DV to .mov mpeg-4

[lkearl]

What aspect ratio should I use to save DV footage (from a camcorder) compressed using the .mov mpeg-4 preset so that I could burn it to DVD or import into iMovie for use later if I'd like? I'm compressing to save hard drive space but want to ensure the footage is still usable in iMovie, FCE, or iDVD and would look correct on a TV.

I know the DV footage is 720x480 (so 3:2) but that when burned to DVD this becomes fullscreen on a 4:3 TV. So should I use as aspect ratio of 640x480 (4:3) or 720x480 (3:2) when compressing the DV footage?

Thanks,

[lkearl]

An addition to my question above: would clips captured from a DVD (using DVDxDV) require different settings? Since my question above I've tested two DV clips...one from my camcorder and one a short excerpt from a DVD.

I compressed both using a 4:3 and 3:2 aspect ratio and then made an iDVD project with both versions of both clips and then previewed the iDVD project on the computer (I haven't made a DVD to watch on TV). The one from my camcorder looked correct with the 4:3 aspect ratio but the one from the DVD looked correct with the 3:2 aspect ratio (but put letterbox style black bars at the top and bottom).

The 4:3 aspect ratio DVD excerpt looked like the faces were too narrow. The 3:2 aspect ratio camcorder clip looked like the faces were too wide. I would have thought that since they were both DV just from different sources that they both would have looked correct with the same aspect ratio settings.

So I'm thinking that for clips captured by my camcorder I should compress the 720x480 clip at 640x480 (4:3) while excerpts from DVDs I should compress the 720x480 clip at 720x480 (3:2). I would appreciate feedback confirming or correcting my conclusion.

A second question, should I select the "deinterlace" option on the Filters tab, or could I just open the converted movie in Quicktime Pro, open the movie properties dialogue, and then select the "deinterlace" button on the Visual Settings tab? Or can I just ignore the issue of deinterlace. Again, my goal is that these compressed clips could be used later in iMovie, FCE, and/or iDVD. Thanks.

[major]

What aspect ratio should I use to save DV footage (from a camcorder) compressed using the .mov mpeg-4 preset so that I could burn it to DVD or import into iMovie for use later if I'd like?

This is mostly depending on how iMovie deals with output aspect ratios. Some testing should be required to find that.

A second question, should I select the "deinterlace" option on the Filters tab.

Yes if the source is DV (mov mpeg-4 does not support interlaced encoding). No if the source is a not interlaced DVD.