Proper output from SMS 13.0 for 1366x768 TV

[jonnyD]

I recently made a slideshow. I used the WMV output mode in SMS and put the resultant file on a flash drive which I plug into my DVD player to play the slideshow on my TV.
My computer monitor (Samsung S24D390HL) has native resolution of 1920 x 1080. My TV (LG 37LH20-UA) has a native resolution of 1366 x 768. I noticed when I played the slideshow on the TV, headroom on slides (photos) was smaller than when I played the slideshow on the computer monitor (or during editing on SMS for that matter). Is this problem a function of the different native resolutions of the respective displays? Is there a solution for this? Is this a function of the output file format? I do not want to burn a DVD, but rather use the flash drive.

[Steve Grisetti]

That's kind of an odd resolution for a TV, jonny. Most HDTVs are either 1920x1080 or 1280x720 -- both standard dimensions for Movie Studio and Vegas output.

Regardless, are you saying that some of your video is being cut off around the sides when you show your video on your TV? If so, that's something called overscan -- and it's not related at all to the video or the format you've output. Overscan is just the nature of TVs. They all cut off a bit around the edges -- some TVs more than others. That's why, when you turn on the Safe Margins (as I recommend in my book), you'll see an area in which you want to keep your important content and text. Safe Margins are specifically for protecting against losing anything important from overscan.

[jonnyD]

I'm still new to all the different display resolutions (both for computer display as well as TV), recording modes in a camera (60i, PF30, PF24, Native 24p), output formats when creating a video file, etc. Compounding my confusion is the avalanche of available information on the internet about all this (sometimes including differing information about the same topic). I did not even know the 1366x768 resolution existed (and finding out it is a popular resolution, at least for manufacturers), I did a little more digging and found this article:

http://hd1080i.blogspot.com/2006/12/108 ... blems.html

If I am reading this article correctly, it seems there may indeed be some scaling issues when viewing the same video file on my computer vs my TV. I will re-visit your instructions about Safe Margins to see if this solves the problem.

[Steve Grisetti]

Don't forget that we also offer books that may help clarify a number of issues.
http://Muvipix.com/sms13.php

[Bob]

It would appear that the TV is designed to scale down 1920x1080 media to fit the screen. Both have a 16:9 frame aspect ratio, so if you prepare standard 1920x1080 video, it should scale to fill the TV screen with nothing cut off except for overscan and whatever the bezel covers. Since you said "headroom on slides (photos) was smaller than when I played the slideshow on the computer monitor", it's possible that your TV isn't actually displaying the full size of the video. Check your TV settings. Under Picture Aspect Ratio, make sure it is set to display 16:9 and not set to zoom.

It's also possible the dvd player is doing something to the video. Check the manual and see if there are any settings that may be applicable. What's the model number of your dvd player?