Is there a way in V8 to only have the flash of the transition only happen within the "widescreen" area? I rendered a file in Windows Media player, and it looks great, minus the flash that happens outside the actual video boundary (on top and bottom). I don't see any settings anywhere, but there HAS to be something, right? Thanks! Here is a link to view what I'm talking about... THANKS!
www.vimeo.com/1435774

there is nothing such "outside the actual video boundary ".
ether it is in the video , or it is not.
in your case it seems you get a letterboxed video, this means a 4:3 where you use only the middle to display a 16:9 strip. If you do that, the computer has no way to know that the black bar at top and bottom are not part of video.
you best guess is then to add black bar over the video to cover all the "spills" that could be generated.
or better you can edit the video in real 16:9 format (anamorphosed or not).

there is nothing such "outside the actual video boundary ".
ether it is in the video , or it is not.
in your case it seems you get a letterboxed video, this means a 4:3 where you use only the middle to display a 16:9 strip. If you do that, the computer has no way to know that the black bar at top and bottom are not part of video.
you best guess is then to add black bar over the video to cover all the "spills" that could be generated.
or better you can edit the video in real 16:9 format (anamorphosed or not).

I am editing in 16:9 format and then rendering into .wmv file. There are no "widescreen" options, so I just don't understand why it its "letter boxing" my video. Help?

add a new track on the TOP of your project and place a mask there. That will eliminate the transitions from going into the letterboxed area.

I know what you mean Dawn, it stinks that there isn't a widescreen option...

Here's a fix, go to render/custom/video/find the pixel aspect ratio box and change it manually to 1.2121 and you're good to go.

You can also change the image size of the video in the image size box, but it is not essential, just means you'll have extra black but won't hurt anything.

I know what you mean Dawn, it stinks that there isn't a widescreen option...

Here's a fix, go to render/custom/video/find the pixel aspect ratio box and change it manually to 1.2121 and you're good to go.

You can also change the image size of the video in the image size box, but it is not essential, just means you'll have extra black but won't hurt anything.

Thanks... this sounds like it makes sense. I wasn't sure I was explaining myself correctly, but I'll try it and see what happens! THANKS!

If I understood your problem to be the same as the one that I had answered here recently, it will work...if not then it is something else...hope it works for you.

Here's the thread that helped me, LOTS of information here....http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=123951