Suggestions for Authoring 16:9 & 4:3 Content ?

Question

Hello -
I am putting together a compilations DVD -- I have 16:9 and 4:3 content. I am struggling with how to present the content so that a 16:9 television and a 4:3 television both display their respective native formats correctly. I have been toying with a couple ideas and wanted to know if anyone had suggestions:
1. Put each segment on its own track (20 to 30 short segments) -- either 16:9 or 4:3 -- and use scripting to generate a "play all" sequence. Upside is that I only have to have one copy of each track on the DVD; downside is I have to deal with a lot of scripting and I am not sure how well this function.
2. Create two duplicate "feature length" tracks; one track in 16:9 (with the 4:3 content with "black boxes" on the sides) and one track in 4:3 (with the 16:9 content "letterboxed"). Downside to this is I need double the capacity and, also, I am not sure if forcing 4:3 content into a 16:9 frame best.
These are the two ideas I have -- am curious if anyone has tackled this particular problem and, if so, what kinds of advice they may have.
Thanks,
Damon

Answer 1

*Set the aspect ratio on your tracks:*
With anamorphic 16:9 content, you can let the players do the letterboxing and pillarboxing for you. Simply put 4:3 and 16:9 content on separate tracks, and set the aspect ratio for each track in the inspector. I usually choose 16:9 letterbox for my 16:9 tracks. This way, there is no need to provide additional alternate versions of your content.
*Use stories as an alternative to scripting:*
If you want to create different "playlists" from tracks consisting of several segments, you may be able to get all you need done with Stories. It easy to create a story from a track, rearrange its markers, and provide an alternate end jump (like to the next "play all" story).
*Welcome to the world of widescreen:*
Something I have observed is that some DVD players do not automatically pillarbox 4:3 material on a 16:9 display. I have a Panasonic that stubbornly refuses to do this under any circumstances. The point is that since the display aspect ratio is handled by the player, There can be setting on the player can override choices you make in authoring. Viewers must correctly set up their own player's settings for correct playback of material in different aspect ratios (though generally, very few players require custom setup this way).
*Design widescreen menus for pan & scan:*
Something else you may consider if you are designing menus is to design widescreen menus for pan & scan display. Pan & scan will crop the sides for 4:3 display, allowing the menu to remain at full-frame height (not letterboxed). This simply requires keeping all of the menu content in a 4:3 title safe are in the middle of the 16:9 frame. Sometimes I'll use a screen grab of the FCP preview window with the title safe area and drop it into my photoshop file as an overlay or a reference for guides.
Hope this helps:
Max Average