Should I export my regular ANAMORPHIC sequence through compressor as 4:3, then set up my project in DVD Studio Pro as anamorphic? Compressor has a 16:9 setting, but wouldn't this burn the letterboxing into the video permanently as 4:3?

Should I export my regular ANAMORPHIC sequence through compressor as 4:3, then set up my project in DVD Studio Pro as anamorphic? Compressor has a 16:9 setting, but wouldn't this burn the letterboxing into the video permanently as 4:3?

Depending on the version of Compressor you are using:

If it's Compressor 3 (in FCS 2) don't do anything except pick the MPEG setting you want. Compressor will put the anamorphic tag in the file automatically.

Earlier versions you should pick the MPEG codec that indicates 16:9. This will not force a letterboxed version of your video in 4:3. The only way to do that is to import your 16:9 sequence into a 4:3 sequence. FCP will automatically letterbox the sequence on the timeline.

So how do I find out what versions of the software I have?

Bryan,

The version number can be viewed by choosing Compressor > About Compressor from the main menu.

If you have Final Cut Studio 2, you should have version 3 of compressor. Otherwise, it's probably a version 2.

- Martin

So the encoder settings in DVD Studio Pro (16:9, bitrate, etc) don't apply...PERIOD...to externally converted MPEG 2 streams?

I think you can still change the flags for the aspect ratio in DVD Studio Pro, but the actual encoding of the video remains unchanged. So bitrate and other quality settings, whether the video is letterboxed/resized/cropped etc. are not touched by DVD Studio Pro if you encode an .m2v file externally through Compressor.

- Martin