VideoStudio 9.0 - Please Help with 16:9 Aspect Ratio

viji · Post by **viji** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 12:33 pm

Has anyone encountered problems in creating DVDs with 16:9 aspect ratios with VideoStusio 9.0?

I have a Sony DCR-DVD403 Camcorder which shoots video in 16:9 format. When I finalize the disc on the camcorder and play the mini-disc directly on my DVD player, the video is displayed in 16:9 format. So, I am 100% sure that there is no problem with the source material.

I extracted the MPEGs from the finalized disc using "Import from DVD/DVD-VR" option in VideoStudio 9.0, edited them and rendered them to a regular sized DVD and played it back. It does not preserve the 16:9 aspect ratio.

I have diligetnly read the instructions under the post "PLEASE READ RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE FOR USING VIDEO STUDIO" in this forum and have made sure that the display properties of the project (File -> Project Properties) are set to DVD-NTSC, 16:9 at every step of the way during the editing stage. I saved the edited projects as *.VSP files.

To create the final disc, I used the "Create Disc" wizard in VideoStudio and imported the *.VSP files with the "Add VideoStudio Project" option. The dialog box that pops up when you select "Create Disc" has a small cog-like icon which displays the properties used during the creation/rendition phase. I made sure that it displayed 16:9 as well.

Could anyone please tell me what might be going wrong?

Thanks a lot
Viji.

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 1:27 pm

When you use the Import From DVD function, is it showing as 16:9, or 4:3

jchunter · Post by **jchunter** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 2:18 pm

viji,
I have been creating 16:9 videos using VS9 with no problems.

You are probably failing because you are NOT following the Recommended Procedure. This procedure tells you to use Share/"Create Video File" when you are finished editing. It tells you how to control the Video File properties. When burning the DVD, it tells you to start a new project, then use "Add Video File". etc. etc. Don't ever use SHARE/"Add Project"
John

viji · Post by **viji** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 11:32 pm

jchunter wrote: I have been creating 16:9 videos using VS9 with no problems.

You are probably failing because you are NOT following the Recommended Procedure. John

Well, I *AM* following every step as mentioned in the Recommened Procedure.

As GeorgeW has suggested, I checked on the properties of the imported video clips that appear in video library. It looks like they have been imported with an aspect ratio of 4:3. Now, could someone tell me why this is happening? As I mentioned before, I am 100% sure that the video has been recorded in 16:9 aspect ratio by the camcorder becuase when I finalize the min-disc and play it on my DVD player, it is played back in the 16:9 aspect ratio.

While using the "Import from DVD/DVD-VR" option, I made sure that the "Display Aspect Ratio" that appears under the "General" tab when you edit "Project Properties" was set to 16:9. I tried importing the videos again, and they continue to appear as 4:3 aspect ratio after the import. Could someone please tell me what I am doing wrong in the import step?

Thanks,
Viji

THoff · Post by **THoff** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 11:45 pm

What happens when you play the DVD using Windows Media Player? It can also display the aspect ration by displaying the file properties.

Trevor Andrew · Post by **Trevor Andrew** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:04 pm

Hi viji

Importing the dvd using Import from DVD/DVD-VR

From the Import Dvd Window:-

When I select the first title, I can view the info window below.
This indicates that my Attributes are 24 bits,720 x 576, 16:9
If you see 4:3 at this point then the dvd is NOT widescreen.

What properties do you see?

I select the chapters, then press import.
It took approx 5 minutes to import a 30 minute dvd.

The clips were loaded to the time line, my project properties changed to match the first clip.
And showed as 24 bits,720 x 576, 16:9

The preview screen looked like a widescreen format, as it should.

I right click on a clip in the time line to confirm that I have 16:9.

Trevor

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:54 pm

Hi,

Check your camcorder's manual and the cam's setup screen.
You can usually record 16:9 in 2 different methods.

LetterBox - This is actually 4:3 aspect ratio.
16:9 - True 16:9.

The reason for the letterbox is that is the setting you would use for
playing back on a 4:3 display.

A hint when the picture aspect ratio is 16:9 when viewed on a 4:3 display
the picturre will be streched verically.

Dvd players and wide-screen tv's will convert these aspect ratios so
many times one doesn't realize it's actually a 4:3 ratio, or vice versus.

No problem with the existing material. Just use VideoStudio with the
4:3 aspect ratio (normal setup).

MD

hansolo · Post by **hansolo** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 9:04 pm

I had the same problem with my Sony DCR-DVD403 , when I use the DVD import function of VS9 the pictures are in 4/3 letter box format.

To have the right format (16/9), I import video on hard disk with Picture Package DVD Viewer (sony tool) directly from camcorder. The mpg file is correctly flagged in 16/9 format and is correctly viewed under VS9.

Yves

viji · Post by **viji** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:02 pm

trevor andrew wrote:Hi viji

Importing the dvd using Import from DVD/DVD-VR

From the Import Dvd Window:-

When I select the first title, I can view the info window below.
This indicates that my Attributes are 24 bits,720 x 576, 16:9
If you see 4:3 at this point then the dvd is NOT widescreen.

