VS12 Output Ratio 16:9

altzone · Post by **altzone** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:14 pm

Hi
I'm using VS12 and am trying to output a 16:9 video file (MP4 or FLASH etc) to upload onto YouTube.
My source material comes from a Canon MV800i camera that has a "fake" 16:9 mode. i.e. it shoots the footage with the black bars top and bottom in 720x576 PAL.
When I use VS12 to output this to MPEG2 it seems to work just fine and creates a 16:9 I can play back onto my widescreen TV etc. But when I output to another format like MP4 it is 4:3 mode with the black bars. Obviously this is not optimum for YouTube as it adds additional black bars on all sides:
http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube ... 2&hl=en-US

If I adjust the output ratio manually to 16:9 my video is shape is distorted.

Anyone know how to create a true 16:9 video output file for upload to YouTube?
Perhaps strip the black bars from my source material first?, or is there a way to do this in VS12?

Thanks
Dave.

altzone · Post by **altzone** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 2:02 am

I've managed to get it working (sort of) now, with the help of another thread and website link.
I had to move all the video clips to the overlay track and then set the "Keep Ratio" and "Fit to screen" options for each clip. (is there an easier way?)
Then if I generate a 16:9 output size (720x405) FLV file - bingo I get the correct formatting on YouTube.
The only problem is the FLV video compression is too high and the quality is not very good. Is there another output format I can use that I can manually set to 16:9 (i.e. 720 x 405)? The ones I've tried don't seem to allow custom sizes.

Thanks
Dave.

Black Lab · Post by **Black Lab** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 4:04 am

Since YouTube re-encodes the video, it's best to give them the least compressed format you can. The last few that I have uploaded look pretty good, IMHO (see my link below). They were simply MPEG-2 files at 720 x 480, 7000kbps.

Post by **Ron P.** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 6:07 am

Have you tried WMV format? You can customize the profiles so that you can export it to a 16:9. To do this instead of selecting Create>Video File>WMV..., you select Custom, then in the Save as File type drop-down menu, select WMV. Next press the Options button and go to the profiles tab. You will need to Copy one of the existing profiles, giving it a new name, then you Edit it, providing whatever customizations you want..

btconet · Post by **btconet** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 2:54 am

I'm in something of the same fix, using VS Pro X2 with a new Sony T500 that outputs 720p files in 16:9.

The one bizarre problem I'm encountering is the complete inability to add custom resolutions in the WMV format using the CUSTOM menu. The best offering is a lousy 320x240 to start with with no way to select ones own resolution. Any ideas?

In the meantime, I've experimented with a couple of alternatives on a short video with lots of effects and motion to try to test the best output formats:

This is a MOV file exported from the custom menu at your resolution of 720x405, with 75% quality. The file size wound up being reasonable length, at 35.3MB for the 53 second movie. The quality came out VERY nicely to my way of looking at it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C8lGMFDjTk

I also tried exporting an FLV file from the Custom Menu, using the 2 Quality Level, and the maximum 1000 KBpS bit rate, again at your 720x405 resolution. The resulting file was a mere 11.0 MB, so it uploaded quickly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7wfWSr2tZs

A freeze frame comparsion is here (Zero Compression JPEG):
http://www.btco.net/photos/compmovandflv.jpg

Looking at and comparing freeze frames of the two versions, the Quicktime export is definitely clearer, (note how the car number is easier to read)but I'm not certain if the quality is worth waiting three times as long for uploading.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:41 am

Have you installed the Windows Media Encoder Series 9? You can get it here http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... fault.mspx That expands the wmv formats available and includes high definition.

btconet · Post by **btconet** » Sat May 02, 2009 3:15 pm

Thanks for the link, but I'm working with Vista, and the degree of workarounds and other such cautions listed for Vista users quite frankly makes me a tad nervous about installing this.

I no big fan of Quicktime, but will readily admit that I'm appreciative of being able to customize the output resolution with X2 in the mov format. The need to move all the elements to the overlay tracks in order to get it to render properly does strike me as pretty odd, but at least it works in the end.

If anyone likes the effects on my samples above (done entirely in X2), I'd be glad to post a tutorial.

Post by **Ron P.** » Sat May 02, 2009 3:34 pm

The WMV Encoder 9 Series does not come with Vista, however it works fine with it. I have it installed on my Compaq Laptop running Vista HP. To edit or create any WMV Profiles you'll need to change the permissions on the Folder containing the profiles to allow you to do so. One of Vista's overly aggressive protections.

Those effects do look nice, and I agree that the QT format does produce a video more clear. I think the QT (MOV) encoder is better quality than what VS provides for FLV. However this is the first version that Corel has released allowing rendering to FLV, so maybe they'll work on it, but I wouldn't hold my breath..

I've got a good idea on how you created those effects, but I play around with this sort of thing, trying to reproduce effects that are sold in some effects packages. It would be great if you would do a tutorial on this. We would gladly add it to our Tutorials Section..

Black Lab · Post by **Black Lab** » Sat May 02, 2009 5:07 pm

Very cool effect.

btconet · Post by **btconet** » Mon May 04, 2009 12:07 am

I made a rather concise tutorial...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmyZ6LMSYXU&fmt=18

It helps if you're familiar with the cropping filter as used to make a censor overlay, as can be found in the tutorials section here. In fact, it was that very tutorial of Steve's that inspired me to ponder other ways to use the same filter in creative ways, and this was one of the results.