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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?

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.)

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

855x640 if you want to fill a widescreen video frame.

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

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.

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