How do you author 2.35:1 aspect ratio for home movie?

[SaqibSaab]

I've searched the forums on how to burn a 16:9 DVD and found that there are some programs that support it. I tried to get some and it turns out they didn't. I also couldn't figure out which method of authoring was the best (VIDEO_TS folders or .m2v, etc). Let me show you what I'm trying to do.


This is a movie clip I have on my computer. It's intentionally filmed in a Panavision 2.35:1 aspect ratio. I want to burn them onto DVD but maintain the format.

I have two widescreen TVs in my house, so I imagine that they should look like this, or at least I'd like them to:


And if I were to give out copies to other relatives, I want the DVDs to fit properly on 4:3 TVs:


I know the basics of widescreen vs. standard TVs, and I know they have to be set up properly if they're either 16:9 or 4:3.

Do I really need an Authoring program that specializes in 16:9? And if I do which one will suit my 2.35:1 Anamorphic needs? I already have the original file in an uncompressed .avi format.

[guns1inger]

Although the DVD spec supports an extra playback resolution, players and TV's only support the two major resolutions. These ar 4:3 (1.33) and 16:9 (1.778).

Load the avi into virtualdub and resize it to 720 x 370, with borders to 720 x 480. Frameserve this to your mpeg-2 encoder and encode it as 16:9. Autrhor it as 16:9 in your authoring program. It will now play correctly on both 16:9 and 4:3 TV's assuming the TV and DVD PLayer have been set up correctly (if they play commercial disks correctly, they will play this).

Most commercial encoders will support 16:9 encoding - tmpgenc, CCE, Procoder etc.

Most, but not all, authoring packages will support 16:9 author - tmpgenc DVD Author, DVD Lab and DV Lab Pro, DVD Workshop etc.

[wayne421]

What you're looking to do is called 'anamorphic widescreen'.

It encodes the video in a horizontally 'squished' format that is detected by the DVD player. The player then either A) stretches it for 16:9 TVs, or B) stretches and letterboxes it for 4:3 TVs.

This is how 95% of retail widescreen movies are released.

As far as .m2v and VIDEO_TS goes, they are 2 steps in the DVD authoring process. .m2v is the video file that gets combined with it's matching audio file in your DVD authoring program - the new combined file becomes the .vob files you see in the VIDEO_TS folder.

To play home-made DVDs as regular off-the-shelf DVDs, you really need to author via the VIDEO_TS method as this is the universally accepted DVD standard. Almost all players require it.

That's pretty much all I can offer at this point. You can try a forum search for anamorphic widescreen and see what comes up.

Good luck!

-W-

[vhelp]

As was indicated above, what you are looking for is the Anamorphic
method.
.
Also, ..note. Some Authoring tools alter or screw up the Aspect Ratio
during the authoring process. I use ifoEdit, because I know that it
does not mess up the aspect ratio.
.
Then, there is the DVD player(s) users will use for this video.
DVD playes have THREE mode settings (you set it in your DVD Setup menu)

* 4:3
* Letterbox
* Widescreen
* Widescreen enhanced
* ect.

All these will effect the proper display of your widescreen view.
Most 4:3 standard tv's require either the mode Letterbox or 4:3
But do experiment with yours.

But, before one can go further into the proper way, we need to know
how you are shooting your footage with your cam.

Questions:

* DV cam brand/model/make
* R U shooting in 4:3 mode ..or,
* R U shooting in 16:9 (aka, 1:178 AR) ..or,
* R U shooting in 16:9 squeezed ..or,
* R U shooting 16:9 some other mode (explain) ??
.
* what is your editing process (ie, cropping; resizing; masking; etc)

Some cams will have setting for 16x9 mode, but will Anamorphic it to
720 x 480 resolution. This is an Anamorphic (though similated)
.
Shooting in 16x9 for almost all cams is not recommended because of
the bug in this process. This usually given stair-cases or saw-tooth
on horizontals, or green color artifacts.
So, experiement to be sure that it is safe to shoot in 16x9 (whatever)
mode

But, this can be done with DV home footage too. You can make your
home footage just like Cinema 's..

* 1.78 = standard 16x9 view = fullscreen w/ no boarders ----- (on widescreen tv)
* 1.85 = standard 16x9 view = fullscreen w/ little boarders - (on widescreen tv)
* 2.35 = standard 16x9 view = fullscreen w/ more boarders --- (on widescreen tv)

-vhelp 3328

[SaqibSaab]

Okay, with Abode After Effects I can convert the 2.35:1 AVI file to an MPEG. As for how I shot the video clip, I shot it in a standard 4:3 mode with taped matte guides for a 2.35:1 picture. So it's not a 720x480 file with an Anamorphic setting, those are annoying.

Should I convert the AVIs (which are 480×204) to MPEG (720×480)?