They're here! More Muvipix.com Guides by Steve Grisetti!
The Muvipix.com Guides to Premiere & Photoshop Elements 2024
As well as The Muvipix.com Guide to CyberLink PowerDirector 21
Because there are stories to tell
muvipix.com

Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Specific to Premiere Elements Version 7.

Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Simon Silverstein » Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:55 pm

I recently resized photos to 720x480 pixels. When I put them into a widescreen 16:9 project, they did not properly fill the frame. I later read somewhere that the proper dimensions for 16:9 should have been 864x486.
QUESTION#1:What is the best way to resize my incorrect (3:4) photos so they fit better without distortion into an SD widescreen format?
QUESTION #2: If I decide to render some of my copies in HD Blu-Ray, will this lower dimension make the photo horribly blurry?
Simon Silverstein
Registered User
Registered User
 
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:46 pm

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Steve Grisetti » Thu Jun 07, 2012 5:30 pm

If you want your photos to fill your entire standard definition video frame, and you don't mind the tops and bottoms being lobbed off to make them 16:9 -- and you don't plan to do any panning and zooming over the photos -- you should size them to 855x640. They should fill our essentially 855x480 video frame with some top and bottom to spare.

BTW, I'm not sure who advised you to size your photos to 720x480 pixels, but that will only work if your photos are made up of non-square pixels, as video is.

For most photos, sizing them to 640x480 will make them just the right size to fit in a 720x480 non-square pixel frame. (The program automatically converts 640x480 square pixels to 720x480 non-square pixels.)
HP Envy with 2.9/4.4 ghz i7-10700 and 16 gig of RAM running Windows 11 Pro
User avatar
Steve Grisetti
Super Moderator
Super Moderator
 
Posts: 14436
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:11 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Simon Silverstein » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:05 pm

I might have gotten the 720x480 from PSE6, which has under "Film & Video" sizing a preset for NTSC DV Widescreen. I got the 864x486 setting from somewhere off the web.
So, if I want to output for a 16:9 SD DVD format, you think it's best to batch convert the 720x480 to 855x 640???
Also, will making a few special copies on a BluRay burner in addition to the DVD's I'll be using for most copies make these photos impossible blurry?
Simon Silverstein
Registered User
Registered User
 
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:46 pm

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Steve Grisetti » Thu Jun 07, 2012 10:17 pm

If you're making BluRays, you should size your photos to 1920x1440 (expecting that, when placed in your project, only 1920x1080 of it will actually show) and make sure you're using a hi-def project setting.
HP Envy with 2.9/4.4 ghz i7-10700 and 16 gig of RAM running Windows 11 Pro
User avatar
Steve Grisetti
Super Moderator
Super Moderator
 
Posts: 14436
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:11 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Simon Silverstein » Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:43 pm

Okay, so I now have the idea that I would need to up-convert photos if I'm going to use them for BluRay.
My last question is, if I want to output the photos to a DVD in widescreen 16:9 format in SD, would it be beneficial to use PSE to batch convert all the photos I now have in 720x480 to what you suggested, which is 855x640 ? Would this latter dimension offer a better quality image?
Simon Silverstein
Registered User
Registered User
 
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:46 pm

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Bob » Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:07 pm

For best results, you would want to take large original sized photos and resize them down to the desired size. Put them in a different folder to avoid overwriting your original photos. Resizing a smaller size image to a larger size will not give you as good results as going from a larger size to a smaller size. The upsized photo will be softer and more blurry. If there is pixelation, that will be magnified as well.
User avatar
Bob
Moderator
Moderator
 
Posts: 5925
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:49 am
Location: Southern California, USA

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Simon Silverstein » Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:50 am

I can see that upsizing from a smaller format would get you poor results. My question is really about the advantages of using 855x640 (as Steve suggested) over 720x480, that is one of the resizing choices for DV in PE6...I'm aiming at high quality SD widescreen on a DVD.
Simon Silverstein
Registered User
Registered User
 
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:46 pm

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Steve Grisetti » Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:16 am

If you're using 720x480 widescreen non-square pixels in Photoshop, your results will be identical.

Except that your photos may well end being stretched wide and flat because you're using non-square pixels.

