Quote: Hi all... I have a question, and am a bit embarrased to ask it, but this has me stumped.

Been using PD for 3 years, but have never had to burn to a DVD. Today I tired it and it didn't come out so well. The project is in 1080, 16:9, and when produced on a DVD the vertical height is OK, but the left and right edges are cropped. When viewed on a computer, rather than a DVD player hooked up to a HD TV, it seems to play fine... sometimes. Is there a way a 16:9 can be burned to a DVD and maintaim the aspect ratio even if it has to be "letterboxed" (the black bits top and bottom that allow for that aspect ratio to work)? I know DVD players for TV's aren't all the same, but is there a setting that will consistantly work with the majority of them? Should I be using a lower resolution? Is there a "magic button" setting to make all this work out and save me from myself?

I'm stumped - so any guidance as to produce settings or "tricks" would be greatly appreciated!

Older standalone dvd players usually have settings like full screen, 16x9, and letterbox. There are users on this forum that claim that there are no settings on their dvd players for 16x9 or letterbox. The created dvd they claim works on friends and neighbor’s dvd player and tv just fine. I don’t have a working player that old hooked up to test. The answer obviously is to buy a new player to replace the older one.

I have always had to make the correct settings in both the standalone dvd player and on the tv to make the video show properly like everyone else. There is no magic setting that I know of.

Let us know if this helps.

Try the TV settings.
If that doesn't make it work as intended then we can pursue more info and surely get you straightened out. A successful burn is a good sign at least. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Thanks guys! I tried again, using the "burn to DVD" or something like that tab in PD14. After messing about, it did give me the option of 16:9 (amongst other things), loaded a couple more projects into it; hit burn and had a beer. Now after about an hour I have a DVD. On the first pass, it seems to work! I tested it in my computer and a DVD player and so far so good. I may have solved my own problem but I'm not sure how I did it! The quality isn't really that good - but I guess DVD's aren't 1080 native (except blue ray) so I'm pretty sure it knocked the resolution down to? What? 480ish or maybe less?? But at least it seems to be functioning!

Hi Barry,
You seem to have cracked DVD production in PDR14. I've had mixed results (quality) so would appreciate some advice.
What PDR14 settings would you recommend for a 1080/25p project that I want to produce DVDs and BluRay for best quality? (I'm using Verbatim DVD-R and BD-R discs). I'm wasting a lot of discs experimenting with various settings and don't need any more coasters!
Thanks
Al Power Director 13&14 Ultimate, Photo Director 6, Audio Dir, Pwr2Go 10
Win 10 64, Intel MB DH87MC, Intel i5-4670 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 16Gb DDR3 1600, 128Gb SSD, 2x1Tb WDBlue 7200rpmSATA6, Intel 4600 GPU, Gigabyte G1 GTX960 4GB, LG BluRay Writer

Well, AlS, I dunno if I cracked anything but I can certainly reduce the number of DVDs and BlueRays you ruin.
When making a normal NTSC DVD or BlueRay I always burn/render the project to a file first, this reduces the strain on your system that occurs when a computer is doing the render and the burn at the same time.
Take your newly minted file and create your disc project.
Next, after you get your menu, etc all setup, you can "burn" your project several ways...
1. Create an ISO and then play it with ISO playing software to look for errors and quality.
2. Create a FOLDER structure which gives you a Folder with two more folders inside (Video, and Audio). Please note the Audio folder will always be empty, but the folder itself is needed by most players. Test the folder structure to look for errors and quality.
BOTH of these methods can then be burned to a disc for viewing pleasure. I use Power2Go, but there is freeware that will do it also.
For my initial burns I use a rewritable DVD or a rewritable BlueRay disc so I can test again to be sure all is well. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Thanks Barry
My projects are 1080/25p (PAL)
What file format do you produce for DVD and for Bluray ie AVC, MTS, etc??? What framerate?
What settings do you use for each? Do you use custom settings for bitrate etc.
Do you re-import the files into PDR14 Create Disc to create the menu and create ISOs?

I do create ISOs from Burn Disc and use the ISOs to burn discs with Win10.

I have Power2Go 10 but it won't burn BluRay video DVDs from files - only normal DVDs. It can burn BluRay data discs but not video. Can't believe Cyberlink expect people to buy P2Go when even freeware does both. It sucks.

Thanks Again,
Al Power Director 13&14 Ultimate, Photo Director 6, Audio Dir, Pwr2Go 10
Win 10 64, Intel MB DH87MC, Intel i5-4670 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 16Gb DDR3 1600, 128Gb SSD, 2x1Tb WDBlue 7200rpmSATA6, Intel 4600 GPU, Gigabyte G1 GTX960 4GB, LG BluRay Writer

I produce to what the DVD-BR standard is that I have chosen.
For DVD projects I always produce to MPEG2 DVD HQ.
For BR, I rarely use it, but it's the bottom (best) profile in MPEG2. This way there is less, or no encoding in the disc-making process.
Power2Go can burn BlueRay as part of a DATA disc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrfVYjnaXoE

For the BR disc, though, you need to actually create a Folder structure first, I do not think you can go straight from a media file. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT