16:9 project saves image incorrectly

[DarrenD]

I have a 16:9 project with a field based 16:9 DV video source (my Canon MV600i camcorder set to record in 16:9 mode). I have created an MPG video file from the project that I will load into DVD Workshop. I also wanted to pick a few frames, right click and save image to JPG file for loading into Epson PrintCD so I can print the images and some titles onto the printable DVD surface.

My problem is that the pictures are coming out 720x576 squashed (everyone is tall and thin). It is obviously an aspect ratio problem but I can't figure out what settings to alter.

Thanks
Darren

[Gorf]

It's working exactly right - DVD resolution (for PAL) is 720x576 regardless of the aspect ratio.

You need to use decent image processing software (irfanview is free) to resize the resulting image to 1024x576. It has a batch processing mode if you need to do a lot of them.

Alternatively, use the image capture facility in your DVD playback software to save the images. That should get the aspect right.

[DarrenD]

OK thanks for that.

I have only just started to use my Canon MV600i camcorder in 16:9 mode (not sure if this is a pseudo mode or true 16:9) and have noticed that the recording seems blurry. I am not sure if it was a focusing issue or simply the 16:9 using the same number of dots as 4:3 but using larger rectangles. Personally I would prefer clearer pictures on 4:3 with black edges than blurred 16:9 with no black edges. It seems I need to play with my camcorder for a while to see if it was a bad recording or a real problem with this model.

Does anyone have any further input on this?
Thanks
Darren

[Gorf]

As I said, the DV format uses the same number of pixels when recording, for both available frame aspect ratios (D1 resolution - 720x576 for PAL). It is impossible to accommodate both aspect ratios using a single sensor without some sort of compromise or overkill, unless you go outside the camera.

Compromise
Typically, a cheap DV camera will use 4:3 aspect by default, and will crop the top and bottom off the frame to yield a 16:9 image. This is the worst way to do it because (apparently) the eye senses horizontal resolution the most. You lose pixel data in the crop, but the result still needs to fill D1 so the firmware will resample the cropped image back up - akin to digital zoom, and that's bad. It's why your 16:9 image is fuzzy

A better way would be to use a 16:9 sensor and crop left/right if 4:3 were needed. You're still losing pixel data, but at least it's in the areas where you won't notice as much.

Overkill
Internally, the best way to deal with it would be an oversize sensor, but even then you're losing data during the resample, because the pixels for the different D1 aspects have different shapes. To be able to do it without any loss would require a 1.2 gigapixel sensor.

Of course, there is a much cheaper way to do it:
Outside the camera
Use an anamorphic lens adapter. This would put the light on the sensor in the right place for the aspect ratio you want. The two downsides to this are that the DV codec will have the flag for 4:3 footage and the display in the viewfinder will look squashed.

[DarrenD]

Thanks for that technical description, it really does explain what I thought. I will now set my camcorder back to 4:3

Thanks
Darren