Settings to use for PAL Widescreen?

[CWDesign]

For PAL Widescreen choose 720 x 576 D1 PAL and then change
the Pixel ratio from 1:1 to 1.422:1 this will then give you the Widescreen format.

[Per-Anders]

actually it depends

anamorphic or letterbox?

16x9 is the format, and is this DV1 or what? (difference of width) just check after effects, or even cinema's render settings presets as it has most of the formats (labled).

[fxgogo]

Originally posted by CWDesign
For PAL Widescreen choose 720 x 576 D1 PAL and then change
the Pixel ratio from 1:1 to 1.422:1 this will then give you the Widescreen format.

That is incorrect CWDesign, All that will do is streach the image to fit wide screen.

Zendorf, do you need these renders to also work on a normal 4x3 tv? If you do then you could work with 720x405. Most widescreen tvs would detect the black bars are zoom in to fit the full widescreen area.

However if you want a true widescreen format image as mdme_sadie eluded to, you need to work to 1024x576. Now when you get to your final animation or piece of footage you need to squeeze this 1204x576 image to 720 x576. This is what mdme_sadie refers to as anamorphic. This will fit the widescreen screen without any zooming or scaling happening to the image.

[CWDesign]

Well actually FXGOGO Im not wrong, and neither are you
as there are two ways of doing it.

Also doing it my way does not stretch the image believe me.

Or take a look here for more Info

http://www.imashination.com/tv.html

[fxgogo]

I am sorry CWDesign, you are also correct, I was too hasty in my reply. We end up with the same thing with the anamorphic route, it is just that I prefer doing all my comp'ing and rendering in a format I can see and then at the end do the squeeze.

[imashination]

What do you do the comping with? All video editors Ive used can display an anamorphic image in its correct 16:9 format whilst working.

[fxgogo]

After Effects. Yeah they can, but I find that if I have the time on a project, using the extra resolution from the renders will give a better result when squeezing down to 720, due to interpolation. I must say that I have only done one project using the widescreen format, all the other stuff is 4x3.

[Zendorf]

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys :thumbsup: Everything I have done up till now has been 4:3 so I am a bit clueless about widescreen. I will be rushing out to buy a widescreen telly in the next day or two, to be sure I am getting it right!

Basically , I have footage shot on an Canon XM-2(GL2 in US) in 16:9 that I need my renders to match up to (size and ratio wise)....this footage is not true anamorphic from what I gather, just squeezed pixels, but it seems fine to me (unless maybe viewed on a huge plasma screen). It sounds like going the 720x576 with a 1.422:1 ratio is the go, as rendering 1024x576 and then squeezing this down is more render time....assuming they give the same quality?

What is confusing me is that Vegas 4 (my NLE) says that PAL Widescreen has a ratio of 1.4568 which is very close to 1.422 but why the discrepancy? Also what is the resolution of the average analogue PAL TV...is it still 720 across...just with wider pixels (ie 1.422:1)?

Cheers again!

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