I have footage that was shot in 16:9. Im only expierenced in regular 4:3. How do I set up the Avid to capture this footage and then output it to DVD?

At the top of the AXP - PC page, there is a thread (Everything you need to know, start here...) that will help you through to your output.

Just in case:

http://www.avid.com/exchange/forums/4408/ShowPost.aspx

 

Your post is very helpful but I still have a problem. The footage I have was shot in 16:9.  I captured it and lost the letterboxes, I suppose thats normal, then I followed your direction with Sorenson Squeeze and I still get no letter boxes when viewing it on my TV.  Shouldnt I have the letterboxes? 

One day I should get them to make a sticky of this:

PAL and NTSC TV are basically 4:3 - all tape based format are, at the very least.

So to record a 16:9 picture on a 4:3 tape you have two options:
1) Letterbox - add black bars to the top and bottom of the image. This provides the wide look in the 4:3 frame. But it throws 25% of the image away.
2) Anamorphic - Called 16:9 Anamorphic, or 16:9 Full Height (16:9FH). This way you record the picture using the whole frame, but it is vertically 'stretched' so people look tall and skinny. When this is displayed on a widescreen TV it is stretched out wide to fit the full screen properly. To make it into a 4:3 picture you can also letterbox it afterward (basically shrink it vertically by 75%).

Most cameras will record anamorphic pictures (a notable exception being the Panasonic DVX100 which recorded a letterboxed image).

In Avid, when you are working with Anamorphic material you can switch your monitors to 16:9 and they will display the picture correctly. Ideally it is best to keep the picture anamorphic as long as possible, as it records the most picture information. DVD players, projectors and many TVs are capable of displaying anamorphic material. Letterboxing may be unnecessary, and should be avoided where possible, or left until the very last minute.

Typically a programme made in 16:9 will be shot, edtied, onlined and output to master all in 16:9FH. This anamorphic version will be used to make DVDs (as DVDs have a wide-screen flag enabling proper display on wide-screen TVs), and for broadcast on digital widescreen television. For VHS and analogue television, a letterbox master will be made from the 16:9FH master. This process is known as Aspect Ratio Conversion - there are physical devices designed specifically to do it, although it can also be achieved with resize effects in Avid or other editing software (often not quite as well).

In short - the letterboxing you see in your camera is simply the camera's way of displaying it nicely. It hasn't been recorded that way, and shouldn't appear that way in Avid. Unless you definately need a letterboxed output at the end, it's best to leave it anamorphic as long as possible.

If you have correctly followed these steps and produced a 16:9 FHA DVD but it is displaying on a 4:3 TV without letterbox i.e. tall thin people syndrome, then it is possible that your DVD player is set up incorrectly. It differs from machine to machine but is usually in "Setup" "Video" or similar and in the output display options you need to select 4:3 letterbox rather than 4:3 pan and scan or 16:9. HTH Brian

Ok thats great information but the issue Im having I think is a little different.  My footage was captured in 16:9 widescreen. It doees come out with tall / skinny syndrome but once I get it into sorenson I change the format to 16:9 and it looks fine on my TV but I still lose the bars which I believe my client will want.  I dont want to have to use the 16:9 mask affect and lose part of the image.  How can I output this project in its orginal 16:9 format with letterbox and all? 

once I get it into sorenson I change the format to 16:9 and it looks fine on my TV but I still lose the bars which I believe my client will want.  I dont want to have to use the 16:9 mask affect and lose part of the image.  How can I output this project in its orginal 16:9 format with letterbox and all?

If you want 16:9 footage to dispaly letterboxed on a 4:3 screen, you simply have to go into the Effect Pallette in Xpress Pro, click on the Reformat heading (left column of EP) then apply the 16:9 Letterbox effect to your 16:9 video.  That "reformats" the 16:9 frame for playback on 4:3 TVs without masking, cropping, or otherwise screwing up your 16:9 video.  And yes, those "black bars" at the top and bottom of the screen will still be there.  That's why it's called "letterbox."

Whilst you can letterbox 16:9 FHA footage to fit in a 4:3 frame it really is unecessary for DVD output and will degrade your footage.

Create a 16:9 FHA DVD.

