Aspect Ratio Issue

[Dave McElderry]

Following along in Steve's book teaching myself this program. I've created a practice project and have been trying things as they're presented in the book. I started this project as NTSC Widescreen (720x480). I added an AVI that I had exported from PRE 7 that was also a widescreen project. If played in WMP it plays fine with the correct aspect ratio in widescreen. But when I play this file in DVDAS it gets squashed horizontally to a 4:3 aspect ratio, ending up with vertical black bars on each side. My fault, or is it DVDAS?

[Steve Grisetti]

Depends, Dave.

If you go to DVD Architect's File menu and select Properties, does it list your DVD as being set up for 16:9?

Also, what program did you output this video from, and which settings did you use to output it?

[Dave McElderry]

Depends, Dave.

If you go to DVD Architect's File menu and select Properties, does it list your DVD as being set up for 16:9?

Also, what program did you output this video from, and which settings did you use to output it?

Yes, it says the video format is NTSC Widescreen (720 x 480). As I mentioned, I exported the AVI from PRE 7. The export settings were D1/DV NTSC Widescreen 16:9 (1.2). The framesize says 720h 480v 16:9.

[Dave McElderry]

Additionally, if I go into the Media Properties (in DVDAS) for this video clip, under Video Stream it says the Media Attributes are 720x480x24 and the Pixel Aspect Ratio is 0.9091 (NTSC DV), if that is useful.

[Bob]

...the Pixel Aspect Ratio is 0.9091 (NTSC DV)

Widescreen should have a pixel aspect ratio of 1.21. If the clip appears squashed horizontally, the clip is being misintrpreted and you can change the pixel aspect ratio to 1.21 in the clip's media properties dialog.

[Dave McElderry]

Just for kicks 'n' grins I started a brand new project (widescreen) and immediately dragged the AVI into the menu. I then went into Preview to see it play. The results were the same. This tells me that I apparently didn't make any unintentional settings changes that have caused my problem. I then went into the Explorer window (in DVDAS), right-clicked on the clip, and chose Open Media In Player. Again, it plays with the correct aspect ratio in WMP.

[Dave McElderry]

...the Pixel Aspect Ratio is 0.9091 (NTSC DV)

Widescreen should have a pixel aspect ratio of 1.21. If the clip appears squashed horizontally, the clip is being misintrpreted and you can change the pixel aspect ratio to 1.21 in the clip's media properties dialog.

Yes, that corrects it. I wonder why it's being misinterpreted? My only question at this point is, does changing that setting have any negative effect on the quality of the output, or is this just doing what DVDAS should have done to begin with? Many thanks Bob.

[Bob]

Just out of curiosity, what does GSpot say about that avi?

Correcting the pixel aspect ratio in DVDAS won't negatively affect the quality.

[Dave McElderry]

Here you go Bob:

Westside GSpot.jpg

[Steve Grisetti]

Rather than exporting an AVI from Premiere Elements, try going to Share/Computer/MPEG and output and MPEG with the DVD-NTSC preset.

This is the ideal format for importing into DVD Architect anyway, and it will be able to output your video with minimal re-encoding.

[Dave McElderry]

Really! I thought the less compressed format would give me a better end quality. Interesting to know Steve. After spending way too many hours today playing with this I've left my editing computer and have settled in in front of the laptop and TV for the evening. I'll be sure to try that next chance I get. Thanks.

[Dave McElderry]

Okay...I got an MPG output as you suggested Steve, and it does work correctly in DVDAS widescreen. Now I have another question for you. When DVDAS creates the final DVD burn, does it reencode/render/recompress the project videos in the process? In PRE we stick with an orginal AVI (if at all possible) because it's a native editing format for PRE, but of course the end product is MPG (VOB). So if we output as an MPG from PRE and send it to DVDAS, does it get "processed" again before we get the final disc? If so, that would seem to be a weak point in maintaining the highest possible quality. Is it significant, and noticeable? You'll probably tell me no, and I believe you.

BTW, I'm about 2/3 through your book and I'm very impressed with it, and with the program. I agree that it's got a lot of bang for the buck. It's not exactly an intuitive interface, but most programs with advanced capabilties are going to have a learning curve that you just can't get around. Worth it thought.

[Steve Grisetti]

Glad you're liking the book, Dave! And thank you for your kind words.

Actually, the MPEG I recommend you use as your source file IS the perfect format for DVD Architect because, as you say, it doesn't need to be re-rendered or re-compressed. (At least as long as you're not trying to squeeze too much video on a disc.) That's why I recommend it.

As I say on page 114, when you go to the Optimize Disc screen, the program will show you the things it needs to re-encode and what it will use as is. If you're using DVD quality MPEGs as your source file, they'll have green check marks next to them, meaning that the program will "smart encode" them -- pretty much using them as is.

[Dave McElderry]

Actually, the MPEG I recommend you use as your source file IS the perfect format for DVD Architect because, as you say, it doesn't need to be re-rendered or re-compressed. (At least as long as you're not trying to squeeze too much video on a disc.) That's why I recommend it.

That's good to know. I feel better now.

As I say on page 114, when you go to the Optimize Disc screen, the program will show you the things it needs to re-encode and what it will use as is. If you're using DVD quality MPEGs as your source file, they'll have green check marks next to them, meaning that the program will "smart encode" them -- pretty much using them as is.

I haven't got that far yet, so I have an excuse for not knowing that. I'll pay special attention when I get there. Thanks Steve.