Using minDV camcorder, want to convert to 16x9???

[g-well]

I am recording home movies in widescreen on my miniDV (Sony DCR-PC9) when I capture this to my hardrive it is just a tall 4x3. I am using Pinnacle studio 8 to capture and it says it is 720x480. I want to put these videos on DVD-R's, but when I do that it stays as a tall 4x3. If I use TMPGenc and tell it I want 16x9/525 lines of resolution, it still won't import into DVDit PE because it says it is 4x3 and I am trying to make a 16x9 video. How do I go about covnerting this 4x3 to 16x9 so my movies will look normal? Thanks.

[thenraja]

In a similar situation, in TMPGEnc Advanced Tab, I selected 'Full Screen (Keep aspect ratio 2)' under "Video Arrange Method" and I got my output as 16x9. Hope this helps.

[g-well]

Well, I can make it 4x3 with letterbox, but is there anyway I can make it straight 16x9 so that I can import into DVDit PE as a 16x9 video? thanks for your help man, I learned quite a bit by trying every one of the aspect ratios though.

[tonyp12]

Are you sure your Sony has true widescreen?


If it does not, you can just as well use regular 4x3 mode and do the cropping later when you do the encoding.

Be warned, however, that digital camcorders are using a FAKE widescreen function. Rather than genuinely give more information on the sides, like some analog 8mm camcorders do, the 16:9 "wide" function of all digital video (miniDV) camcorders actually cuts off the top and bottom of the screen and then stretches it vertically! ALthough you get an anamorphically compressed image, you are NOT reaping the benefits of true widescreen. Instead you are only getting a cropped-and-stretched, faux-widescreen format even though this fuction is advertised (illegally, I believe) as "wide".

Adapter lenses cost between $320-699

Or get the Sony DCR-VX2000 Mini DV Camcorder for $2600

[King Dick]

I must agree with the post from Tonyp12, and especially the quotation that was included. Both the Sony VX1000 and VX2000 produce proper anamorphic wide-screen including the code inserted during the vertical back-porch saying what it is. There is also a model from Canon with same features, I believe XL 2.

[energy80s]

Most camcorders these days do record 16:9 as true anamorphic. I just bought a little Canon mv500i for £439 from France (£579 in Dixons in the UK!!) and even it does true anamorphic shots.

To keep the 16:9 anamorphic ratio in your re-encodes, just set the input aspect ratio in TMPG to 4:3 display and output ratio to 4:3 "keep aspect ratio 2". This will give you the 16:9 image in a 4:3 box (tall and thin, rather than letterboxed) ... just like commercial DVDs.

[tonyp12]

But not in TRUE WIDESCREEN quility.

In most DV camcorders the CCD is square in a 4:3 format.

If you shoot in 4:3 mode, it uses all pixels on this CCD.

In 16:9 mode it only use 2/3 of the pixels as it cuts of
the top and the bottom to make it widescreen.


In a true widescreen camera the CCD is wide (with more pixels)
and in 16:9 mode it uses all the pixels.
in 4:3 mode it only uses a square part in the middle.