My distorted FCE QTs, again!!

Question

I have mentioned this problem here before. I cannot get FCE to produce properly formatted QTs. The problem seems definitely to be with FCE and not my burning software (Toast).
My camera is a True widescreen sony HDR-HC96 (current model). Easy Setup is set to DV-PAL Anamorphic as advised by Tom. (I have tried DV-PAL but the Canvas does not display properly). I capture and edit in the usual way, with some transitions and a fade-to-black (by lowering the opacity) - about 5 minutes of video. I then do FCE > Export > and then either:
(1) > Quicktime Movie (there are no relevant options)
Result: QT Player window and the video is 4:3, squashed left/right (people look tall and thin). On TV, full height, cropped left/right, squashed left/right
(2) > Using QT Conversion (format = QuickTime Movie)
I chose:
Format: QuickTime Movie
Options > Movie Settings > Video Settings: Compression: DV PAL, Frame Rate: Current, Compressor: Quality: Best, Scan mode: Interlaced, Aspect Ratio: 16:9
The preview on that options window shows the video's image as true 16:9 (no black bars, no cropping.The movie Settings window now confirms all the settings by listing and adds:
Dimensions: 720x576 (1024)x576); (Compessor: Native); Scale: Letterbox.
Result: QT player window is 16:9 but the video is 4:3, squashed (people look tall and thin). On TV: black bars top, bottom, left & right. Image not cropped, squashed left/right.
(3) > Using QT Coversion (format = DV Stream) (as advised by Apple)
DV Format: DV; Scan mode: Interlaced; Aspect Ratio: 16:9; Preserve Aspect Ratio Using Letterbox, is checked).
Result: Same as (2).
All this does not seem normal behaviour for a commercial software.
I have tried using QT Pro to convert (1) to DV but no luck. I have trashed FCE's three preferences. I have not re-installed QT (7.1.1) because I have recently bought QT Pro and from previous experience when upgrading, re-installing it will destroy the Pro. I was recommended to use myDVDEdit but the settings in its manual were already set in the DVDs. Weirdly, I have a project whose exported QT shrinks to 4:3 momentarily whenever a transition or a fade-to-black appears (another poster has had that problem). I have tried several format settings on my TV and my standalone DVD player. I tried Anamorphicizer once but no result.
I don't see what more I can do. Surely there is someone on this forum who can produce proper QT files from FCE? Apple Care phone line assures me that iDVD can accept QT files from FCE, but FCE won't produce proper files. THAT's the problem. Even if DVD Studio Pro (Tom suggested it some time ago) could accept these distorted files, it is far too expensive now it is available only as part of a big package costing 800 GBP. FCE is useless to me in this state.
There is lots of discussion on the iDVD forum about this problem. It seems to me that Apple are not yet fully aware of Widescreen material. (But can that be true - someone told me that Apple stuff works straight out of the box.)
Is everyone out there in FCE world producing proper 16:9 QTs from FCE effortlessly? Can anyone help?
Or is the solution for me to to abandon widescreen and shoot only in 4:3, until Apple become widescreen literate?
I really need help, IF there's a solution. Thanks.
G5/2.0 GHz Mac OS X (10.3.9) 1 GB RAM, 150 GB HD, Sony DCR-HC96 mini DV, FCE HD 3.0

Answer 1

A.Yes, how does it get letterboxed etc. The project in FCE (which I have used for my experiments): its bin in the browser containing the clips had Anamorphic checked in Item Properties before I exported as a QT movie. It still does. However, the Segments into which it was split by DV Start/Stop Detect did/do not have their Anamorphic column checked.
Should I check them nanually?
You say: "That can either be done in FCE before export or is done by the DVD authoring tool that tells the display how to handle the material." As it was done in FCE (see paragraph above) why did it not result in the video being 16:9 when it was burned? Could it be that FCE did not pass on the flag (or whatever) to the DVD burner?
If so, how can I manually pass it on when I load FCE's QT video into it?
B. I have just looked at the anamorphic column for the reimported QT material and it was not checked. I deleted its clips in the Timeline, checked the anamorphic column in the browser, dragged the reimported QT material back into the Timeline and it now displays in the Canvas as 16:9 So that solves the problem of FCE not displaying the reimported QT material properly.
But, since the reimported QT material did not arrive with its anamorphic column checked, this surely means that the QT material when exported by FCE did not have its anamorphic info checked. I am not surprised that the burner treated it as 4:3.
So, the burning question seems to be: how do I get FCE to export its QT material with anamorphic embedded in itself so that the burner can know that it is anamorphic? Checking the anamorphic column seems ineffective.
I am studying the tutorials for myDVDEdit to see if I can force the burned DVD (as a DMG) to go anamorphic which I think is what myDVDEdit does (although when I tried it last time the settings that it recommended were already in the DVD).
In the meantime, I would be grateful for your answers and comments on the above.
Thanks.
G5/2.0 GHz Mac OS X (10.3.9) 1 GB RAM, 150 GB HD, Sony DCR-HC96 mini DV, FCE HD 3.0