Keeping 16:9 aspect ratio when capturing with firewire

sheltiephil

Newbie Location: Tasmania, Australia Joined: Sep 29, 2012 09:31 Messages: 29 Offline

Solved by

Sep 30, 2012 07:56

Hi! When I capture from digital video camera using firewire, I can't change the preset from 4:3 to 16:9 aspect ratio until I right-click on the clip in the timeline. Then, even if I tick the box to apply to all clips I still have to change the aspect ratio for each individual clip. I have tried opening the editor, clicking on the Director's Chair icon/edit/aspect ratio, it reads 16:9 - then opening the capture interface. Here, there is no apparent option to set the aspect ratio. You can change other presets in the Profile for mpeg2 (though not avi). But widescreen is not an option. (The “Settings” button is greyed out too – I wonder why, and I wonder which settings might otherwise be available). The capture (of my 16:9 footage) occurs in 4:3 format. I open the editing interface. The clip appears in 4:3 format in the library. As said, I can only change the aspect ratio to 16:9 by right-clicking on the clip in the timeline, and have to do this repeatedly for each clip.

One way around this is to capture using Adobe Premiere Elements, then import the avi file from Windows Explorer into PowerDirector. This way, the original 16:9 ratio is preserved. But it shouldn't be necessary to capture using another manufacturer's program.

I like PowerDirector 8 Deluxe in a lot of other ways, especially hardware acceleration with my nVidia Geforce GT640 graphics card. Unlike Adobe Premiere Elements 10, PowerDirector 8 makes use of the 384 CUDA cores and other aspects of hardware acceleration in the graphics card. Premier Elements relies on the CPU graphics - which are advanced with the Intel i7 Ivy Bridge CPU in my computer, but I appreciate that dedicated discreet graphics come into their own with PowerDirector!

I've read about the aspect ratio problem with capturing in earlier forums from the period when PowerDirector 8 was released, and nobody had an answer or a workaround enabling the pre-setting of the 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. Does anybody think there will be an Update? I know Cyberlink would like me to buy the latest release of PowerDirector, but I wouldn't consider it if I thought this shortcoming had not been overcome. I will soon purchase a HD camera with flash memory etc, but I should be able to continue capturing from my beautiful 3MOS Panasonic (with viewfinder) - in 16:9 widescreen format. Can anyone tell me if this is possible with PowerDirector 8 Deluxe – with fixes, workarounds or otherwise?

Regards, Phil

Carl312

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

Sep 30, 2012 12:39

Do I think there will be an update for PD 8 and 16:9 capture?

No, I do not think there will be an update for PD8. And I doubt there will be anything further on 16:9 capture for what is essentially an obsolete camera.

Cameras now create H.264 video and are easy to transfer to the computer simply by using a Card Reader to read the camera's memory card.

The best way to get 16:9 is to use the camera software if any. Or another software that will capture from the camera and store a file on the computer.

You do not have to use Powerdirector for everything. You use what is needed for the job.

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.

Fenman

Senior Contributor Location: Cambridge, UK Joined: Nov 24, 2011 04:44 Messages: 731 Offline

Sep 30, 2012 16:34

I totally agree with Carl. Last year I bought a 3MOS Panasonic HD cam (with viewfinder - getting more difficult to find these days) and I use the software supplied with it to download the SD card footage from the cam to the PC via the USB port and then import it into PD. In fact I only use PD for the 'Edit' and 'Produce' steps and employ other applications to author and burn the DVDs.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sep 30. 2012 16:35

Regards,
Mike

Home-build system:
Intel Core i5 Quad Core 3.3GHz, 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333MHz,
Asus Nvidia GT440 1GB, 2 x Western Digital WD10EARS 1TB, 1 x Seagate ST1000DM010 1TB,
Windows 7 Prof 64-bit, PD 9 Ultra 64, PD 13 Ultimate 64

GoPokes

Member Location: NE Oklahoma Joined: Jun 04, 2011 10:33 Messages: 80 Offline

Oct 09, 2012 22:38

Carl, I had a Sony that was firewire. The vies was set up in the camera.

Shel, do you don't have that capibility in the camera. Or is it to old and only does the 4{3 sprru fpr aslomg tje ?. If you given the anwser already in your post. eyes are not good tonight and your post was longer than I could read. Amature does it till he gets it right. A Pro does it till he can't get it wrong.