2 aspect ratio and changing the aspect ratio for the frame will introduce a distortion to the photograph subjects.) The more normal approach is to crop the photos to the desired aspect ratio in iPhoto and export the customized photos from iPhoto or import the customized photos directly into the target application.
In any case, simply open one or more photos in Preview, select a photo, open the "Tools>Adjust Size" option, deselect the "Scale proportionately" option, and enter the desired HD dimensions.
Example... This
becomes this...
In this case making the subjects appear fatter than the actually are which usually does not go over well with the women in the picture.

Premier Elements 7 aspect ratio problem, XP

I bought this program from a famous online store in UK and when I installed it I was unable to change the aspect ratio for my production. I got in touch with the trader who said they could not help me with this and gave me my money back, without asking for the disc back. I got in touch with Adobe and got stuck because the product key was invalid, yet I was able to register it okay. The software was sold online with the description of being used yet it came in a sealed paper disc envelope, with no box. I am not sure what to do now. Any ideas? Can this be fixed?

Charles,
As for the Aspect Ratio, this is set via Presets.
Since you are in the UK, I will assume that you will want PAL. In the opening dialog, when asked for the Project, you should only have a choice of New and Exit.
Choose New and you will be taken to a dialog box where you name and locacte your Project on your system. Look at the bottom for Settings. You will get another dialog box, with NTSC and PAL Project Presets. Choose PAL and then you can choose DV, Hard Disk, etc., and HDV. Select the appropriate one and choose Save as Default. You will then get a Project screen with the workings of PE. I do not think that it is much different for PE7 (I have PE4). Some of the names, or terms might be a bit different, but that would be all.
Good luck,
Hunt

How do I change the aspect ratio on Final Cut Pro X?

Whenever I upload new media (regardless of what ratio it was filmed in) it plays in letterbox format. I would like to change the aspect ratio to 16:9. Thanks.

Please open the clip in the QT player and post a screen shot of the movie inspector. Post a screen **** of what you're seeing in the viewer.
You keep saying upload, do you mean import?

Can I change the aspect ratio of existing projects?

Over the past few years, I created a number of iDVD projects of special occasions. I guess the default aspect ration in the older versions of iDVD was 4:3. I now have a widescreen TV and would like to view these videos in 16:9 mode. The TV can change aspect ratios but it distorts the video. Is there a relatively easy was to redo IDVD projects to change the aspect ratio to widescreen?

The TV can change aspect ratios but it distorts the video. Is there a relatively easy was to redo IDVD projects to change the aspect ratio to widescreen?
Depends on your goals here. You can duplicate what your widescreen TV and do fairly easily but you would still end up with screen distortion if you use the entire 4:3 display area. It is is also reasonably easy to crop your 4:3 aspect to a 16:9 area within the 4:3 viewing area and burn this to a DVD. While this would prevent distortion, part of your viewing area would be lost and the result would be the same as using the the "Zoom" display on your widescreen TV. A third option might be to select a 16:9 viewing area within the original 4:3 display area. Unfortunately, this would would normally require an advanced editing application or cropping and scaling either as a whole or in selected segments. In either case it requires a much greater effort on the part of the user.
In short, actually changing an aspect ratio from is original aspect is either easy but causes distortion or it is difficult and time consuming. Further, in either case you are merely duplicating what your TV can already do. If you don't want distortion, use 16:9 "sourced" (either original or cropped) content. If you want to reduce the distortion (and your particular TV has the option), use the "Justify" viewing option which applies little or no distortion at the center of the viewing area and most distorion towards the left-right edges of the screen. Otherwise learn to live with the distortion and decide whether you prefer the distortion being applied to the DVD or just on the viewing screen.

Still no fix for aspect ratio problems

I was hoping this new version would fix the aspect ratio problems with importing clips other than in the DV codec, but alas, it was not to be.
My problem is that if I import a clip that is 720x486 (non-square pixels, uncompressed), iDVD doesn't interpret it correctly. It places the clip with small black bars (like a little letterbox) at the top and bottom of the screen, then scrunches the image vertically, sprinkling it with stairstep artifacts.
What's frustrating is that versions up to iDVD 4 didn't have this problem and imported clips in any codec beautifully. It's been a known issue for a long time.
Furthermore, Apple's solution is to convert the clip to a self-contained DV movie (hello, disk space!), which is also undesirable because of the quality loss and poor colour compression. After the latest QuickTime upgrade, exporting in DV doesn't work, creating a clip that is half-field and blocky.
Argh! This is a real problem because many of us use iDVD to make screeners for clients, and it looks unprofessional. It's also a very inaccurate and somewhat useless tool when the clips are of clean lines, titles, and smooth, solid graphics, which show the stairstep effect the most.
I'm at my wit's end having exhausted all other suggested solutions (and please don't tell me to use DVD Studio Pro instead). Anyone else come up with a fix or have the same issue?
Previous discussion on this issue here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=204675&tstart=0

Sorry, but the answer is - for professional use, use
DVD SP
No, it is absolutely not the answer. EVERYONE I know in my circle of professionals uses iDVD for banging-out quick screeners of TV spots, film clips, dailies. In fact, it's one of the main reasons they added OneStep to iDVD. DVD Studio Pro is for authoring commercial-level DVDs, with a learning curve and pricing structure appropriate to that.
I'm not going to spend time learning DVD Studio Pro just to do quick one-offs, for one, and it's overkill anyway. Not only that, but it costs a lot more than iDVD.
The inablity to import a QuickTime clip -- on Apple software, no less -- is not cool, especially since it doesn't seem an excessive thing to ask (and it used to encode just fine). It's a very basic task considering everything else iDVD has been written to do, and crosscoding and re-encoding video is a basic functionality in QuickTime.
I'm not asking iDVD to prove the existence of dark matter in the universe; I'm just asking it to play a QuickTime movie properly. Which is what it's supposed to do.
There was a work-around, supplied by Apple, but it no longer works for me, so that's why I'm asking what worked for others.

Iphoto aspect ratio problem

How do I change the aspect ratio on exported photos? I need to submit photos in 1920X1920.

I don't want my photo cropped to square, I want the photo to fit into a square ratio with black background.<<<</div>
That's the exact opposite of cropping and iPhoto won't help you. You need a slightly more powerful editor. PhotoShop Elements ($60) will do it but there may be less expensive alternatives. You need to paste your photo onto a square black canvas and then you reduce the pixel count to 1920X1920.

How can I change the aspect ratio

I connected my new Apple TV 2 to an LCD projector (Epson 9300) using a Belkin HDMI-to-DVI cable. The projector supports a variety of resolutions, but the aspect ratio is fixed at 4:3. The picture is therefore stretched vertically. How can I change the aspect ratio on the Apple TV?

How can I change the aspect ratio on the Apple TV?
You can't. The TV device plays content at the encoded aspect ratio. It is up to your viewing device to alter the display aspect if it can. Your primary options are to use a different viewing device capable of multiple aspect ratios, scaling, and/or zoom effects or you could simply letterbox your content when you encode it.

FCE changes my aspect ratio--problem

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for