Neo HDV 16:9 to SD NTSC widescreen quest at DVinfo.net

Bruce Pelley · September 1st, 2011, 12:22 PM

Attention: Cineform experts !

Last night I downloaded and installed a 15 day trial of Neo.

Had been told that Cineform did a much better job downsizing from 16:9 1080 60i HDV footage to SD NTSC widescreen 16:9 than Premiere Pro. So I've been trying to obtain that result.

Here's the workflow laid out for me to follow:

Project = HDV 1080/60i (Yes, these are all native.m2t files... not raw CF files)

1) Export the timeline to Blu-ray-H.264 or a high quality MPEG using AME.
2) Then have Neo internally downsize the footage from HDV 16:9 to SD widescreen (16:9):
3) Open up a new SD project in Prem Pro, load Cineform .avi file and then export to MPEG-2 dvd. No interlacing recommended...however....for now I ignored that.

Step 2 is the current roadblock. Here are the preference settings:

a) Kept aspect ratio (16:9)
b) "I" frames only.
c) Checked off the de-interlace box anyways.
d) Frame format is automatic or interlaced.

The results utilizing the resizing modes listed below yielded the following when directly compared to the original .m2t clip as viewed on a NTSC DV project timeline & elsewhere.

i) SD NTSC 4:3 letterbox- looked natural aspectwise, however it had a black border all the way around/entirely framed in black. Lots of area vanished.

ii) SD NTSC centered- obviously the outside ends were cropped but it looked right.

iii) SD NTSC 16:9- Surprise! The footage was squished from the ends into & towards the middle. Too much disappeared from both ends. Where there were no pillars on each side, now there are. The person in the middle who was speaking now looks like she suddenly got extremely thin and tall.

What am I missing here or do wrong? Hope it was from a wrong combination of parameters.

How do I post a before and after screenshot & what are the size or format limitations?

Any solutions, help or advice welcomed.

Thank you.

Roy Feldman · September 1st, 2011, 08:09 PM

I have sent a report in to support about this and was told that the entire interface (HD Link) was undergoing a redo.
In the mean time I suggest you resize the 16:9 footage to strech the horizonal or crop the letterbox.to 720X405

Bruce Pelley · September 1st, 2011, 08:46 PM

Hi Roy,

I appreciate what you did for me and thanks for the update.

I hope CF fixes this issue as it crucial to what I need it for. SD 16:9 reize as is doesn't work.

Was not aware you could resize to a set of pixels.

How am I going to "stretch" the horizontal axis so that it where it should be?

Is that using CF Neo or something else?

Any solutions welcome until HD Link is re-designed and functions better.

Roy Feldman · September 2nd, 2011, 04:32 AM

Not sure how in Premiere, in Vegas it's easily accomplished

September 1st, 2011, 12:22 PM	#1
Bruce Pelley Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 339	Neo HDV 16:9 to SD NTSC widescreen quest Attention: Cineform experts ! Last night I downloaded and installed a 15 day trial of Neo. Had been told that Cineform did a much better job downsizing from 16:9 1080 60i HDV footage to SD NTSC widescreen 16:9 than Premiere Pro. So I've been trying to obtain that result. Here's the workflow laid out for me to follow: Project = HDV 1080/60i (Yes, these are all native.m2t files... not raw CF files) 1) Export the timeline to Blu-ray-H.264 or a high quality MPEG using AME. 2) Then have Neo internally downsize the footage from HDV 16:9 to SD widescreen (16:9): 3) Open up a new SD project in Prem Pro, load Cineform .avi file and then export to MPEG-2 dvd. No interlacing recommended...however....for now I ignored that. Step 2 is the current roadblock. Here are the preference settings: a) Kept aspect ratio (16:9) b) "I" frames only. c) Checked off the de-interlace box anyways. d) Frame format is automatic or interlaced. The results utilizing the resizing modes listed below yielded the following when directly compared to the original .m2t clip as viewed on a NTSC DV project timeline & elsewhere. i) SD NTSC 4:3 letterbox- looked natural aspectwise, however it had a black border all the way around/entirely framed in black. Lots of area vanished. ii) SD NTSC centered- obviously the outside ends were cropped but it looked right. iii) SD NTSC 16:9- Surprise! The footage was squished from the ends into & towards the middle. Too much disappeared from both ends. Where there were no pillars on each side, now there are. The person in the middle who was speaking now looks like she suddenly got extremely thin and tall. What am I missing here or do wrong? Hope it was from a wrong combination of parameters. How do I post a before and after screenshot & what are the size or format limitations? Any solutions, help or advice welcomed. Thank you.

September 1st, 2011, 08:09 PM	#2
Roy Feldman Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Grosse pointe, michigan Posts: 189	Re: Neo HDV 16:9 to SD NTSC widescreen quest I have sent a report in to support about this and was told that the entire interface (HD Link) was undergoing a redo. In the mean time I suggest you resize the 16:9 footage to strech the horizonal or crop the letterbox.to 720X405

September 1st, 2011, 08:46 PM	#3
Bruce Pelley Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 339	Neo HDV 16:9 to SD NTSC widescreen quest Hi Roy, I appreciate what you did for me and thanks for the update. I hope CF fixes this issue as it crucial to what I need it for. SD 16:9 reize as is doesn't work. Was not aware you could resize to a set of pixels. How am I going to "stretch" the horizontal axis so that it where it should be? Is that using CF Neo or something else? Any solutions welcome until HD Link is re-designed and functions better.

September 2nd, 2011, 04:32 AM	#4
Roy Feldman Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Grosse pointe, michigan Posts: 189	Re: Neo HDV 16:9 to SD NTSC widescreen quest Not sure how in Premiere, in Vegas it's easily accomplished