4:3 recorded TV is squished when Exported....

[Alex]

Hi there,

I'm a complete newb when it comes to this stuff. I have some recorded TV shows in 4:3 MPEG 2 format at 720x480. I choose 4:3 upon Ulead startup and when I finish my editing, I choose Share and create a video file.

Now I'm interested in having a good quality, though compressed version of my work. If I try to export to AVI (through Divx) I find that the result leaves the left and right sides of the frame not quite reaching the full boundary of my TV. But the original file is shown just fine. Also if I choose the NTSC DVD 4:3 option (MPG), it doesn't have the problem either.

Whats going on? What do I need to do to get a good quality 1 hour show down to something less than 1.4 gigs?


Thanks for your help

[DVDDoug]

It sounds like a problem with the DivX CODEC. You might try using a 3rd-party CODEC to encode to DivX after you're done editing.

But, how are you playing DivX on your TV? (If you are using a DVD player that supports DivX, there could be a problem with the DVD player.) Does the DivX file play OK on your computer?

Whats going on? What do I need to do to get a good quality 1 hour show down to something less than 1.4 gigs?

What are you going to play it on?

The more compression you use, the more likely you are to have problems. But, if you need small files, you are on the right track with DivX. DivX is an MPEG-4 variation, and MPEG-4 is more "efficient" than MPEG-2. That is, for a given bitrate (file size) you get better quality with MPEG-4. But, I don't know exactly how MPEG-4 compares to MPEG-2. MOV and Xvid are also MPEG-4 variations.

Note that whenever you convert from one lossy compression to another lossy format (i.e. form MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or vice versa), there will be some theoretical quality loss due to the 2nd lossy encode step. The quality loss might not be noticeable depending on several factors, including the bitrate.

[Black Lab]

Also, make sure you have chosen 4:3 for the output settings. After you click Share>Create Video File check the little cog wheel icon in the lower left.

[Alex]

I am playing them back on my computer and also another computer acting as a media centre pc (which is hooked up to a 27" 4:3 TV)

You had mentioned a third party DivX codec, any you would recommend?

Thanks