Aspect Ratios
 

Not sure if this is the right place but here goes.

I film soccer matches on a Sony widescreen camcorder from a TV gantry high in the stand, I send a composite (yellow/red/white) feed via a video splitter to several DVD recorders on the gantry and an RF converter.

The RF converter sends a feed via RF wire to several televisions around the ground and also to another DVD recorder some way from the gantry. This DVD recorder then sends a feed via scart out to a PC through another converter (not sure what this box is as I don't have access to it at this at this time). The PC is only picking up a 4:3 screen i.e. black bars at the side of a widecreen TV.

Although the original feed from the camera is widescreen could it be that the RF converter can only send a 4:3 picture.

Thanks,

Martin

PS If I have not explained it fully or you wish to ask any questions, please do.

Not sure if this is the issue, but if the output from the camera is analogue (PAL or NTSC compliant) then it will be a "vertically stretched" 4:3 image on the screen because the analogue signal is always 4:3. If you film in 16:9 the camera anamorphically converts it to 4:3 before recording or outputting. It's the box (or in this case the TVs) at the other end that have to be told it's anamorphic. Just alter the aspect ratio on the TV to 16:9 or wide or whatever option it has and the TV with stretch the signal back out to the 16:9 you composed.

Hope that helps.

EDIT: Just re-read your post- the RF lead will only send 4:3 but it should be the anamorphically compressed signal rather than a crop. If you set the DVD recorder to a widescreen 16:9 setting for play out it should stretch the signal back to widescreen. I think...

Hi Daniel,

Many thanks for taking the time to reply, just to confirm the camcorder is the Sony V1E. It is recording widescreen in DV format to tape and as I mentioned feeding out an analogue signal via the yellow/red/white composite feed.

Currently on the gantry it is being fed for monitoring purposes i.e. the framing of the shot to 4:3 TVs as we have not yet replaced them with widescreen. The picture on these screens is full screen but with the picture vertically stretched as I would expect it to be.

We also have to feed the picture down to the offices at ground level some way from the gantry, I would prefer if this was done by a direct video/audio feed but at the moment it is wired up by an RF lead hence the need for the RF converter.

There does seem to be a problem with picking up the feed as a widescreen picture but will have to recheck the settings on the final DVD recorder the signal gets to and then from there to the PC for recording. I have been assured these are set to 16:9 but unfortunately I live someway from the ground so will have to check at the next home game on bank Holiday Monday.

I hope also to lay my hands on a portable widescreen TV to really get a proper view.

Once again thanks for your comments.

Martin