Wrong Source Format 16:9 vs 4:3

[aluri]

I am trying to convert a .mod file to anything else really. When I bring in the .mod file the source format information is wrong. The file is 960x540 (16:9) but ffmpeg reads it as 720x480 (4:3). Is there a way to manually tell ffmpeg the correct source format information?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Case]

1/ The source aspect ratio isn't that important, as you can stretch it in the output settings (Video tab) to any size and aspect ratio that you want. Setting the Video Size to 960x540 would give you 960x540 output (e.g. AVI).

2/ As I understand it, .mod files are essentially MPEG-2 files from camcorders. Standard definition would be 720x480 (NTSC) natively, regardless of 4:3 or 16:9. High definition would be 720p at least. Your "960x540" number seems odd, as it is in between and neither common nor efficient (vertical resolution isn't divisible by 16 or even by 8). Please verify that resolution in MediaInfo Mac or VideoSpec. Also where did you get the "960x540" numbers? How do you know these numbers are more accurate than what ffmpegX reads from the file?
Some container formats (e.g. .mov, .mkv, .mp4) allow to set any arbitrary display resolution and/or aspect ratio, that may have very little to do with the native video resolution. Perhaps your file also has some custom display size?

[aluri]

Thanks for your comment. After checking the camera itself does say 720x480. When viewing the .mod file with 720x480 (16:9) it appeared squished, that is why that number did not seem correct to me. From my understanding, if you had 16:9 and saved it as 720x480, wouldn't that squish it?

I got the 960x540 from the file after I synced the camera to iMovie and directly saved.

I really want to simply take the .mod file and convert it to a usable format that retains the quality so that I can edit in Final Cut Express.

I am not a big fan of iMovie and don't want to lose quality from the original file. Do you have any suggestions?

[Case]

From my understanding, if you had 16:9 and saved it as 720x480, wouldn't that squish it?

Enter the concept of non-square pixels, that is: a pixel aspect ratio that isn't 1:1. This is used for many SD video standards based on tv playback, such as MPEG and DV.

See this image, that I made years ago, to illustrate what the use of rectangular pixels means.

I really want to simply take the .mod file and convert it to a usable format that retains the quality so that I can edit in Final Cut Express.

Convert to DV. It has the same resolution (Full D1 at 720x480) and aspect ratio choices (4:3 or 16:9) as MPEG-2, just like your .mod file.

Open your source file in ffmpegX, set the DV preset, in the Video tab set Autosize to 'DVD 16:9', encode.
DV output will be very large, because of the high bitrate, but movie editors like iMovie and Final Cut like it for not having temporal compression (all I-frames).

[aluri]

Case you have been very helpful, you've both solved my problem and furthered my understanding of video concepts.

Thanks for everything!