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Back to my original issue, I have a wide screen (16:9) HDTV, my existing (SD) DV AVI clips are 4:3, when I create my project I have not been selecting the 16:9 option (I just recently upgraded from VS 7SE to X2 Pro), the settings when I create my movie are also set to 4:3 and ditto when creating the DVD. The problem I have is that when I play the DVD on my HDTV it stretchs the picture, I then have to manually change the aspect ratio on the TV (from "Just") to 4:3, it then plays the DVD correctly with the pillor box effect (which I'm happy with). My question is what should I be doing with my project settings/create movie settings to ensure I don't have to manually change my TV's aspect ratio each time I play a DVD? I want to see my 4:3 movie on my 16:9 TV with the pillor box effect without my changing any of the TV's settings.

RickMen wrote:Back to my original issue, I have a wide screen (16:9) HDTV, my existing (SD) DV AVI clips are 4:3, when I create my project I have not been selecting the 16:9 option (I just recently upgraded from VS 7SE to X2 Pro), the settings when I create my movie are also set to 4:3 and ditto when creating the DVD. The problem I have is that when I play the DVD on my HDTV it stretchs the picture, I then have to manually change the aspect ratio on the TV (from "Just") to 4:3, it then plays the DVD correctly with the pillor box effect (which I'm happy with). My question is what should I be doing with my project settings/create movie settings to ensure I don't have to manually change my TV's aspect ratio each time I play a DVD? I want to see my 4:3 movie on my 16:9 TV with the pillor box effect without my changing any of the TV's settings.

Set your project settings to 16:9....keep using your 4:3 clips. When it comes to creating a video file choose the DVD 16:9 option and you will still get the pillar boxes but don;t have to change your TV settings

Clevo - and when it comes to creating the DVD do I select the 16:9 option from the cog wheel?

Also, this will work for new project, but what about my existing projects that I have already setup as 4:3, can I and how do I go back and change the settings to get the desired 16:9 result?

Yes...check the cog wheel option just to make dubly sure.

With your current projects...Best option would be to try dropping in the VSP file into a new 16:9 project. This should work and avoid an extra rendering step

or

Create a 4:3 video file to the same properties as your video clips then insert the new video file into a 16:9 project....then burn a 16:9 DVD

or

With your already created 4:3 video files start a new 16:9 project...go straight to the burning module. click on insert Media file, insert your 4:3 videofiles and check the cog wheel setting to 16:9

I also plan on getting a media streamer (hence no DVD required) how do I convert my existing 4:3 movies to 16:9? Do I use the 1st option you mentioned?

Yes...basically, what ever your choose in the create video file (your output) will be the final result.

Keep in mind though that this method converts 4:3 into 16:9 WITH the piller box (side bars). This is a method used to avoid changing your TV setting.

If you have the inclination and some time...experiment with short video clips keeping note of the different files and how it effects the outcomes.

If anything...you will learn some of the advanced features and power of VS and how you can use it as a video conversion tool.

I have just read this post and I am still a little confused about 4:3 projects for playing on a 16:9.

I had always,looks like incorrectly now ,assumed that 4:3 video should be rendered as 4:3 so that it plays back normally on a widescreen TV.

I thought that to render it as 16:9 would cause the TV to assume it was 16:9 and then stretch the picture with distortion to fit the screen.

In past projects when I had 4:3 and would render the project as 4:3 then ,as far as I remember ,my standard definition Sony widescreen TV would automatically change its screen settings to 4:3 and play it as 4:3 without any stretching and distortion.

HOWEVER I now also have access to a HD Sony Widescreen TV and now when I play my 4:3 rendered DVD containing 4:3 video it stretches it (as RickMen and Clevo say )and when I try to change the screen settings it says this option is not possible.

So my question is is there a difference in the way HD tv widescreen and standard tv widescreen detect and deal with 4:3 video.
(On the HDTV I am using a Playstation3 for playback -in case that is another variable)

Assuming that in the future ,I will never need to play them back on a 4:3 TV should, I play safe and always render 4:3 video as 16:9 ?

So my question is is there a difference in the way HD tv widescreen and standard tv widescreen detect and deal with 4:3 video.
(On the HDTV I am using a Playstation3 for playback -in case that is another variable)

I would think that a setting on the TV or the player would determine how the 4:3 video is displayed on a 16:9 screen.

I guess its depends on each one's equipment config. Each user's situation could be unique.

For me now, I play my clips via a USB WD media streamer to my HDTV and the media streamer detects the aspect settings for each clip and plays it accordingly on my HDTV without me needing to change any aspect settings on my HDTV.

Hi patflan

Check that the menu configuration on your TV and also your DVD player is set correctly.
Setting the aspect ratio to auto may be best.

Rendering 4:3 as 16:9.
You should render the video file to the same aspect ratio as your original source files.

If you add a 16:9 into a 4:3 project, VS will display the frame in the middle producing black borders top and bottom.
If you add a 4:3 into a 16:9 project will add the borders to the left and right.
In both cases the viewable frame will be smaller but should be in proportion and not distorted.

You can of course use the ¡¥distort¡¦ option, or overlay tracks, effectively changing the aspect ratio and filling the screen.