Does anyone have a Sony Handycam DVD camcorder?

[venomva]

If so I have a few questions and need alittle help please, I just got mine....I have the DCR-DVD101.

Thanks in advance,

Venom

[thecoalman]

Your probably better off just asking the damn question....

[venomva]

Ok, I have the cam and the software that came with it Pixela Image Mixer. I've captured the mpg's from my cam. All I shot in widescreen format but when I capture them they come in stretched full screen. I've tried saving them (720x480) it's not widescreen....I've tried saving them then encoding with TMPEGnc DVD Source Creator but it drops the sound. I could really use some help.

Thanks in advance again,

Venom

[thecoalman]

First see if there is a setting on your software for ripping the mpg's in 16:9. If not use DVD Decrypter to rip them which should maintain the correct aspect.

Your files are already DVD compliant. Reencoding them will make the quality worse. Unless your trying to squeeze more onto a single disc then the only thing you should have to do is edit/author them if that is your intention. Try out Ulead Video Studio or Ulead Movie Factory. Both are well worht the price, easy to use. There's others look to the left under tools.

Note that widescreen video is not based on resolution but either the header in the mpg or a flag on DVD. For example you can have a 720x480 that's 4:3 or 16:9.

[thecoalman]

BTW another thought occurred to me, if your determining they are not in 16:9 by using the preview window..... some softwre doesn't display 16:9 correctly in the preview. Try playing them in Windows Media layer if you haven't already.

[venomva]

yeah I tried playing them in WMP and BSPlayer...still wasn't 16:9. I have Adobe Encore Maybe I'll try that, or even Ulead...thanks coalman

[thecoalman]

yeah I tried playing them in WMP and BSPlayer...still wasn't 16:9. I have Adobe Encore Maybe I'll try that, or even Ulead...thanks coalman

If you have encore forget about Ulead..... Encore is a high end authoring tool, much more flexible. Ulead makes a good authoring app too but it's around $450 DVD Workshop but since you have encore you have no need...

Once you get the vids off your DVD correctly look for a 16:9 template in encore. You might want to look you may be able to import directly from the DVD into encore. I know DVD Workshop will.

Another thing to do is make sure the video is not renecoded by Encore, there should be a option for that. That will maintain the best quality and be the fastest method.

[vhelp]

If you shot your footage in 16:9 mode, then your footage will be in
16:9 mode, but in anamorphic and at 1:778.1 aspect ratio.

All consumer cams are 1.778 aspect ration, and that accounts for the
lack of boarders when the cam anamorphic's the source with 720 x 480
resolution.

If you cam's 16:9 mode was either a 1.85 or 2.35 aspect ratio, then
you would have some black boarders in the 720 x 480 (much like those
you see in DVD's that you rip to your harddrive)

Your footage is 16:9 and 1.778 aspect ratio widescreen, but has
gone through an 720 x 480 anamorphic process.

I don't know how to encode this to the correct AR with other encoders
except for TMPGenc.. but (assuming TMPGenc) the end result would be
a 1.778 AR widescreen that would FILL a widescreen's tv window completely,
if done properly.. assuming you havea widescreen tv to begin with, else
you would see boarders inside your standard TV set becuase it's a 4:3 AR.

-vhelp 3029

[venomva]

Sweet, thanks guys..I will give a go tomorrow and post my results

[Deekkeed]

venomva said
All I shot in widescreen format but when I capture them they come in stretched full screen.

If buy stretched full screen you mean that the video looks tall and thin, then that is what anamorphic 16:9 should look like when played on a 4:3 screen. Assuming its an Mpeg2, PowerDVD will play it in letter box as will Media Player Classic. Also when authored to DVD , your DVD player will correctly play it.

[thecoalman]

If buy stretched full screen you mean that the video looks tall and thin, then that is what anamorphic 16:9 should look like when played on a 4:3 screen.

Not sure if this is the standard but my cam will play at the correct aspect when connected to a TV via s-video.

[vhelp]

@ Deekkeed

If buy stretched full screen you mean that the video looks tall and thin, then that is what anamorphic 16:9 should look like when played on a 4:3 screen.

The only time when your source will play full screen as you indicated, is only
if you either encoded the Aspect Ratio/Resolution or Authored improperly, OR
your DVD player is not set up properly, OR your TV set is not set up properly.
Sorry. But there seems to be much room for error these days w/ so many ways
to obtain a given scenario.
.
Unless you mean when you take your CAM and set it in 16:9 mode and shoot footage,
and view this on your TV set while you do this, THEN it will depend on your TV
set, to determine what the source is, and if it can reproduce a 16:9 cam or not,
and only give you a 4:3 view on your tv set. That's how my cam works. When I
set my TRV22 to 16:9 mode, and shoot footage, while connected to a TV set, AND
even though my CAM's view window is showing a 16:9 (letterboxed) view, my TV is
showing a 4:3 fullscreen view.

Assuming its an Mpeg2, PowerDVD will play it in letter box as will Media Player
Classic. Also when authored to DVD , your DVD player will correctly play it.

If you don't set PDVD correctly, it will display even a true 16:9 source as a
4:3 letterbox on your pc monitor. In fact, it won't even do this correctly,
and give you a generic or 1.778 aspect ratio view.
.
Its when you set PDVD to [x] Keep Aspect Ratio that things begin to look
correct. But, if you encode source (not the above comments) improperly or
Author it improperly, then even PDVD will not play the Aspect Ratio properly.

-vhelp 3035

[Deekkeed]

@vhelp
I was addressing the first part of his question; he shot the video in widescreen but the resulting mpeg played in stretched full screen. Since the camcorder is doing the mpeg compression (DVD camcorder), we can assume that it is encoded correctly. So I was stating that if it is not playing on the computer in the correct aspect ratio, that it could be the software player he was using and that powerDVD should play it correctly. And yes you are correct and I should have stated that “[x] Keep Aspect Ratio” must be set for it to work on PowerDVD.

Deek