DVD edges is trimmed on TV?!

dchoi · Post by **dchoi** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:14 am

For some reasons the edge of DVD (I used DVD-R, 4:3 NTSC) produced by default VideoStudio setting got trimmed when being displayed on TV. It was displayed ok from the preview or other player like PowerDVD. I noticed that there was the setting "TV Safe Area" being set to 10%. Reducing it made the yellow retangle enlarged and I thought it would fix the problem. However, the outcome was still the same when being displayed on the TV. Anyone has the idea how to fix the issue?

Post by **Ken Berry** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 1:03 am

I think you may be under a misapprehension. The yellow safe area box is to show the video which will always be safely shown on a TV when you play your video back. Anything outside the box will not be displayed. Increasing the size of the box will not increase the area which will play back on your TV. Most normal (or 'old style') TVs cannot show up to 10% around the edges of a video. This is because of the folded construction of a cathode ray tube. Some may cut off less than 10%. So increasing the size of the safe area box will only be useful -- though still only indicative -- if you have a TV which cuts off less than 10%.

As I understand it, plasma and other flat panel TVs will display 100% of your video -- though I could be wrong about that.

Anyway, the basic lesson is that when originally filming your video, you should always leave plenty of room around the edges of your shots to take into account the amount that will never show on your TV.

DVDDoug · Post by **DVDDoug** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 1:11 am

DVDDoug wrote:I have some bad news...

This is normal. TVs don't display the whole picture. It's called overscan. Some of the picture is cut-off on all 4 sides. This allows for some mis-adjustment of the TV, or "drift" as the TV warms-up, or distortion and roughness around the edges. The amount of overscan varies, depending on the TV, but it should be less than 10%. A better (or better adjusted) TV will have less overscan.

The area which should show-up on all TVs is called the safe area All of the titles must be inside the safe area.

When you change the "safe area", you are simply changing the safe area markers (what you consider to be the safe area for your particular set-up). Those markers are just a warning that you might not see what's outside of the square. For example, if you know your particular TV has a larger safe area, you can get away with placing your titles closer to the edge of the screen... Assuming that you will always be viewing the DVD on that particular TV.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 1:21 am

Just to add a footnote to Doug's last comment (which I should have included in my own). Even if you have an LCD or plasma TV of your own and it displays a lot more, or all, of your video, you can't assume that all of your friends and family will have such a TV. Some inevitably will have an older model which will cut off the edges of your video. So to be safe and cover the widest range of TVs your video may be played on, try to stay within the 'safe area' of the screen.

dchoi · Post by **dchoi** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:14 am

Thank you for the detailed explanation! Seems like there is no way to fix it on my TV

(even though it's 36" HD Flat Panel). So I have to avoid zooming to close in this future...

Post by **Ken Berry** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:32 am

Yes, that's the idea. And thanks for the information that you have a HD flat panel TV -- I assume it is plasma or LCD? If so, it is useful to know that even this type of TV will still not display the whole image...