Picture size in vegas 6

[maloricsdad]

I am trying to render a holiday video to dvd.
i am using vegas 6 for editing and dvd architest 2 for authouring.
my problem is that the edited file is 720x480x32 29.970 fps
I want to render to PAL widescreen.
everytime i render i get a smaller picture - i.e. full height but very narrow or short height but still narrow.
I have tried all the presets for rendering but no good.
surely when i select the PAL widescreen preset - I should get a picture that will fill a widescreen PAL T.V.
not a smaller picture with black borders all around. (the original video file has small black borders down each side)
or am i more stupid than I thought? (this is quite possible)
Thanks in advance for any help.

[guns1inger]

There is the project (File->Project Settings) and the Render settings. If your original footage is 4:3 then selecting a widescreen template will not crop the image, just make it fit - the result is a pillarboxed image - one that had bars up the sides. If you want a 4:3 image to fill a 16:9 frame you either have to crop and resize, or squash and distort.

If your footage is 16:9, but not tagged as such, you can change the clip properties, on a clip by clip basis, to stop it changing with the project settings.

Without knowing exactly how you have your project set up, what type of footage you have, and what your output settings are, it is hard to give specific answers.

[maloricsdad]

THANK YOU !!!!

At last using the info you gave me i got is sorted.

once it was explained it was easy.

Unfortunately i am one of these people that hates reading instruction manuals and even when i do I never take it all in and i just skip through it.

but you got it done

Thank you again

[guns1inger]

Which bit actually solved your problem, out of curiosity ?

[maloricsdad]

a combination of 2 bits

I didnt relise that the properties under the file menu acually did anything i thought it was just for info.

then i didnt know about the crop facility.
like i said i am useless at reading instructions, i just tend to get on with it and learn by mistakes.

cheers