4:3 Letterbox

Question

Level 1

8 points

4:3 Letterbox

I would like to create an SD DVD from a Quicktime file whose dimensions are 853 X 480 (the file was originally an HD sequence created in FCP). When I play the file in the "Simulator" it looks fine because the display mode has been set to 4:3 Letterbox. I would like to burn the DVD with that setting but after the burn it always comes out with an aspect ratio of 4:3 and much of the visual information is cut off. How can I burn a DVD with the 4:3 letterbox setting if that setting does not exist in preferences or anywhere else that I've looked?

PowerMac G5, Mac OS X (10.4.11), Dual 2 Ghz

Posted on May 10, 2008 2:42 PM

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Answer 1

Silal

Level 5

6,461 points

May 10, 2008 3:31 PM in response to Glenn Cooper

Wellcome to the forums!

You must set your track as *16:9 Letterbox*. Select your track and look for this property in the Inspector. This way the track will display letterboxed in 4:3 TVs and full screen in 16:9 ones.

Be aware that bad settings in the DVD Player and/or TV setup can override these configuration, but that's out of your control.

Hope that helps !

Alberto

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Answer 2

Glenn Cooper Author

Level 1

8 points

May 10, 2008 9:14 PM in response to Silal

Hi Alberto,

I tried your suggestion, selected the track, then selected 16:9 Letterbox in the inspector. However when I burned the DVD again, it came out as a 4:3 aspect ratio not 4:3 Letterbox. It seems that no matter what I select, it always comes out the same. Thanks anyway for responding to my inquiry.

Glenn

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Answer 3

Silal

Level 5

6,461 points

May 11, 2008 4:16 AM in response to Glenn Cooper

Hi

It seems you are encoding from inside DVDSP. Cehck in Preferences > Encoding >MPEG-2 SD options you have selected 16:9. If you encoded/build your project as 4:3 before, delete the MPEG files that DVDSP created.

Hope that helps !

Alberto

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Answer 4

May 12, 2008 8:22 AM in response to Glenn Cooper

Hi Glenn

Can't see this is ever going to work like this. SD is 720 x 480 in NTSC, and that's the only option you've got. A television can only play standard definition at this resolution. If you want to see an 853 x 480 image, you've got two options I can think of. Go back to FCP and crop the image to 720 x 480, or scale the image in the Motion tab so the full width of the picture can be seen (about 0.84?). You'll then be seeing it letterbox with black bars top and bottom, but at least you'll have full width.

Ian

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