Hello All,

I PROMISE that I have tried to read and digest many, many messages that deal with the process of converting from AVI to MPEG-2 to NTSC DVD, and I still do not know if I understand the process. I am hoping that someone could check the math below and see if I have "got it".

Here are the details of my experiments:

Original source video format: AVI
Original Source Video Resolution: 640 X 480
Original Source Video Aspect Ratio: 640/480 = 1.333
Target format: DVD Compliant MPEG-2 (NTSC)
Target Video Resolution: 704 X 480
Target Device: NTSC with 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Now for the Math =============

True Physical Width of AVI Video = AVI Video Physical Height * MPEG's Display Aspect Ratio

True Physical Width of AVI Video = 480 * 1.333

True Physical Width of AVI Video = 640

--------
True Physical Height of AVI Video = True Physical Width of AVI Video / AVI Video Aspect Ratio

True Physical Height of AVI Video = 640 / 1.333

True Physical Height of AVI Video = 480

--------
Letterboxing = (DVD compliant HEIGHT - True Physical Height of AVI Video)/2

Letterboxing = (640 - 640)/2

Letterboxing = 0 on top and bottom

Are my calculations close? Totally off-base???

Thanks so much! Kat---