cropped image sizing problem from XH-A1

[Geoffrey Cox]

I wondered if anyone can help with this frustrating problem:

I'm working on a project in 4:3 PAL. Most of my footage is shot native SD 4:3. I recently started using the XH-A1 and converted the HDV 16:9 footage to DV-PAL 4:3 cropped. However when I import it to FCP (4.5) the images are slightly narrower then all the native 4:3 stuff though in the browser it says all images are 720x576. When viewed in QT though the cropped images are the correct size. (I should say that I have the same problem with images converted from my HDR-HC3 so it looks very much like a FCP issue)

I can't seem to get round this.

Any thoughts?

Geoff

[Jonathan Shaw]

What about zooming in slightly? Not the best solution but quick and easy and if it isn't that much then the quality will hardly be affected.

[Petri Kaipiainen]

720*576 PAL does not use square pixels but slightly wide. Maybe just a slight horizontal zoom would fix the problem. There might be a setting somewhere in FCP for this also.

[Geoffrey Cox]

Originally Posted by Petri Kaipiainen

720*576 PAL does not use square pixels but slightly wide. Maybe just a slight horizontal zoom would fix the problem. There might be a setting somewhere in FCP for this also.

Useful thoughts guys, thanks. I get confused re square / round pixels etc. What I can't fathom is why the downrezed HDV footage is different from the rest. There is a function in FCP which enables you to 'show as square pixels' which is on for all clips - if I switch it off all clips are squished a bit, but the slightly narrower sizing issue of the cropped downrezed HDV footage remains.