This is about the still image size changing from what I see on the computer monitor and what the burned DVD shows on the TV

Question

I have Prem.El 12 and have used PE4 for years.  I have a new PC that runs Win7Pro.  The still images on the computer monitor are within the "safe margins".  The still images after the movie has been burned to a disk are MUCH smaller on the TV screen.  Is this an issue of 16:9 vs 4:3 ratios?  My TV is 4:3.  Can I tell PE12 to make the movie a 4:3?

Answer 1

retchemteach
Although I have seen your post of today in my Inbox Email Notifications, that post has not yet appears in this thread. It will probably will sooner or later. But, to keep things moving along....this is a copy of what I am seeing as your message of today in my Indox Email Notifications
Thank you for your patience in the time it is taking me to get back to you.
I am still trying to buy some DVD-RW discs and will hopefully do that in a
bit.  Meanwhile, I have more info for you and some simple (I hope)
questions.  If you want to insert your answers, that would be fine.
My camera (for stills and video) is set to the 4:3 ratio.  It is capable of
being set to a 16:9 ratio if I wanted to do that.  I looked in its TOOLS
menu and saw this info.
My TV is definitely a 4:3 TV.  (I measured it with my tape measure and
divided W/L to get 1.33)  The TV can show a 16:9 movie and just adds the
black bars on the top and bottom.  Question: What will my old 4:3 movies
look like on a 16:9 TV whenever we buy one of those?
It seems to me that I want to set PE12 to the NTSC DV Standard you
mentioned.
I do NOT know how to “size your photos so that each has a 4:3 aspect”,
unless you mean doing that in Photoshop Elements, which I know how to do
(*see below)
I had NOT considered that I would need to watch the preset for the
‘Publish+Share’ step; so that’s good to know (I copied and pasted your info
for later use).
BTW, years ago when I had difficulties with my XP computer working on PE4
(had only 2 GB RAM), an Adobe tech told me to resize my photos * to have a
720 pixel width (the height would be automatically adjusted) to lower the
file size to something my computer could handle without crashing.  (That
was back in the good ol’ days when Adobe support would actually talk with
their customers and try to help them in the first month)
My new computer has 16GB RAM.  Do you think I still need to reduce file
size?  One does lose some sharpness in the resizing process…..however,
these videos I’m making are travelogues and are for a fun way to view pics
and videos of a trip…nothing Earth shattering….and just a hobby to keep me
off the streets.
I truly appreciate the time you take to help me (and others).  I was even
tempted to try to install my old PE4 on my new computer just to be able to
enjoy my hobby again.
My reply to the above....
1. If you camera is giving you 4:3 photos and your Premiere Elements 12/12.1 is running on Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 64 bit, then leave
the photos as is unless you have a lot of photos and each has pixel dimensions sizes way over 1920 x 1080 pixels that are giving your computer resource issues. If you have to down size them because of computer resources, then copy the photos to a computer desktop folder and also create an empty folder on the computer desktop.
a. Photoshop Elements Editor, File Menu/Process Multiple Files.
Process Files form Folder
Source - browse to and select the computer desktop folder with photos to be resized
Destination - browse to and select the empty computer desktop folder
Image Size
             Check Mark Next To Resize Images
            (no check mark next to Constrain Proportions)
            Type in Width = 1000  (set units for pixels)
            Type in Height = 750 (set unites for pixels)
File Size
           Check Mark Next to Convert Files To
           Set for JPEG High Quality
The above should work fine for a NTSC DV Standard project with a burn to DVD disc with preset NTSC_Dolby DVD (4:3 video).
2. With regard to the TV Set and 16:9 video....when you have the DVD-player attached to the TV, do you have the opportunity to bring up a display of menus with
controls for Picture and Aspect Ratio? From what you have written so far, it looks like the answer is no. I am not sure how your TV DVD
player will handle 16:9.
Best do a mini test run
1. Project preset set manually to NTSC DV Widescreen (please refer to post 1 link)
A few photos sized for 1600 x 1200
In the Premiere Elements project, use the Safety Margins inner rectangle for text placement
Publish+Share/Disc/DVD disc with preset = NTSC_Widescreen_Dolby DVD.
See what that looks like on your TV DVD player.
If you discovered that your current TV DVD player can be set for a 16:9 display, then I have a preferred workflow for
NTSC DV Widescreen which typically gives best possible results. Hints of things to come.
Please review and consider. Thanks for the follow ups.
ATR