On a DVD player correctly set up and connected to a 16:9 TV you will see the footage as widescreen i.e. correct aspect ratio and no black bars.

On a DVD player correctly set up and connected to a 4:3 TV you will see the footage as letterboxed i.e. correct aspect ratio and with black bars.

If you letterbox your footage and create a 4:3 DVD it will be correct aspect ratio and have black bars BUT will have reduced resolution.

The 4:3 DVD played on a 16:9 TV will give you a "postage stamp" image. i.e. a small picture in the middle of the screen with black all round it. You would need to zoom that to make it fill the screen with subsequent quality loss.

In short, for best quality and flexibility for multiple display types, make a 16:9 FHA DVD.

regards

Brian 

When capturing 16:9 footage does Avid recognise that as 16:9?

And when dumping 16:9 to tape, does that have a 16:9 signal on it? If I do that, my DVCam deck does not pick up any 16:9 signal coming out of Avid. I have 4.6.

pnikolaev wrote:

but I still lose the bars which I believe my client will want.

Did anybody else catch this?

I'm wondering how much of this could be avoided by simply asking the client "Do you want bars on your video?"  Asking specific questions can save SO much work it's not funny. 

I once edited a piece using elements I 'thought' the client would like.  I spent weeks putting together a really cool show with lots of eye candy.  After seeing the show for the first time, there was this pregnant pause.  "Does it really have to be this flashy?"  It turns out he was breifing Congress, and needed a very simple presentation of the facts.  I swallowed my pride, recut the show in 1 day, and had a happy client. 

Just my two cents...

Jon

belloman wrote:

When capturing 16:9 footage does Avid recognise that as 16:9? And when dumping 16:9 to tape, does that have a 16:9 signal on it? If I do that, my DVCam deck does not pick up any 16:9 signal coming out of Avid. I have 4.6.

Your DVCam deck may have an option to set a 16:9 flag in the video stream. It will still seem full-height in Avid, but supporting DV decks and cameras will read the flag and reformat the image to a letterbox format on playback if they are configured to do so.

Avid, when capturing, does not read or recognise any 16:9 flag, as far as I know. Avid does not care. If you set your monitors to 16:9 then they will reformat the video, and the Title Tool will operate in anamorphic.

If your client wants a letterbox output, then you will have to use the Reformat effect in Avid. It is advisable not to make a letterbox master unless you absolutely have to. Final masters should remain Full Height where possible.

If you are giving the product to your client on DVD, there should be no need at all to make a letterbox version, as long as the DVD is authored as a 16:9 DVD and the player is configured correctly.

thanks Sycophant ....that helps...I think. My DVCam deck does playback & record 16:9 flags but not from Avid. I do not want letter boxes, I want a 16.9 Master and not a distorted 4:3 which will not play back on a TV as 16:9.

I guess my question is...how do you go from a 16:9 on tape to Avid back to 16:9 with flag on tape? You must be able to make a 16:9 Master on tape...surely.

Sycophant wrote:

One day I should get them to make a sticky of this:

Your whish has been granted.. thx

Menno

belloman wrote:

thanks Sycophant ....that helps...I think. My DVCam deck does playback & record 16:9 flags but not from Avid. I do not want letter boxes, I want a 16.9 Master and not a distorted 4:3 which will not play back on a TV as 16:9. I guess my question is...how do you go from a 16:9 on tape to Avid back to 16:9 with flag on tape? You must be able to make a 16:9 Master on tape...surely.

Well it's my understanding that this 16:9 flag (and I've found very little information about it) is far from universally recognised. I know that on a DSR-1500 for example it can be set to 'On', 'Off'  or 'Automatic' - on and off are straightforward, I am not sure how automatic works.

Basically. I would set the deck manually. And ensure that the playback deck supports the flag, and is configured to use it. Otherwise I would make a letterboxed ARC dub of the master for playback purposes.

The 30P deck is configured for 16:9....manually. If I connect my camera for recording to the 30P, the 30P recognises the 16:9 signal fine, but from Avid it does not. Should it? Are you all dumping to tape with 16:9 signal? if so how? Is it that the 30P does not recognise it from Avid but can from my camera? I really cannot work it out. Does Avid loose the flag when capturing which I think you said before? If so, how do you get a 16:9 to tape?