So what is the resolution of this QT movie?

Question

I compiled this assortment of metadata from various programs - all for the same file:
http://www.drewlahat.com/misc/QTPAR.gif
So what's the actual pixel count in the file? Most say 720x480, but After Effects insists it's native 853x480 (1.00 means square pixels so it claims it's not applying any pixel aspect ratio adjustments).

Answer 1

So what's the actual pixel count in the file?
It depends on you definition of things. If you are referring to the actual number of individual "cells" available to contain discrete data combinations and, if you are referring to each "cell" as representing a "pixel," then your "pixel count" would be 720x480 or 345,600 pixels.
Most say 720x480, but After Effects insists it's native 853x480 (1.00 means square pixels so it claims it's not applying any pixel aspect ratio adjustments).
Quite correct. What you are forgetting is the fact that it is the encoded "cells" that are PAR (Pixel Aspect Ratio) encoded--not the output "cells." For example, the same 720x480 matrix can represent either a 640x480 square pixel (1:1) display matrix or an 853x480 square pixel (1:1) display matrix. In the first case, the width of the encoded "pixel" is greater than its height while in the latter case, the width of the encoded "pixel" is less than its height. Thus, when scaled for final display where the height and width of the "pixel" is displayed as having a 1:1 aspect ratio, the displayed screen width contracts or expands as needed to render the scene at its original aspect ratio.
It may be easier just to think of an anamorphic file as having an encoded matrix property and a separate display matrix property where the first is the resolution in terms of discrete data cells or points and the latter is the displayed surface area as scaled by the viewing device. And, while the 720x480 encode matrix is probably the most common based historically on DV and MPEG-2 video (which, in turn, were rooted on analog TV display standards), they are not the only ones that could be used. For instance, I often use custom PAR values to encode TV files which range from 800x720 to 1024x720 encode matrices for 720p (1280x720) movies. The advantages of using an anamorphic encode include the lowering of your final data rate and file size for an acceptable loss in graphic detail which, in turn, increases encode speed as compared to a one-to-one non-anamorphic 720p file encode. (I.e., these are simply work flow options at the disposal of the experienced QT user to achieve specific project goals as may be desired or needed.)