Mary Frost
Level 1 (94 points)
Mac OS X

Q: iMovie project gets stretched in iDVD

I am using iMovie '09 and iDVD v7.1.2

 

I created an iMovie project which was made in 3:4 ration. (The project was a slideshow of still images with background music.)  I shared it via Media Browser.  I then created an iDVD project using "Revolution" theme, set to 4:3 ratio.

 

It plays correctly on my computer.  When the DVD is played via a DVD player to my Vizio flat screen TV, all of the images are stretched and distorted.

 

I have read the threads of this discussion but haven't found a solution.  My questions include:

 

1. How do I know if a theme is compatible to the 4:3 ratio?  All of the older themes are grayed out and not available.

 

2. One suggestion was to export the iMovie via File/to desktop icon.  I don't find such an option.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks.

 

Mary Lou

MacBook, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Feb 2, 2016 7:25 PM

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Mary Frost

Q: iMovie project gets stretched in iDVD

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  • by braden85,

    braden85 braden85 Feb 4, 2016 7:00 AM in response to Mary Frost
    Community Specialists
    Feb 4, 2016 7:00 AM in response to Mary Frost

    Hey there Mary Frost,

     

    I understand that you are seeing some unexpected behavior when exporting an iMovie project to DVD and playing on your home DVD player.  I think you may be misunderstanding your desired aspect ratio for your project. If your end goal is to display the project on a widescreen TV, as you seem to be implying, then you will want your project to conform to the 16:9 aspect ratio, as suggested in this article:

     

    iMovie '11: Change the aspect ratio for your project

    https://support.apple.com/kb/ph2176

     

    If you in fact want this project to display as 4:3 on your widescreen TV, then you may want to look into the settings on your DVD player, as it sounds like it may be zooming or stretching the playback. 

     

    Thanks for being a part of the Apple Support Communities!

  • by Mary Frost,

    Mary Frost Mary Frost Feb 4, 2016 7:07 AM in response to braden85
    Level 1 (94 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 4, 2016 7:07 AM in response to braden85

    If I were to want it to show correctly on a widescreen TV, how would I set the iMovie when I export it?  The current problem comes from the fact that the TV is distorting the images.

     

    Most of these images are not widescreen photos.  How can I keep them appearing correctly when exporting them to a DVD to play on a widescreen TV?

     

    Thanks for your help

     

    Mary Lou

  • by braden85,

    braden85 braden85 Feb 6, 2016 2:10 PM in response to Mary Frost
    Community Specialists
    Feb 6, 2016 2:10 PM in response to Mary Frost

    Hey again Mary,

     

    The link I provided in my last reply will inform you about how to change your aspect ration on your project. There’s also some further information in the link that explains what happens when your photos do not conform to that aspect ratio, which I have highlighted here:

    When you change a project’s aspect ratio, iMovie may zoom in or crop the footage a bit so that the video fills the screen without letterboxing (adding black bands to the top and bottom of the video) or pillarboxing (adding black bands to the sides of the video).

    If you find that the issue is still present after exporting the project in the desired aspect ratio, then I would suggest that you take a look at the settings on your DVD player to determine if that could be causing the undesired viewing performance. Take care, and thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities.