4:3 and 16:9 material on a DVD? at DVinfo.net

Tim Borek · May 23rd, 2006, 01:39 PM

Can you have both 4:3 and 16:9 content on the same DVD? If I'm not mistaken, the answer is yes IF each movie on the DVD maintains a constant aspect ratio. Is that correct?

Why am I asking? I want to shoot 16:9 video for a friend's DVD project, but he already has manyh months of 4:3 footage that he also needs included. He doesn't want me shooting in 16:9 for fear of something not displaying correctly.

Here's what I think and would like someone to confirm:

Depending on NLE settings, clips on the timeline can either retain their original aspect ratio or be stretched to the project's chosen aspect ratio. In the case of using 4:3 clips in a 16:9 project, the 4:3 footage will not look distorted but will display with black bars on the sides. Is that correct?

Thanks for chiming in!

TJB

Joshua Provost · May 23rd, 2006, 01:48 PM

Tim,

You can certainly mix both aspects in a single movie, if you squeeze/letterbox as necessary to convert all footage to a single aspect.

You can also include footage of both aspects as separate movies, provided your DVD authoring software supports multiple VST's.

Josh

Andrew Khalil · May 23rd, 2006, 03:29 PM

I don't know which software you're using for authoring, but DVD Studio Pro allows you to flag each clip you add to the DVD as 4:3 or 16:9 in order to tell it how to display it. This allows you to have different aspect ratios without having to worry too much. I'm not sure if other software does this or not so it may be something to look into.

Dan Euritt · May 24th, 2006, 01:03 PM

you need a dvd authoring app that's capable of doing multiple vts's:
http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/Helppro/vts.htm

most cheap dvd authoring software will not do that... but dvdlabpro will:
http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/dvdlabpro.html

May 23rd, 2006, 01:39 PM	#1
Tim Borek Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Westfield, IN Posts: 353	4:3 and 16:9 material on a DVD? Can you have both 4:3 and 16:9 content on the same DVD? If I'm not mistaken, the answer is yes IF each movie on the DVD maintains a constant aspect ratio. Is that correct? Why am I asking? I want to shoot 16:9 video for a friend's DVD project, but he already has manyh months of 4:3 footage that he also needs included. He doesn't want me shooting in 16:9 for fear of something not displaying correctly. Here's what I think and would like someone to confirm: Depending on NLE settings, clips on the timeline can either retain their original aspect ratio or be stretched to the project's chosen aspect ratio. In the case of using 4:3 clips in a 16:9 project, the 4:3 footage will not look distorted but will display with black bars on the sides. Is that correct? Thanks for chiming in! TJB

May 23rd, 2006, 01:48 PM	#2
Joshua Provost Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 493	Tim, You can certainly mix both aspects in a single movie, if you squeeze/letterbox as necessary to convert all footage to a single aspect. You can also include footage of both aspects as separate movies, provided your DVD authoring software supports multiple VST's. Josh __________________ Owner/Operator, 727 Records Co-Founder, Matter of Chance Productions Blogger, Try Avoidance Last edited by Joshua Provost; May 24th, 2006 at 08:59 AM.

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May 23rd, 2006, 03:29 PM	#3
Andrew Khalil Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 424	I don't know which software you're using for authoring, but DVD Studio Pro allows you to flag each clip you add to the DVD as 4:3 or 16:9 in order to tell it how to display it. This allows you to have different aspect ratios without having to worry too much. I'm not sure if other software does this or not so it may be something to look into.

May 24th, 2006, 01:03 PM	#4
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	you need a dvd authoring app that's capable of doing multiple vts's: http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/Helppro/vts.htm most cheap dvd authoring software will not do that... but dvdlabpro will: http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/dvdlabpro.html