What not try our suggestions? I think you'll be happy with the results.
HP Envy with 2.9/4.4 ghz i7-10700 and 16 gig of RAM running Windows 11 Pro
User avatar
Steve Grisetti
Super Moderator
Super Moderator
 
Posts: 14436
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:11 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Simon Silverstein » Sat Jun 09, 2012 4:50 pm

Sorry to appear somewhat dense. I'm perfectly willing to follow your advice, but I'm not getting the specific dimension numbers to use for my current photos--which are now 720x480. I want them to end up in widescreen 16:9 sd video for DVD with no distortion (as you indicated might happen with my current 720x480 dimensions)...
To make things simple, would it be better to resize my current batch of photos to 640x480 or to 855x640 so things will still be clear but not distorted??
Sorry to be a pain in the cassette, but I would really like to clearly understand this.
Simon Silverstein
Registered User
Registered User
 
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:46 pm

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Steve Grisetti » Sat Jun 09, 2012 4:59 pm

855x640 if you want to fill a widescreen video frame.
HP Envy with 2.9/4.4 ghz i7-10700 and 16 gig of RAM running Windows 11 Pro
User avatar
Steve Grisetti
Super Moderator
Super Moderator
 
Posts: 14436
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:11 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Chuck Engels » Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:16 pm

This is an article for Final Cut Pro but is good all around info for any video editing program, worth taking a look at as it describes square vs non square pixels.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=36836
1. Thinkpad W530 Laptop, Core i7-3820QM Processor 8M Cache 3.70 GHz, 16 GB DDR3, NVIDIA Quadro K1000M 2GB Memory.

2. Cybertron PC - Liquid Cooled AMD FX6300, 6 cores, 3.50ghz - 32GB DDR3 - MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 4G, 4GB Video Ram, 1024 Cuda Cores.
User avatar
Chuck Engels
Super Moderator
Super Moderator
 
Posts: 18151
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2007 10:58 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby momoffduty » Sun Jun 10, 2012 6:55 pm

I want to reiterate what Bob posted above about not overwriting the original files.

Most of my slideshows are widescreen and I batch resize to 1600xConstrain Proportions. The large size is for pan and zooms. The portrait photos will very big, but I find it easier to batch a whole folder instead of resizing the landscape from the portrait. By keeping Constrain Proportions you will not distort the photo to fit in an exact size.

Just make sure that Scale to Frame Size is unchecked in PrEl before bringing in your folder of photos.

If you are not zooming or panning the photo, then test out the size you suggested above and see what fills the screen to your preference. But, I would still recommend using the Constrain Proportions when you resize the photo.
aka Cheryl
Intel i7 3770, Windows 7 Pro w/SP1, 64 bit, Intel 520 Series SSD, 32G RAM, 2 – 2T RAID, (1T external), GTX 550 Ti graphics
User avatar
momoffduty
Moderator
Moderator
 
Posts: 7586
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:43 am
Location: near St. Louis

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby Simon Silverstein » Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:28 pm

Thank you so much to all who responded with the various kinds of relevant information. In the next few weeks, I will try and implement these ideas. If my anorexic cousin ends up looking like a video Santa Claus, I have only myself to blame!
Simon Silverstein
Registered User
Registered User
 
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:46 pm

Re: Optimum Widescreen Photo Dimensions

Postby John 'twosheds' McDonald » Mon Jun 11, 2012 2:29 am

Simon Silverstein wrote:If my anorexic cousin ends up looking like a video Santa Claus, I have only myself to blame!

:lol:
AMD Ryzen 3900x 12C/24T, ASUS x570 mobo, Arctic Liquid Freezer ll 280, Win11 64 bit, 64GB RAM, Radeon RX 570 graphics, Samsung 500GB NVMe 980 PRO (C:), Samsung 970 Evo SSD (D:), Dell U2717D Monitor, Synology DS412+ 8TB NAS, Adobe CS6.
User avatar
John 'twosheds' McDonald
Moderator
Moderator
 
Posts: 4235
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:57 am
Location: Cheshire, UK


Return to PRE Version 7 


Similar topics


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

cron