Resolution vs. Aspect Ratio in Preview

jerrys

Senior Contributor Location: New Britain, CT, USA (between New York and Boston) Joined: Feb 10, 2010 21:36 Messages: 1038 Offline

Solved by

Nov 12, 2011 23:36

I don't know if I'm over-thinking this, under-thinking this, or just not thinking at all; but I might have found a bug in the preview function of the Create Disc tab.

Up until now I've worked with 640x480 material and produced 4:3 projects. I never noticed any problems with that combination, but perhaps I wasn't paying enough attention.

Tonight I was using 960x720 stills, which are still 4:3, but I ran into a host of issues. I produced my project as usual, with the standard DVD HQ NTSC profile. That profile is 720x480, something I never noticed before; the aspect ratio is therefore 15:10.

Before actually burning my 4:3 DVD, I hit the preview button on the Create Disc tab. My monitor is 1920x1200, which is an aspect ratio of 16:10. The optimal way of displaying a 4:3 image on a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1200 is to show it as 1600x1200. That preserves the 4:3 aspect ratio while maximizing the amount of real estate used.

The preview button on the Create Disc tab did not do that. It stretched the image, forcing it into the 16:10 and filling the screen. Everybody had a somewhat pudgy appearance.

Playing the produced video in Windows Media Player displayed it properly. Jerry Schwartz

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Nov 13, 2011 08:38

Is that a GoPro camera?

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/18559.page

Odd aspect ratios causes strange effects in Powerdirector.
Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

jerrys

Senior Contributor Location: New Britain, CT, USA (between New York and Boston) Joined: Feb 10, 2010 21:36 Messages: 1038 Offline

Nov 13, 2011 19:47

Quote: Is that a GoPro camera?

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/18559.page

Odd aspect ratios causes strange effects in Powerdirector.

These were stills taken by someone else with a digital SLR and then posted on Facebook. I sucked them off Facebook (with permission, of course, they're family photos) and put them into PD to make a slideshow (by hand, not with the magic whatevers).

They were all 960x720 JPEGs, 4:3; so the aspect ratio should have been fine.

I did crop some of them in PD, but I'm not sure exactly what that does to the aspect ratio. Since you don't wind up with black borders, I'm guessing that when you crop a frame in PD it scales it up as best it can while preserving the aspect ratio.

I've attached a file that has everything you need to duplicate the problem. Produce_0 is the produced file (natch). PD itself and Windows Media Player will show it in 4:3, as expected. It's only when you hit "Preview" on the Create Disc tab that the aspect ratio is wrong.

By the way, the burnt disc comes out more or less fine (the stills are cropped a bit, probably because of that TV safe stuff). The aspect ratio is 4:3.

Filename	aspect_ratio.zip	Download
Description	Packed project and produced file
Filesize	43600 Kbytes
Downloaded:	401 time(s)

Jerry Schwartz

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Nov 13, 2011 22:22

Because I am using PD9, I could not use your pds file, so I can not test that part.

I did load all of your images into PD9 and applied a fade transition to all.
I did change my aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3 which is what you said you were using.

I viewed the slide show in the create disk preview, it looks correct on my computer and PD9.

It also looks correct in the PD edit preview.

Your Produce_0.mpg also looks correct. I played it in Windows Media Player 12.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Nov 13. 2011 22:28

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

jerrys

Senior Contributor Location: New Britain, CT, USA (between New York and Boston) Joined: Feb 10, 2010 21:36 Messages: 1038 Offline

Nov 14, 2011 16:32

Quote: I viewed the slide show in the create disk preview, it looks correct on my computer and PD9.

That's where it looks wrong on my system.

Quote: It also looks correct in the PD edit preview.

Your Produce_0.mpg also looks correct. I played it in Windows Media Player 12.

Same here.

Thanks. Jerry Schwartz

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Nov 14, 2011 18:31

What is the importance that the disk preview be correct?

What should be important is the finished product is correct.

You have said that the Burned DVD looks OK and the produced Video looks OK.

I have one PD 8 installation that the Disk preview does not work at all.

I just burn the disk folder and be done. The DVD always comes out OK.
Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

jerrys

Senior Contributor Location: New Britain, CT, USA (between New York and Boston) Joined: Feb 10, 2010 21:36 Messages: 1038 Offline

Nov 14, 2011 19:53

Quote: What is the importance that the disk preview be correct?

What should be important is the finished product is correct.

I have a lot less knowledge of these things than you do, and don't trust myself. For example, I don't understand how the DVD format can be 15:10 when the video on it is either 4:3 or 16:9.

Previews are my crutch. Jerry Schwartz

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Nov 14, 2011 22:04

Quote:

Quote: What is the importance that the disk preview be correct?

What should be important is the finished product is correct.

I have a lot less knowledge of these things than you do, and don't trust myself. For example, I don't understand how the DVD format can be 15:10 when the video on it is either 4:3 or 16:9.

Previews are my crutch.

You are referring to the fact that the resolution of a standard NTSC DVD is 720x480. Which is a 15:10 ratio.

It has to do with Analog Television scanning, blanking and synchronizing. A analog TV signal is 525 lines. Which only 480 lines are actually visible. The other 45 lines are blanking and synchronizing lines.

It is the standard defined by the National Television System Committee. (NTSC)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTSC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD-Video
Scroll down to Frame size and frame rate for the NTSC and PAL video sizes.

In short, it is the way it is.
In the NTSC system, a standard DVD is 720x480 pixels. In PAL countries the size is 720x576.
If it is any other size, it does not display correctly on a standard TV set.
Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

jerrys

Senior Contributor Location: New Britain, CT, USA (between New York and Boston) Joined: Feb 10, 2010 21:36 Messages: 1038 Offline

Nov 15, 2011 12:26

Quote:

Quote: What is the importance that the disk preview be correct?

What should be important is the finished product is correct.

I have a lot less knowledge of these things than you do, and don't trust myself. For example, I don't understand how the DVD format can be 15:10 when the video on it is either 4:3 or 16:9.

Previews are my crutch.

You are referring to the fact that the resolution of a standard NTSC DVD is 720x480. Which is a 15:10 ratio.

Right. When I have a moment (real life is pretty hectic right now), I'll look at the articles you referred me to. It bothers me that I don't understand the relationships.

Quote: It has to do with Analog Television scanning, blanking and synchronizing. A analog TV signal is 525 lines. Which only 480 lines are actually visible. The other 45 lines are blanking and synchronizing lines.

That, believe it or not, I knew. Back in the days when TVs were really analog (no turret tuners, with pots controlling the horizontal and vertical synch), I used to amuse myself by looking at those hidden lines.

Do I remember correctly that sometimes there was readable information in there? Jerry Schwartz

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Nov 15, 2011 17:30

Do I remember correctly that sometimes there was readable information in there?

The vertical blanking on field 1 contains the closed captions.
In the USA it is Line 21.

Just about every TV program broadcast today has closed captions.

Most TV capture cards have the ability to extract the Closed Captions.
Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

jerrys

Senior Contributor Location: New Britain, CT, USA (between New York and Boston) Joined: Feb 10, 2010 21:36 Messages: 1038 Offline

Nov 15, 2011 17:33

Quote:

Do I remember correctly that sometimes there was readable information in there?

The vertical blanking on field 1 contains the closed captions.
In the USA it is Line 21.

This was way before closed captioning -- or commercial color TV.

I probably imagined it. Jerry Schwartz