Default 640X480.....why am I using 720X480???

[Tippytoes]

Have been capturing my analog camcorder tapes @ 720X480 frame size, rendering and burning to DVD using Ulead 7.0 SE. (Must have read that this is the preferable size.)

Suddenly realized, the default is 640X480.

All has been fine, BUT wondering why I should not be capturing in 640X480 as that appears to be closer to size being viewed on TV (and the default).....unless I am missing something somewhere.

If that is so, then I would be saving space on my HDD, smaller files, less rendering time, etc., etc. But would that be the smart thing to do?

If so, why? And if NOT so, why not?

Really am curious about this.

Tippy..................

[DVDDoug]

640x480 is NOT allowed per the DVD spec! If you capture at that resolution, Video Studio will convert it to 720x480 when you make a DVD.

There is a chart on this page that shows the valid DVD resolutions, bitrates, audio formats, etc.

[Ken Berry]

That's a useful page, Doug. I suspect, though, that there could be a polemic about the statement in it that "Bad authoring encoders include DVDit!, DVD Workshop, NeoDVD, MyDVD, and several other Ulead products, just to name a few." Mind you, I wholeheartedly agree with the tenor of the paragraph in which that sentence is found, namely that it is definitely not good practice to encode video at the authoring stage. And of course, as you know, that is at the heart of our recommended procedures anyway: to produce a DVD compliant mpeg-2 *before* ever moving to the authoring/burning stage.

I might also note that the table of figures to which you actually referred is slightly misleading in the audio section when it states generally that mpeg layer 2 audio is not part of the DVD standard period. However, in the commentary which follows, it corrects this by noting that it is not part of the NTSC DVD standard, though most modern NTSC stand-alone DVD players will in fact play it. It is, of course, part of the PAL DVD standard.

I must say, more generally, that this whole thing about 640 x 480 format is intriguing. I have been long mystified by the fact that there are both hardware and software out there which use it. I may be wrong, but I understand that some (all?) mini-DVD cameras use it as their native format. I am pretty certain this is the case at least with Sony mini-DVD cameras. Whether this is yet another use by Sony of proprietary hardware to force use of its proprietary software is a possibility here. But I have never been clear as to how a final video DVD would look on a TV screen if it actually used the 640 x 480 format...

[heinz-oz]

Your 720 x 480 indicates to me that you are in NTSC country, PAL would be 720 x 576.

I don't know where you take the notion from that 640 x 480 is the default, it may be in VS (I don't use it) but it wouldn't make sense since it is not DVD compliant. 640 x 480 is more used with web streaming, if I'm not mistaken.

If your intentions are to produce DVD and you start from DV-AVI source files, forget about this resolution.

[Tippytoes]

Whew!! I really thought someone was going to come down hard on me, as in the past. Thanks for the explanations and the link.

As for default, when I set the options for capturing in Ulead 9 Wizard, which is what I am using for the capture, there are several frame numbers listed and it has the following: "640X 480 (Default)" I kid you not!

That's when it hit me that in spite of all I had read and had been doing successfully, maybe I was in error. So I posted this question.

In doing research, it was very interesting to read all the explanations.....I DID do some research before posting, btw.

I do capture in AVI and try to keep one format all the way through....well, as far as possible. And do want to use what is compatible and not have to have any more changes made than necessary.........

Again, thanks.

Tippy.......................

[heinz-oz]

You are welcome tippy. Inspite of popular believe, we do not eat small children for breakfast or bite anyones head off who dares to bother us in our Ivory Tower

[geoffschultz]

I primarily shoot underwater stills on my Olympus C-8080, but I also shoot video when I see something that lends itself to motion. The format is a 640x480 QuickTime (.MOV) format file. I am extremely unhappy with the rendered video as from what I can see it's resampling the video to 720x480 which is causing a loss of definition and the introduction of artifacts.

Is there anyway to convert the video to 720x480 without resampling, such as a "letter box" that you see in high-definition TV? This would be 40 pixel black bars on either side of the 640 pixel video.

-- Geoff

[Black Lab]

I primarily shoot underwater stills on my Olympus C-8080, but I also shoot video when I see something that lends itself to motion. The format is a 640x480 QuickTime (.MOV) format file. I am extremely unhappy with the rendered video as from what I can see it's resampling the video to 720x480 which is causing a loss of definition and the introduction of artifacts.

Is there anyway to convert the video to 720x480 without resampling, such as a "letter box" that you see in high-definition TV? This would be 40 pixel black bars on either side of the 640 pixel video.

-- Geoff

While this is not an answer to your problem, it may be the root of your problem, and it's a great piece of advice:

In my view the camcorder will never replace the digital camera.
The digital camera will never replace the camcorder.
A mobile telephone will never replace either.

[geoffschultz]

The quality of the video is fine for my purposes. I can assure you that I'm not going to carry an underwater camera in housing w/dual strobes AND an underwater video camera w/lights!

The issue is that my video has good definition in the raw format, but I really don't like it when it gets coverted/re-sized. I would have no problems with it being "letterboxed".

Please see http://www.geoffschultz.org/Diving_Photos.html for examples. The videos are at the bottom of the page.

-- Geoff

[Ken Berry]

Wow. I am impressed. If you think those videos are poor quality, then I would love to see the originals!!!

But as for preserving your original size, I have no idea if this might work, but for your project properties, use the 'Same as first video' command which should preserve that size in the project stage. When you finish the editing, then render the file to a custom mpeg-2 with the same properties. (Actually, I just realise you do not say what you are first doing with your video: do you actually produce a standard DVD, or go direct to producing the WMV and DivX formats you use on your website?)

Anyway, assuming you are producing mpeg-2 first, then open a new project with the 'full size' (720 x 480) screen. Put your mpeg-2 in the overlay track and a black colour background panel for the entire length in the main video track. That way, you should have the sort of letter-box effect you mention when you render a fully DVD-compliant mpeg-2. A bit clunky as a work flow, but I think it should work. The only potential downside is that there could be some deterioration in quality in the double rendering.