What properties do you see?

Trevor,

The "Import DVD" window (the one that pops up after I select "Import from DVD/DVD-R" and point it to the VIDEO_TS folder on the finalized disc) displays the list of all "Titles" in the disc and "Chapters" under each Title. When I select a Title, then in the "Info" box that appears at the bottom of the "Import DVD" window, the following information (I have omitted some of the stuff that is not relevant) is displayed

Attribute: 24 Bits, 720x480, 16:9
Frame rate: 29.970 Frames/sec
Data rate: Variable bit rate (MAX 9100 kbps)

What is intriguing is that the pixel information, 720x480, translates to an aspect ratio of 1.5 as opposed to 1.7777 (16:9).
I wonder if this anomaly contributes to the weird behavior.
Viji

THoff · Post by **THoff** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:14 pm

DV and Full D1 DVD are always 720x480 (for NTSC), regardless of whether it is 4:3 or 16:9. The difference is in the pixel aspect ratio -- the pixels aren't square, they are wider than they are tall. Widescreen video thus also shows less horizontal detail than non-widescreen video.

viji · Post by **viji** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:22 pm

maddrummer3301 wrote: Check your camcorder's manual and the cam's setup screen.
You can usually record 16:9 in 2 different methods.

LetterBox - This is actually 4:3 aspect ratio.
16:9 - True 16:9.

The reason for the letterbox is that is the setting you would use for
playing back on a 4:3 display.

MD,

I know for a fact that my camcorder, Sony DCR-DVD403, captures the video in true 16:9 format. It has a LCD screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio which makes it easy to verify if I am shooting in widescreen mode; the whole screen fills up.

Also, as I mentioned before, when I play it back using my HT system which has a 16:9 projector (Infocus ScreenPlay 7200), the image appears with the correct aspect ratio.

A hint when the picture aspect ratio is 16:9 when viewed on a 4:3 display
the picturre will be streched verically.

Actually, while I am in the "Import DVD" window and select the titles on the finalized mini-DVD, the preview screen displays them in 4:3 aspect ratio with the images stretched vertically and as I mentioned earlier the information about the video says that it is 16:9

Viji

viji · Post by **viji** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:28 pm

hansolo wrote: I had the same problem with my Sony DCR-DVD403 , when I use the DVD import function of VS9 the pictures are in 4/3 letter box format.

To have the right format (16/9), I import video on hard disk with Picture Package DVD Viewer (sony tool) directly from camcorder. The mpg file is correctly flagged in 16/9 format and is correctly viewed under VS9.

Yves

Yves,

Thanks for the information!
At long last, I have someone besides me on this forum who has encountered the same problem with the same camcorder/software combination.

I didn't bother installing the software that came with the tool becuase I wasn't sure if it was also going to install some drivers and mess up the computer. I fugured that finalizing the disc and importing the videos with VS9 would be the "cleanest" approach.

Could you please post the exact steps that you follow starting with the finalization of the disc on the camcorder?

I still think that this is a problem with VS9. It looks like the picture is in 16:9 aspect ratio all right. VS9 is missing some clues during the import phase.

Thanks again.
Viji

jchunter · Post by **jchunter** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 2:30 am

viji,
When I said you were not following the recommended procedure, I was responding to these words in your first post:
"To create the final disc, I used the "Create Disc" wizard in VideoStudio and imported the *.VSP files with the "Add VideoStudio Project" option."

The Add VideoStudio Project option has been frustrating users for several years. It is specifically discouraged in the procedure because because it introduces quite a few bugs in Video Studio.

Try rendering a video file first, manually setting the aspect ratio property to 16:9. Then burn the DVD using SHARE/"Add Video File", also manually setting the aspect ratio property to 16:9. An effective degugging step is to check the "Create Disk Image File" on the last screen of the burn sequence. That way you can check the aspect ratio in the computer.
John

hansolo · Post by **hansolo** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 7:31 am

Connect your SONY mini DVD camcorder to the computer (by USB cable) or put the mini DVD in your DVD ROM.

launch Picture Package DVD Viewer program (on the SONY'CD to install)

select the video to transfer (menu DVD, DVD HANDYCAM if you use camcorder or DVD, DVD ROM if you use DVD ROM) and press the button COPY TO HARD DISK (bottom in the right) (to select the destination, button OPTION before importing the first time)

Now the video is on your hard disk in MPG file. Quit Picture Package DVD Viewer, launch VS9, import the video and ork with it in 16:9 format.

Yves

hansolo · Post by **hansolo** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 7:32 am

Connect your SONY mini DVD camcorder to the computer (by USB cable) or put the mini DVD in your DVD ROM.

launch Picture Package DVD Viewer program (on the SONY'CD to install)

select the video to transfer (menu DVD, DVD HANDYCAM if you use camcorder or DVD, DVD ROM if you use DVD ROM) and press the button COPY TO HARD DISK (bottom in the right) (to select the destination, button OPTION before importing the first time)

Now the video is on your hard disk in MPG file. Quit Picture Package DVD Viewer, launch VS9, import the video and ork with it in 16:9 format.

Yves