4:3 Letterbox - 16:9 for DVD FCP/DVDSP
 

Just looking for an indication of advisable workflows for someone with a Final Cut Studio setup, so FCP, Compressor and DVD Studio Pro are my available tools.

I've got a Project which was acquired in 4:3 DVCAM, has been mastered to a letterboxed Digibeta, and I have a MiniDV output.

I'm looking at doing an output to DVD, but want to utilise the feature I've been reading about of most DVD players to play 16:9 without letterboxing on widescreen TV's and letterbox on regular TV's. I understand if I just output the straight file, it will only playback in the letterbox form.

Anyone had any experienced cropping a 4:3 letterboxed master, then outputting the cropped result as 16:9 file for DVD encoding?

Advised workflows, cleve ideas, problems I could face?

Obviously I'll be losing resolution AND blowing up the picture when it is output to a widescreen TV so there could be pixelation, but I would rather give them the option of watching full screen than watching both a simultaneously letter and pillboxed image to get the proper aspect ratio.

(The project was a short film, and we decided to master to letterbox because the majority of uses for the master would be screenings at from digital projectors.)

I usually make 16:9 DVDs from 16:9 footage, but I have an idea. Once you are done editing, nest your sequence. Change the sequence's settings (Command-0) and set it to Anamorphic 16:9. Then drag the next into the viewer, click the motion tab, then distort. Enter 33.33 (for NTSC source footage at least.) That will make your footage 16:9 ratio. You may need to zoom in to cut off the black bars on the top and bottom, but you will have a 16:9 project. Export using the Compressor setting DVD 16:9, either 90 or 120 minutes, Highest Quality or Fastest Encode. Then make a DVDSP project and set it up how you would a regular 16:9 project.