SONY DCR-PC110E PAL (video camera) 16:9 Aspect Ratio

Video_guy · Post by **Video_guy** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:02 pm

I have just started to experiment with the 16:9 aspect ratio on my SONY DCR-PC110E PAL video camera and although this particuler video camera has served me very well over the years I have noticed that the video output quality of the results edited in MSP8 and recorded to DVD using DVD movie factory 5 are not as good as when I use the standard 4:3 format. Does anyone know why this is?
I capture in video capture 8 using the standard 16:9 ratio AVI codec.
Edit the footage in MSP8 and create/convert into mpeg file using the standard pal dvd 16:9 template and then create DVD in DVD movie factory 5 using the standard pre set settings, and alltough everything works great and the 16:9 format is maintained throughout, the end result does seem to be grainey and blocky.

Chris.

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:20 pm

I don't think your cam shoots in true 16:9 mode, does it? When shooting in 16:9 mode, is this not 4:3 with a black zone top and bottom? If this is so, then the answer is obvious. You are using only 405 of the 576 vertical pixels for your actual pic, losing 30% of your vertical pic resolution..

Video_guy · Post by **Video_guy** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:30 pm

Thanks Devil

I think I remember reading what you have just explained in the sony manual, but after a long search i seem to have misplaced it, so could not check this out.

Thanks Again

Chris.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:57 pm

Your manual is available to download Here

Helge · Post by **Helge** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 7:56 pm

I am using the same camera model and since I still find my manual

, I can tell you that the sensor of this camcorder is able to create images (in image mode) of 1152 * 864. In video mode only 720 * 576 of these are used, the remaining serve for steady shot. (Steady shot works so great, that I had difficulties til now to test the image stabilizer of msp8 sp1).
There are also enough pixels to shoot true 16:9. (Simple calculation: 576 / 9 * 16 = 1024, which is less than 1152.) I hope at least that they are used this way since I create most of my videos in this mode. But in any case there has to be done some resampling, since these 1024 have to be mapped to 720.

The pixelation might also be introduced the way you view your video, e.g. pc monitors are not able to show 16:9 without resampling.

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:59 am

Helge wrote: There are also enough pixels to shoot true 16:9. (Simple calculation: 576 / 9 * 16 = 1024, which is less than 1152.) I hope at least that they are used this way since I create most of my videos in this mode. But in any case there has to be done some resampling, since these 1024 have to be mapped to 720.
The pixelation might also be introduced the way you view your video, e.g. pc monitors are not able to show 16:9 without resampling.

I'm no expert of Sony cams, but I think you will find it shoots 720 x 576 but the top and bottom 85 pixels are black on 16:9. I don't think it uses anamorphic technology, does it?

Gorf · Post by **Gorf** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 4:32 pm

Helge wrote:There are also enough pixels to shoot true 16:9. (Simple calculation: 576 / 9 * 16 = 1024, which is less than 1152.) I hope at least that they are used this way since I create most of my videos in this mode. But in any case there has to be done some resampling, since these 1024 have to be mapped to 720.

The only way to shoot 16:9 and 4:3 on the same camera, without any artefacting at all, is to use an anamorphic lens.

Even if you have a CCD as large as you say, you'll have to resize or resample the video down to get 4:3. Incidentally, your maths is flawed as the pixels are not square, so you can't just apply the mathematics as a straight ratio. The pixels aren't even the same shape for 16:9 vs 4:3, so you're hit by the double whammy.

rwernyei · Post by **rwernyei** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 8:26 pm

This link should help answer your questions about 16:9 shooting with a consumer cam:

http://www.maxent.org/video/16x9.html

Helge · Post by **Helge** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:54 pm

The 16:9 video is not letterboxed in the video. Of course at the viewfinder and build in monitor it is leterboxed, because its not possible to stretch the hardware.
The 1152 x 864 Image has format 4:3, so the pixels seem to be quadradic. Of course the formula I used is only a approximation just to check if its possible at all. I dont know how much pixels Sony uses to build one image of a video.
As I allready mentioned that there has to be done some resampling. But this has to be done in any case for every ccd-camera, since these sensors generate raw images where the pixels do not consist of 3 colors (unlike scanners).
Surely more expensive cameras can create videos with better resolution (e.g. modern hd cameras). But in most cases its the contents which counts.